'Flash Brewing'? This looks interesting!

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balrog said:
Curious, but why ascorbic rather than campden (K2S2O5) ?
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Mostly due to reports of metallic characters in unboiled water/beer from KMeta. It could be that NaMeta would have less potential flavor impacts.

But, why not use Ascorbic Acid instead of Campden? Both seem to be cheap and effective.
 
CascadesBrewer said:
Mostly due to reports of metallic characters in unboiled water/beer from KMeta. It could be that NaMeta would have less potential flavor impacts.

But, why not use Ascorbic Acid instead of Campden? Both seem to be cheap and effective.
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I am still thinking of using ascorbic at kegging for O2 but I've yet to try it.
 
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BrewnWKopperKat said:
My MoreBeer order will be fulfilled from both of their warehouses [KS & CA] - and are estimated to arrive Wed/Thurs next week. I hope to brew the 1st batch on Sat/Sun - but will definitely throw the yeast in the fridge and the hops in the freezer when they arrive.
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BrewnWKopperKat said:
My KS order was 'picked' early Friday. FedEx got the order to me by noon on Sunday. So today was equipment cleaning day and a quick brew day.
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The order was split so here is the followup for the CA order. The CA order (1 oz of Cryo Centennial) ended up being "out of stock". A couple of emails, initiated from MoreBeer, made it right.

Based on the recent /r/homebrewing (link) topic, it looks like the CA warehouse is currently moving to KS. Yay for me and those in the Midwest / "North Coast'!. This (link) is also an "interesting" observation.
 
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BrewnWKopperKat said:
I have a pair of 1.5 gal (8% Red IIPA) recipes planned (but not finalized) for this weekend. Muntons Extra Light & Irish Red DME.
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I brewed the 1st recipe this morning. I plan to post the recipe in a topic (maybe a new topic) over in the "Extract Brewing" forum in the near future (4 to 6 weeks?)

For those looking to split a 5.0 gal kit into 2 smaller batches (2.0 - 3.0 gal each), I measured 42 PPG (refractometer) and derived these equations (based on kit data): IBUs = ml / vol / .0533 (30 IBUs = 8 ml / 5 gal / .0533) and ml = IBUs * vol * .0533.
 
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BrewnWKopperKat said:
I have a pair of 1.5 gal (8% Red IIPA) recipes planned (but not finalized) for this weekend. Muntons Extra Light & Irish Red DME.
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I rewrote the recipe for the 2nd batch, but still with Muntons Extra Light DME, but got the desired measurements and observations. 24 bottles of 8% Red IIPA seemed like a "storage" problem that I didn't want.

As I said earlier, I plan to post the recipes into a topic (maybe a new topic) over in the "Extract Brewing" forum in the near future (4 to 6 weeks?). This gives me time for some early samples of the actual beer, etc.
 
day_trippr said:
Do it. You won't regret it. 1 tsp per 5 gallons, dissolved in a little water (30 ml works for me) and injected into a purged keg...

Cheers!
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Any issue pre-dosing the keg, which is then hooked up to purge with fermentation gas for a week or so, or does it have to be freshly added at kegging time?
 
balrog said:
I always ferment with the airlock piped through a keg to purge the keg during fermentation. I then closed transfer (mostly) into that keg after fermentation.
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But you're still starting with a small amount of ascorbic acid exposed to a large amount of air, so it will get oxidized before fermentation starts. I don't remember enough redox chemistry to say whether it would get regenerated after purging.
 
Got it. Thanks @day_trippr , @mac_1103 ; that was indeed my question: would the curative properties be exhausted by not using prior to wanting said aforementioned curative properties. Like sodium percarbonate losing O2 scrubbing after 15-20min.
 
mashdar said:
How do you attach airlock? (Or do you make one with tube into vessel?)

