For those who brew with kits

[BadKarma]

I had an email chat with the folks at AHS about scaling their kits to different sizes, example: 2.5 gal, 5 gal, and 10 gal.

Would anyone else see this as a nice option?

 

[Yooper]

I guess it never occurred to me. I always do 5 gallon batches, so I wouldn't need it.

 

[ArroganceFan]

I have only brewed one batch so far, but with the equipment I have 5 gal seems to be about perfect. Although, I could see the usefulness in a 2.5 gal. With 10 gal you need more specific equipment and that stuff seems to be more tailored towards AG brewing. I am pretty new though, so my perceptions could be way off.

 

[Nostrildamus]

I know this may fall on deaf ears and that not everyone wants to spend a vast amount of time formulating recipes etc. etc.... but you really will benefit from getting the heck away from brewing with kits and getting into really crafting your own beer.

You can have all the benefits of batch size adaptability and such and in the end probably expend far less effort and produce a far better product.

Give it some consideration, regardless of your situation.

In the end, if you want to scale a kit to a half portion or double it would you simply not hold back half of the ingredients and refrigerate the other half or buy two kits for a 10 gallon batch? If cost is the issue I must refer you back to brewing non-kit batches.

 

[BadKarma]

This was directed at their HUGE selection of AG Clone kits.

I brew AG and wanted to try some of the clones of Beer I can't get here in this BMC backwater. But I really don't want to commit to 5 gals of something I may not like.

And the option of a 10 gal kit would be great for someone brewing for an event. My LHS is kinda limited on some of the grains they offer.

Just a thought.

 

[BadKarma]

Nostril,

I already do that, I was just wanting to try some clones of stuff I can't get here.

Kinda hard to formulate a recipe of something I have no idea what it tastes like.

 

[david_42]

Clone kits are fun! I'll probably never stop making them. Let's me taste professional brews I can't get here.

OP - The only time I made ten gallons of something, I just purchased two kits.

 

[djhead]

There is no way I could justify 10 gallons of beer to my wife.
No way.

 

[CollinsBrew]

That's too bad...

 

[doublegun]

I think once we fiond something that we want to brew again, I'll have a hard time talking my wife OUT of brewing 10 gallons. She rules! "Baby, shouldn't we get another carboy? When are we gonna start kegging?" etc...

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

I find kits that don't list the recipes as a sort of a slap in the face. It robs you of the opportunity to learn.

When you buy a kit, you may love it. Or you may think it needs a little bit of this or a little bit of that. When you buy a kit with unknown ingredients, you will never be able to "go off" of that kit. You will be stuck buying it forever.

On the other hand, if you buy a kit from NorthernBrewer, or assemble your recipe from a Clone Brews book, then you get to learn what makes the recipe tick. You learn a lot more about what makes a beer taste the way it does.

I really can't imagine why someone would buy a kit if they didn't know what was in it. It seems to me like it will retard your education as a brewer. You will learn less.

Heaven forbid you ever stumble upon a brew you love and just want to make a couple little modifications.


I wouldn't buy a "make your own lasagna" kit. I won't buy a clone kit either... Unless I know what I'm buying.

 

[c.n.budz]

The owners of my lhbs also wrote Clone Brews and Beer Captured, so I learned brewing by making their kits. How better to judge your skills than by trying to reproduce something tasty and familiar?

I like brewing kits because it gives me a base for what the beer should taste like, but you can't grow as a brewer if you don't walk out on a limb and take some risks with your recipes here and there...

 

[Speranza]

2.5 gallon batches huh? I bet those jugs of cheap wine they sell at the liquor store would be AWESOME carboys for that. If you get the ingredients right of course

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

The owners of my lhbs also wrote Clone Brews and Beer Captured, so I learned brewing by making their kits. How better to judge your skills than by trying to reproduce something tasty and familiar?

I like brewing kits because it gives me a base for what the beer should taste like, but you can't grow as a brewer if you don't walk out on a limb and take some risks with your recipes here and there...

I see nothing wrong with brewing kits... so long as you know what is in them. If they refuse to give you the recipe though, well then, you won't learn nearly as much. Maybe you brewed 8 recipes and hated 3 and each of those 3 used a certain hop.. or a certain malt... If you knew what was in the kit, you'd have it figured out. If you were brewing without the recipe though, you might not have a clue.

I think kits are great. Recipes are great. Kits without recipes suck. It deprives you of what most brewers really want, which is knowledge of brewing.

 

[david_42]

AHB always includes the grain bill. One of the reasons I like them so much. Discovered my favorite porters ran 2-3 times as much caramel as typical porter recipes.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

AHB always includes the grain bill. One of the reasons I like them so much. Discovered my favorite porters ran 2-3 times as much caramel as typical porter recipes.

Really? I thought they didn't include it, so I never bought from them.... i remember reading something by them saying that they don't give out their recipes. I took that to mean that even buying a kit wouldn't be enough to get the recipe...

 

[Mutilated1]

I would definitely like to see the option to get a 10 gallon kit, the only drawback that I can see is that 10 gallons would be kind of heavy to manage, and most of the equipment available is for 5 gallons.

5 gallons seems kind of small to mess with in my opinion, 10 gallons would be much more worthwhile.

 

[doublegun]

We ordered a couple of kits from AHS today. They aint gonna tell us what the ingredients are?

 

[magno]

AHB always includes the grain bill. One of the reasons I like them so much. Discovered my favorite porters ran 2-3 times as much caramel as typical porter recipes.

We ordered a couple of kits from AHS today. They aint gonna tell us what the ingredients are?

It appears that they will. :cross:

 

[brewt00l]

<confusion>Yes, the AHS kits come with an instruction sheet that lists all of the ingredients in the kit. </end confusion>

I think that some smaller sized kits would be an interesting option. There are a number of "clone" brews that I am interested in brewing but don't really want 5 gallons of either....

 

[BadKarma]

In my emails with AHS, they confirmed that they DO include the recipe.

 

[doublegun]

Upon opening the box from AHS, yes, they do indeed include the recipe.

 

[brewt00l]

For anyone keeping score:

3 - Yes, I have used a AHS kit and it has ingredient list
1 - Yes via email they have a list
1 - I thought they did not have an ingredients list

 

[BadKarma]

Thanks brewt00l for keeping score.

 

[RadicalEd]

Lolz at brewt00l.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

I enjoy both brewing from clone kits. I don't think it's any different than brewing someone else's recipe you find on this site. The clone kits (I've only ever done AHS clones) are cool because it lets you learn the ingredients that contribute to the tastes of different beers (that you hopefully like), even more so than just a WAG at different ingredients in your own recipes IMHO.

I've also thrown together several batches of my own design. They've usually turned out very well. Sometimes I'm not sure quite what to call them, though - Sparky's Frankenstein Ale I, II, III, etc. ? I guess I need to learn more about all the different styles.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

For anyone keeping score:

3 - Yes, I have used a AHS kit and it has ingredient list
1 - Yes via email they have a list
1 - I thought they did not have an ingredients list

Score update:

4 - Yes, I have used a AHS kit and it has ingredient list

:fro: