'Flash Brewing'? This looks interesting!

[madscientist451]

I'm not here to change anyone's opinion about the kits.

That’s cool, I’m not really up for changing anything about anyone at all, but….if the truth is: A similar beer can be made for less $ with extract and concentrated hops, I’m going to spread that info to anyone interested….

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Back on the 9th ...

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).

... and I opened the 2nd sample bottle last night. After two weeks conditioning at 60F - 62F with the original yeast, carbonation level was good. I'll let it condition for a couple of weeks before focusing on the flavor aspects (although early trials with flavor salt additions hint that adding a little added Na, maybe 10ppm, may be helpful).

eta: This was the Irish Red kit where I used Cascade & Centennial rather than Willamette in an attempt to make an American Amber rather than an Irish Red. It's plausible that the mineral content for the other kits DME is similar - but I'm open to the possibility that it varies between the various types of the kit DME.

 

[IrondaleBrewing]

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.

Very cool testing! Thanks for sharing!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I'll let it condition for a couple of weeks before focusing on the flavor aspects (although early trials with flavor salt additions hint that adding a little added Na, maybe 10ppm, may be helpful).

Here's a simple way to exBEERiment with table salt (NaCl) & a glass of beer. Assume a bottle of sea salt with a grinder. Pour a glass of beer. Add "a half spin" of salt from the bottle. For my pallet, it makes a slight positive change in the beer.

 

[mashdar]

I started a Flash red ale. The basement has been ~63F. I used distilled water this time to give it it's best chance to shine.

I started spunding at ~70hr after pitch. I'm on day 8, and the pressure is still steadily climbing. It's at 15.1 psi, +0.9 psi vs yesterday.

I'm surprised at how slowly it's going. I guess it doesn't like low 60s. I can't find a published temperature range, though. (Maybe on the now-recycled instructions?)

edit: Worth mentioning the instructions say 10-14 days. Maybe I'm just spoiled.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I'm surprised at how slowly it's going. I guess it doesn't like low 60s.

caution: this is a sample size of 2. So your (and my) milage may vary over time.

About a month ago (Oct 13th), I brewed a 2.5 gal batch of the Irish Red Ale using the kit DME & yeast. Ambient temperature was around 65F. Wort went to 71F early on the 15th. Waited almost three weeks for krausen to fall - ended up doing a short cold crash to finish that. Bottles carbonated in about a week at ~ 60F. 1st bottle(s) suggest a little more time for conditioning.

Last week (Nov 10), I used the other half of the kit yeast with Muntons extra light DME. Pitched yeast with wort at 68F; ambient temperature was 61F. Temperature inside fermenter was 65F for 4 days, then dropped to 61F this morning (ambient is 60F). Looks like I'll bottle condition this batch in the 59F - 60F range.

How low can it go? So far, a 60F basement (with no temperature control) appears to be fine. Assume 2 weeks fermenting and two weeks bottle conditinong. I may put one of the IPA kits in the brewing backlog for early next year - as the basement will be heading towards 55F.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Has anyone that's done one of these flash brewing kits, been brave enough to fill a clear bottle, and confirm that these hops cannot be light-struck?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

let's continue down a side topic ...

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 like 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.

Williams Brewing (HomeBrewTalk sponsor) makes a number of style specific LMEs for their kits - and also offers those LMEs "à la carte". My (limited) experience with these LME products is that they can deliver them fresh (and I can store them properly).

Will MoreBeer do something similar with their Flash Brewing DME products?

I hope so.

but all together the flash idea is new IMO

and IMO, "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts".

But, as always "time will tell".

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I'm surprised at how slowly it's going. I guess it doesn't like low 60s. I can't find a published temperature range, though. (Maybe on the now-recycled instructions?)

edit: Worth mentioning the instructions say 10-14 days. Maybe I'm just spoiled.