I used to ponder attaching a 3pc airlock to a keg.
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3pc airlock, two removable pcs removed
vinyl (don't tel @day_trippr , I know I should use eva barrier something or other instead) tube from the central inner tube of the 3pc, screw on and clamp a liquid QD the other end of the tube, connect to OUT of keg, then IN of keg QD to tube to starsan jug. Lemme see if I have a pic.
1729635118449.png


Nope, that's not it.

Found it.

1729635756175.png
 
mashdar said:
Now that I think of it, I never felt like the walnut trees here were trying to murder me this year.
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Interesting. I got nothing here from the 6 in my yard. American Black Walnut. AKA *%($* GO$*&%MNED *$&!#*%$&%*(# PILEOF*$&#$%**$(% BACKBREAKING #*$%&$#*(@!.

Or, just, "Walnut trees".


Depends on the inebriation level.
 
I think we had a couple this year, but most years, for about two months, I cover my head with my arm when I walk the dog down the driveway. I've only been hit in the shoulder once in four years, but they seem to be working on their aim.
 
Today was bottling day for ...

BrewnWKopperKat said:
I did order the "Irish Red" kit & a 3 gal fermonster with spigot - so I'll try splitting the kit into two. One batch will be the Irish Red. At the moment, the other batch is tentatively an American Amber Ale.
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BrewnWKopperKat said:
Rather than an Irish Red, I switched hops to make an American Amber (inspired by the American Amber Ales in Brewing Classic Styles).

This was a 2.25 gal batch in the 3.0 gal (spigotted) fermonster.

3# DME, half the "HopBite" (4ML), half the yeast (6 g) and 14 g each of normal Cascade & Centennial. 2.25 gal of water bumps the ABV from around 5.2% to around 5.8%.
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I waited an extra week hoping all the trub would fall. It didn't, so I did a short (6-ish hour) "cold crash" yesterday then moved the beer back to basement ambient temperature (62-64F)..

Bottling went smoothly (1st time with the new 3 gal spigotted fermonster). I added sugar to each bottle, but no additional bottle conditioning yeast or ascorbic acid. I will bottle condition at basement ambient temperature for 2 to 3 weeks. I have a couple of 'sample' bottles & will likely open the first one in about 10 days.
 
BrewnWKopperKat said:
I will bottle condition at basement ambient temperature for 2 to 3 weeks. I have a couple of 'sample' bottles & will likely open the first one in about 10 days.
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6 days later, I decided to open a one of the sample bottles to compare color between the Amber Ale and the Red IIPA ('Flash brewing' kit hack). I may put the photo in the the other thread.

After 6 days, there was some carbonation (which I was hoping to see). Basement ambient temperature is currently 60 - 62F. I'll open the 2nd sample bottle next weekend (as planned).

Given that this yeast strain wants to bottle condition at 60 - 62F, I may try another kit at basement ambient temperature (perhaps early next year). Probably another "split batch": half using the kit instructions and half as a "kit hack".
 
Just for fun, I brewed both MoreBeer's "I Heart IPA" Flash brew kit and their "I Heart IPA" All Grain kit on the same day. I followed the instructions for both, but accidentally added the 5 minute kettle addition to the All Grain at 10 minutes. I also just couldn't resist stirring the Flash Brew with a sanitized stainless steel spoon before closing up the fermenter despite the instructions admonishing you that it is unnecessary. No secondary transfers. I dropped trub twice from the conical fermenting the All Grain and added the dry hops with 4 days left using a CO2 purged dry hopper.

Both received identical treatment during fermentation. They were fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel fermenters (the Flash Brew in a BrewBucket in a fermentation chamber, the All Grain in a jacketed SS Brewtech Unitank) on the same schedule: 4 days at 67°, then ramped on degree a day till they reached 72° and held for a couple of days for a diacetyl rest. Cold crashed. Closed transfer to CO2 purged kegs, added 6ml of Biofine, burst carbonated and left at 12PSI for several days.

Both are perfectly drinkable! The all grain has a more pronounced hop flavor. The Flash Brew creates a serious foamy head and has an almost artificial beer flavor to it. It's hard to pinpoint. It just lacks the depth of the all grain and the mouthfeel is a little syrupy.

