'Flash Brewing'? This looks interesting!

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Over in /r/homebrewing, there have been a number of topics where people were enjoying the short brew day and the good beer that the kits makes.

As I mentioned above, I split an Irish Red kit. Brewed half following the the process (but did substitute Cascade for Willamette); and used the other half to explore the individual ingredients. Short brew day and good beer. What's wrong with that?

I like the idea of making a 2nd beer while waiting for the mash to finish on the 1st beer.

 

[BrewZer]

Are there tea bags you can pack at home with hops + float?

https://www.amazon.com/200pcs-Dispo...keywords=empty+tea+bags&qid=1738944108&sr=8-6

 

[Franktalk]

Over in /r/homebrewing, there have been a number of topics where people were enjoying the short brew day and the good beer that the kits makes.

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that no one should use it. It just didn't as easy as its name would suggest. If it works for you, go for it!

 

[mac_1103]

It just didn't as easy as its name would suggest.

The fact that some people have decided to experiment with the ingredients in the kits doesn't mean that using the kits as directed isn't every bit as easy as the name suggests.

 

[Franktalk]

Point taken.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

It just didn't [seem] as easy as its name would suggest.

If it's hard to add ingredients to the boil kettle, these kits will be hard as well.

After reading about all the hacks and work-arounds, I'm convinced that I might as well keep brewing the "old fashioned" way.

I'm not here to change your mind.

---

I found that the information that MoreBeer provides for these kits is both fair and accurate. I used the instructions and made some good beer.

I also did some ingredient "hacks" recipes to learn more about the ingredients. Most of that information is in a different topic - but I've likely stopped talking about what I find due to LLMs 'vacuuming up' information and and some of those LLMs wanting to make a profit by selling it back to us.

 

[IrondaleBrewing]

I just came across this video on YouTube and that's what he does -- hops in small tea bags, and you just throw them in with the yeast before you seal it up:


So you can't control the timing of the dry hopping but in that sense it's identical to what you do with the Flash Brewing kits, and according to some of this guy's other videos, he gets good results.

I also read the suggestion somewhere that you could save one of the hop extract bottles from a Pinter kit, do your own hop tincture with vodka, and add the tincture later in the fermentation process.

Some interesting things to try.

 

[IrondaleBrewing]

Thought this was an interesting idea too -- if you want to add something at the beginning of fermentation that might clog up any of the machinery and it doesn't need to be in there after fermentation is done, put it in the dock:

 

[Bewmsn1980]

I just got my Pinter 3 kit. Did the deal on Facebook

I just came across this video on YouTube and that's what he does -- hops in small tea bags, and you just throw them in with the yeast before you seal it up:


So you can't control the timing of the dry hopping but in that sense it's identical to what you do with the Flash Brewing kits, and according to some of this guy's other videos, he gets good results.

I also read the suggestion somewhere that you could save one of the hop extract bottles from a Pinter kit, do your own hop tincture with vodka, and add the tincture later in the fermentation process.

Some interesting things to try.

Thanks for the video. I just got my Pinter 3 and started brewing my “FourPure Citrus IPA Remixed Pinter Pack” yesterday. I was looking for Pinter Hacks to try out other beers without being limited to just what Pinter offers.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I recently ordered / brewed the "I Heart IPA" kit. I split it in two (as my equipment is 2.5 gal). Some observations (sample size of two):

• a 3 gal fermenter is a little small for the 2.5 gal batch (start with a blow-off tube)
• the yeast seems to work well at 60F, but won't start at 55F.
• pitching warm (70F) then moving into the 55F area seems to work
• splitting a 7# bag of DME takes a little forethought and a little practice
• for those curious about who might be making the DME:
  • the malts used to make the DME are printed on the bag label (sample size of 2)
  • if one heats just DME from about 120F to a boil, flakes/coagulation (similar to this (link)) appear
  • at "what temperature" and "how much" varies based on brand (sample size of 5 brands) but seems to be consistent within a brand

 

[mac_1103]

PSA: Currently you can buy the Irish Red and get the Blonde Ale for half off.

 

[drewu]

I've done two Morebeer Flash Brews now, and both have tasted too sweet.

I'm pretty new to homebrew so I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if this is just how they taste. The aroma is sweet too like a strong citrusy smell. Both beers have attenuated well. This last one was the Cali Mountain Pale Ale, and I also added a pound of Dextrose to try to boost the alcohol up, and added more hops because I'm making this more of an IPA, but here's where the strange part starts:

Hydrometer at start: 1.050
Hydrometer at end: 1.007
Which is 5.6% and 85% apparent attenuation.

The kit claims it should end at 5.6% *without* the pound of Dextrose I added, so that's weird. I was expecting something like 6.5% ABV with that in there. My fermenting was started at 68F and dropped down to 64 over a few days. Everything was temperature controlled in a fermzilla with a hop bong on top, I added just the 1oz of Cascade on day 3, and dumped trub on day 6 via the bottom airlock. When I got down to 1.008 on day 9 I boosted the temp up to 68F for 4 days for the diacetyl rest, and then down to 62F, when I dry hopped 1oz citra, 1oz mosaic, and 2oz nelson via the hop bong for no o2 ingress. It's now day 17 and it's down to 1.007 and I figure it should be done now, but I've got this same sweet smell and taste and I'm pretty frustrated. The water wasn't treated other than running through a filter, and the salts here are very minimal.