Over in a different topic thread (link), I brewed a Muntons DME IPA using the kit yeast. After ten days, it was at 80% AA and two weeks, it's at 84% AA. I'll give it another week (three weeks from pitching yeast) before taking another hydrometer sample.

FWIW: yeast was pitched into 68F wort with a basement temperature in the 60F-62F range; no temperature control; not pressure fermented.

 

[mashdar]

Yeah, at 15 days at ~63F, I am still suspecting some minor activity. I'm not motivated enough to take readings, so it'll sit another week.

 

[IrondaleBrewing]

Has anyone that's done one of these flash brewing kits, been brave enough to fill a clear bottle, and confirm that these hops cannot be light-struck?

I didn't use clear bottles, but I did ferment a batch in an uncovered clear Fermonster sitting on a table in my brewery and there was no skunking.

 

[mashdar]

OK, "red" ale now on tap. It is beer.

Prior to my thoughts, a few caveats:

1. This time I used distilled water with no adjustments.
2. I fermented for 18 days in a keg at 63F, spunding to a target 2.5vol after 3 days. I put it in the serving fridge after 18 days, and tasted it three days later. Took longer than I expected. Next time at this temperature, I wouldn't spund until day 5-7.
3. Serving from fermenter. Obviously not standard practice for these kits.
4. I made a half batch. I weighed everything fairly meticulously.

Tasting notes:

• Appearance: Much less head than the pale ale. Does not stick around. Not much lacing. The color is a dark gold. Nothing red about this beer. I expect a red to be ~10-15 SRM, but this is closer to 7-8. No roasted barley hues that I can make out. edit: Second pour had slightly more head. Not sure what was up with the first one.
• Aroma: Faint rubbing alcohol and earthy hop. A touch of sweet malt. Not much going on in the nose.
• Flavor: Not much in the flavor department. Ever so slightly tart and boozy. If I bought a bottle of this, I'd figure it had sat on the shelf for a year. No oxidation flavors, but not much of anything. If I focus really hard on the aftertaste, I get a hint of ... vienna? Maybe a little acetaldehyde.
• Mouthfeel: Fine. Maybe ever so slightly syrupy.
• Overall: It's drinkable. I don't find much to love. I think a steeped* bit of roasted barley would potentially make this an OK beer. This is a bit of a blank canvas. (*Would this require boiling to avoid contamination? IDK.)

edit: I feel like roasted barley should be pretty sterile due to the roasting process. I wonder if you could "dry-malt" the beer, adding an ounce of grain on day 3. I'd welcome some extra tannins if it made the beer more interesting.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

The idea of adding pasteurized (or boiled) steeped wort is discussed in books by Gordon Strong and Chris Colby.

Cold steeping tends to mute flavors.

Boiling the steeped wort will kill off any 'nasties' that may be unintentionally added between the roasting of the malts and the steeping of the malts.

The risk / reward trade off for not boiling a steeped wort is yours to make.

Personally, I see no reward (to not boiling the steeped wort) for the additional risk.

 

[IslandLizard]

Personally, I see no reward (to not boiling the steeped wort) for the additional risk.

Steeping dark roasted malts at 130-140°F for 30-60 minutes, then heating to 150-160F for 10-15 minutes should pasteurize that dark wort enough to kill off any clinging nasties.

Although the difference can be subtle, I prefer the flavor from dark malts that were steeped, then pasteurized, over including them in the mash and boiling the resulting dark wort for an hour or longer.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

so 40 to 75 minutes plus time for heating (70°F to 140°F & 130°F to 160°F) and cooling to 70°F.

With that amount of time, one could do a short partial boil and cool using a"no chill" approach:

• steep from ambient to 160°F while heating the water to a boil
• add DME, maybe some hops, maybe boil some for hop bitterness / flavor
• hop stand?
  • use chilled water to drop wort temp to 170F, add hops
  • heat to only 180F, add DME (wort drops to 170F) add hops
• move wort to 'no chill' container

At this point, brew day duration depends on how fast can one heat water.