I repacked a six pack of Bell's Two Hearted Ale into bomber bottles and filled identical bottles with the Flash Brew and All Grain. I brought all three into my local homebrew club meeting simply labeled "A" "B" and "C" and asked members to guess which was which.

Out of 21 responses:
  • Only 1 person got all three wrong
  • 8 got all three right (38%)
  • 11 correctly identified the Flash Brew (52%) but three of those got the Bell's and the All Grain backwards
  • 14 correctly identified the Bell's Two Hearted (66%), but 6 of those got the Flash Brew and All Grain backwards
So I conclude that the Flash Brew is a decent beer that roughly half of experienced beer drinkers could confuse with either the All Grain kit or the real thing from Bells. Only 1/3 of the testers mistook one of the kit beers for a real Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

Tom

PXL_20241027_213323948 (1).jpg
PXL_20241028_201607141.jpg
 
BrewnWKopperKat said:
Flash Brew MoreBeer (/r/homebrewing) has a link to a recent "The Apartment Brewer" UT that reviewed one of the kits. He starts out very skeptical, but listen to the end of the video to get his full opinion (I won't 'cherry pick' specific quotes).
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I noticed that Apartment Brewer referred to the powder in the kit as “dried wort” and indicated it was somewhat different than commercially available malt extract, but didn’t provide any further explanation. His review of the final results is enough to make me skip the flash brewing for now.
 
I think he called it dried wort cos he assumed it was hopped, which may or may not be the case. In the UK we can buy hopped extract, I'm sure you can too. Extract is boiled and does not need to be boiled again. Loads of homebrewers make beer by simply mixing extract with water and adding hops, so I don't see Flash brewing as anything new, from what I know about it, it's just a branding of no boil extract brewing.

I'm sure this has already been said, I've not read the whole thread. The newest part of the process is using a hop shot, which gets around boiling hops for bitterness. But hopped extract does that too, suggesting the Flash kits don't contain hopped extract.

So I assume the kits contain malt extract, hop extract for bittering, hop pellets for aroma, and yeast. You can create your own kits by buying these things separately. You'll get better beer if you steep some grain, which is a simple and quick additional step. You can get good beer this way, I've done it numerous times, with no wort boil.
 
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madscientist451 said:
... further explanation [on Flash Brewing DME]
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Flash Brewing with Chris Graham (President of MoreBeer) – BeerSmith Podcast #309.

duncan_disorderly said:
from what I know about it, it's just a branding of no boil extract brewing.
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Also Flash Brewing with Chris Graham (President of MoreBeer) – BeerSmith Podcast #309.

I will concede that there is a "branding" aspect to these kits. The video also mentions process and ingredient aspects.


eta: I'm typing some about the "kit hacks" I have done in other topics. I'll continue to do that in hopes that this topic can remain focused on the kits. Forum wisdom already knows the results of comparing a kit, in it's various forms (all-grain, extract, ...) to the commercial product. And confirmation can be a good thing.


​

 
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duncan_disorderly said:
I think he called it dried wort cos he assumed it was hopped, which may or may not be the case. In the UK we can buy hopped extract, I'm sure you can too. Extract is boiled and does not need to be boiled again. Loads of homebrewers make beer by simply mixing extract with water and adding hops, so I don't see Flash brewing as anything new, from what I know about it, it's just a branding of no boil extract brewing.

I'm sure this has already been said, I've not read the whole thread. The newest part of the process is using a hop shot, which gets around boiling hops for bitterness. But hopped extract does that too, suggesting the Flash kits don't contain hopped extract.

So I assume the kits contain malt extract, hop extract for bittering, hop pellets for aroma, and yeast. You can create your own kits by buying these things separately. You'll get better beer if you steep some grain, which is a simple and quick additional step. You can get good beer this way, I've done it numerous times, with no wort boil.
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in the U.S. muntons HME in liquid and dry form was available (not kits, no yeast and they were meant as bittering malt additions rather than just malt additions.) was available from the late 70's to the early 90's at most then just the kits were available and malt extract not hopped malt extract. recently it has become avaialble again.

dme is dried wort just as lme is concentrated wort. i assumed and thought i have read that to go from lme to dme they just keep concentrating it until almost no water.

briess lme says cbw on the container. for concentrated brewers wort. just cause it has no hops doesnt mean its not wort its just unhopped wort. semantics i know.

there are a few innovations here aside from just the hop shot. the Most important in my opinion is the proprietary extract which is not simply Light, Pilsner, Amber, Dark, Bavarian Wheat and Dried Rice. etc.
it sounds liek they make a specific grain bill then concentrate that into spraymalt to give you several different styles rather than just the range of dme available now.
there are other differences also mentioned earlier in this thread.

i would be more interested if they sold the dme seperately . i dont do much extract any more but it would be really cool to say have the optionof getting a hazy ipa dried malt extract, or vienna lager dried malt extract or oatmeal stout dried malt extract etc.

it could potentially make for even easier extract brewing.

i threw together my own flash kit with a 10 min hop tea and pilsner dme no boil. it took a long time to condition but it is really good. like surprisingly good. a little thinner then i am used to but still much better than any macro beer. maltodextrine addition would prolly change that. it does have a chill haze that never went away even after months in the fridge. i didint try gelatin that might work.

i would do it again.
 
BrewnWKopperKat said:
I will concede that there is a "branding" aspect to these kits. The video also mentions process and ingredient aspects.
Click to expand...
I'm saying you can brew these beers without buying a Flash kit so it's entirely branding. They may have extract made specifically for them, but so do no-boil extract kit companies in the UK, who don't claim to have invented something. The UK kits have improved enormously in recent years with better extract, better yeast, and hop pellets included, which never used to be the case.
 
duncan_disorderly said:
I'm saying you can brew these beers without buying a Flash kit so it's entirely branding. They may have extract made specifically for them, but so do no-boil extract kit companies in the UK, who don't claim to have invented something. The UK kits have improved enormously in recent years with better extract, better yeast, and hop pellets included, which never used to be the case.
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what uk companies sell UNHOPPED DRIED malt extract that doesnt fall into the previously mentioned DME options? (light amber dark wheat rice )

that is to me whats different and tricky cause the demand may not be there at all for dme with relaticvely specific grain bills? thats why to me its not entirely branding.

plus some other things like the room temp flash yeast ( definatley not convinced on this one) the aroma pellet hop addition (definately new here in the states up until very recently in canda) , and the no stir idea ( i know not innovative but all together the flash idea is new IMO) , and the hop shot in a kit which although more common in the UK and perhaps canada was never an option here in the states as a kit. the only no boil kits here in the sates for along time was muntons and coopers then mr beer and a few others liek brew demon etc. none of those had hop shot oil or aroma hop additions.
 
fluketamer said:
what uk companies sell UNHOPPED DRIED malt extract that doesnt fall into the previously mentioned DME options? (light amber dark wheat rice )

that is to me whats different and tricky cause the demand may not be there at all for dme with relaticvely specific grain bills? thats why to me its not entirely branding.

plus some other things like the room temp flash yeast ( definatley not convinced on this one) the aroma pellet hop addition (definately new here in the states up until very recently in canda) , and the no stir idea ( i know not innovative but all together the flash idea is new IMO) , and the hop shot in a kit which although more common in the UK and perhaps canada was never an option here in the states as a kit. the only no boil kits here in the sates for along time was muntons and coopers then mr beer and a few others liek brew demon etc. none of those had hop shot oil or aroma hop additions.
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It's possible they have some dme made specifically for them. Muntons makes lme beer kits of every style, including hazy.

But you can mix different types of dme. They may do that.

And tbh with a small amount of extra work you can steep some grains and get better beer anyway. I once steeped some roast grains a week into fermentation and converted a pale beer into a stout. With minimal time and effort.
 

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