The first Flash Brew kit I made I just followed the directions and didn't do anything different and it still came out with the same sweet taste and smell, even without my Dextrose doping. I've heard people talk about a "homebrew taste" before and maybe that's what this is? In any case, how do I get rid of that?

 

[mac_1103]

I've done two Morebeer Flash Brews now, and both have tasted too sweet...

How did you get an accurate OG if you followed the instructions and just dumped everything into the fementer? Hard to imagine a beer with a FG of 1.007 tasting too sweet. Cascade hops in the fermenter might explain a citrusy aroma.

 

[drewu]

How did you get an accurate OG if you followed the instructions and just dumped everything into the fementer? Hard to imagine a beer with a FG of 1.007 tasting too sweet. Cascade hops in the fermenter might explain a citrusy aroma.

I have both a RAPT pill in there, and added co2 pressure and pulled a sample out via a ball lock tap. Both the pill and the hydrometer agreed. My first flash brew was the "I heart IPA" that used 100% Centennial, and that also had this same smell/taste.

 

[mac_1103]

Neither a pill nor a hydrometer will give an accurate reading if the wort isn't homogeneous. Hence my question about following the instructions to just dump everything in. Maybe you completely dissolved the DME and sugar and mixed your wort really well instead, but being able to just dump everything in is kinda the whole point of these kits.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

The kit claims it should end at 5.6%

6# DME at 42 PPG in 5 gal of water is OG 50 (6 * 42 / 5). If the yeast produces 85% attenuation, FG is 7; and ABV is about 5.6%.

To make an OG 50 wort using 6# DME and 1#, one needs about 6 gal of water.

 

[drewu]

Neither a pill nor a hydrometer will give an accurate reading if the wort isn't homogeneous.

Yeah, that was a challenge. I waited a day and gave it a good swirl before taking that first reading. It's possible it would have been higher if checked a day earlier if it was all well mixed but I assumed it was correct because it always matched the reading from the pill.

To make an OG 50 wort using 6# DME and 1#, one needs about 6 gal of water.

I hear you, and that makes sense, but I definitely only put 5 gallons in there. Before I used the fermzilla for the first time I measured out 5 gallons and made my own markings on the side so I was sure it was accurate.

 

[mac_1103]

It's possible it would have been higher if checked a day earlier if it was all well mixed but I assumed it was correct because it always matched the reading from the pill.

The gravity reading may have been correct. But if you had 6 lbs of DME and 1 lb of sugar in 5 gallons, then it definitely wasn't original.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

@drewu: check the Flash Brewing FAQ for some statements from MoreBeer on how fast this yeast works. If it's three days from OG to FG; and you took an SG measurement a day after brewing, ...

 

[mac_1103]

My first flash brew was the "I heart IPA" that used 100% Centennial, and that also had this same smell/taste.

Centennial is even more citrusy than cascade.

 

[drewu]

OK fair, so let's assume if everything was mixed and I actually took a reading at the start, it would have been 1.059? and I really have a 6.8% ABV beer right now. That solves that part of the dilemma, but I still don't know why these beers taste so weird.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Sweetness:

• The Cali Mountain Pale Ale kit comes with 6# DME & a 30 IBU "hop shot".
• Adding 1# sugar results in an OG 60 wort (ABV 6.8% at 85% AA).
• The BU:GU ratio for the customized recipe is around 0.5

 

[drewu]

BU:GU ratio for the customized recipe is around 0.5

Ok this is a new concept for me, are you saying that the IBU’s being too low are what causes the sweet aroma/taste?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Ok this is a new concept for me, are you saying that the IBU’s being too low are what causes the sweet aroma/taste?

I'm offering it as a possibility.

Also, while adding 1# sugar to a 5 gal Pale Ale recipe will raise the ABV into the IPA range, there's a lot more to the IPA style (vs the Pale Ale style) than just ABV.

 

[drewu]

I don't believe that's it. I've had a lot of low IBU IPA's before and they don't taste like this. I have done a BJCP class where we went over off flavors, and it doesn't taste like Acetaldehyde (green apple) and doesn't taste like Isoamyl Acetate (banana) either, but those seem like the closest possibilities.

 

[mac_1103]

low IBU IPA

Define "low." Below 40 and it's not really an IPA anymore. Of course, this isn't an IPA kit, so there's that.

 

[drewu]

Define "low." Below 40 and it's not really an IPA anymore. Of course, this isn't an IPA kit, so there's that.

True, though NEIPA's can go down to 25. My first flash brew contained two of the hopbite shots for 60 IBU's and it still had this flavor I'm talking about.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

My first flash brew contained two of the hopbite shots for 60 IBU's and it still had this flavor I'm talking about.

My first flash brew was the "I heart IPA" that used 100% Centennial,

Maybe it's a yeast specific flavor that you are sensitive to.

eta: Maybe it's the hop profile from the cryo hops. I'm just about ready to bottle a split batch from the I Heart IPA kit. It came with Yakima Chief Centennial hops - and I'm getting tropical flavors. In the past, I've brewed with "Bell's Select" T90 Centennial hops. The Yakima Chief Cryo and "Bell's Select" T90 hops definitely had/have a different flavor profile.

But, honestly, your best path may be to start a polite discussion with MoreBeer support. They currently have much more experience with these kits than anyone here.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

2 gal Flash Brewing kits (uses a 3 gal fermenter) are available at MoreBeer.

 

[mashdar]

2 gal Flash Brewing kits (uses a 3 gal fermenter) are available at MoreBeer.

Cool!