NB Kiwi Express anyone tried it? How is it?

[serie171]

So I'm a beginner... on my 4th brew.

So I saw the Kiwi Express Extract Kit at NB and was intrigued, something different... so why not. So I bought it and brewed. But, I should have asked... Is it any good? I'm at about 2 weeks in my primary. When I brewed the hops smelled awesome, so I'm hoping for the best!

Anyone brewed it before or tried it? Good?

Not saying that this beer will be anything like it... but for a frame of reference... my favorite IPA at the moment is Bell's Two Hearted. Another quick question... Are there any extract kits that will get me close to a clone of Bell's TH??

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

good luck with it! google at the top here there's a few different recipes for bells two hearted clones. i haven't tried them personally so you'll have to make the decision on which one you go with..have fun

 

[guldalian]

I was wondering what kind of hops come with that kiwi express kit? I'm thinking of doing an all NZ hopped IPA this spring.

 

[ripkenfan]

NB has an extract Two Hearted clone called "Dead Ringer". I made it for my last kit. It is pretty good. It ended up with a bit of a soapy aftertaste but I am pretty sure that is my technique. It was only my fifth brew.

Sent from my VS840 4G using Home Brew mobile app

 

[ripkenfan]

I don't know why my phone did the emoticon. Stupid technology. Dead Ringer is the name.

Sent from my VS840 4G using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Stepp2]

This kit comes with Nelson, wakatu, motueka. Tomorrow I dry hop 5gal. How did yours turn out? Any recommendations? Used WLP01 in starter. Took off and doing well. Really wakes up at 70 degrees.

 

[Owly055]

Sounds like a good hop combo....... depending on how it's used. Nelson is my all time favorite hop, and it pairs very well with Motueka, or any of the fruity hops that are described as stone fruit, passion fruit, etc..... not as well with the popular American C hops used in IPAs. I've never brewed with Whakatu, but I'm sure from the description that it will work well as a third hop.
One of my favorite combos is Calypso for bittering, along with Nelson and Motueka.... All "kiwi" hops.

H.W.

 

[Rickram88]

I know this thread is a little old but that's ok.

I am a beginner also and have brewed 4 good batches on my own. Kiwi Express extract kit, for me, has been the best beer that I have made. As I was cooking, I was worried about the overload bitterness this beer would have because of the amount of hops, but nope. I love dry hops.

 

[Stepp2]

I liked the results. I would agree with an earlier post that it's definitely a fruity hopped beer. Stone fruit and melon were the front flavors. NB kits have always been great. Even in my early years of brewing it came out good.
As far as B2Hearted. Your right by saying they are not the same. I loved the clone from Beer Smith. Excellent. If you like an easy drinking hoppy pale ale or session IPA this is one you have to do.
If you like 2Hearted you shoud also try the All Day by Founders.

 

[Chrisbrewbeers]

I did kiwi express as one of my first all grain brews, it was good. Darker color than I expected but good.

 

[csandvik]

I just bottled this up. Can't wait to try.

 

[KeninMN]

I did the all grain version. I've found that the color of the extract clone recipes tend to be darker than the real thing. From my notes I found that there was a lot of nice, tropical fruit and lime flavors, with very low bitterness, and that the hop flavors faded fast. If I brew it again I'll double the 60 minute bittering charge and may even add some Citra hops to the dry hopping charge.

Also, Dead Ringer lives up to it's name! Although, again, the extract version is quite a bit darker than real Bells Two Hearted...