Premier malt extract

[fishnfever]

I purchased this 2.2 lbs can of premier malt extract natural hop flavored extract at a local super market. My grandfather said he made it way back in the day and it was good.

Directions are

empty the contents of the can and 2
lbs of granulated sugar or corn syrup in to the fermenting bucket Boil 1/2 gallon of water , allow to cool slightly and stir in the malt extract/sugar. Then top off with cold water. makes 5 gallons.


What do you think?

 

[A4J]

You'll be able to make beer with that. It will be drinkable, but it probably won't be the best beer you'll ever taste

 

[EvilTOJ]

That sounds worse than the no boil kits that are on the market right now. They used to have kits like that back in the day during and just after Prohibition. If you are going to make this, skip the sugar and buy a second can for more fermentables. 50% table sugar is going to not taste very good, all malt is better.

 

[cuinrearview]

I'd make it just as described, maybe have gramps over to supervise and tell prohibition stories. When it's finished, have another BS session.

This was a scary time in our country, one that shaped the way we make beer to this day. Embrace it! I wish my grandfather was still around to share stuff like this with.

 

[Tenchiro]

Sounds like an interesting thing to do, simply for learning a bit about some Americana. It would be interesting to have a competion to see who could make the best beer from one of these though.

 

[DUCCCC]

Is there any indication of the IBU on the can for a batch as done per the instructions?

Just for curiosity, I'd be curious about doing a Prohibition IPA, with 3 cans topped off to 5 gals. Nah, it'd probably be pretty bad.

If you're going to use this LME I'd see about getting a couple pounds of Light Dried Malt Extract instead of the sugar. Of course it might be fun to just do it per the directions and share it with your grandfather.

 

[HOOTER]

I'd say either do it per instructions or don't do it at all. If you start adding things like DME then you might as well dump it altogether and do a normal extract recipe. It'll be a fun, cheap, and easy experiment, and if it turns out nasty then no loss.

 

[Tenchiro]

http://www.premiermalt.com/premier.html

Looks like they have quite a few products. They list the Gravity and IBU's but not anything specific about the ingredients.

Which one did you get?

 

[Sgt. Major]

Newbie here! I just sampled my first bottle from my first attempt at home brewing. I used what sounds like the exact thing you have, the Premier malt extract. I varied the recipie a little. I only used 4.5 gallons of water. The result is a dark amber beer, creamy head, very high alcohol content, but with a pleasant taste. The taste reminds me of Heinekin in a way. It is quick and easy (like I said, this is my first try), but the beer is a little cloudy. Most likely, that's a screw up on my part. Now, I'm not sure on the specifics that some of you guys who are more experienced want to know. But as a picky beer drinker, I'm not disappointed at all.
Cheers,
Sgt. Major

 

[Warped04]

Newbie here! I just sampled my first bottle from my first attempt at home brewing ... but the beer is a little cloudy. Most likely, that's a screw up on my part.

Congrats. Glad you enjoyed it. You can add a "clarifier" like Irish Moss that may help with clearing your beer.

 

[Tenchiro]

Congrats. Glad you enjoyed it. You can add a "clarifier" like Irish Moss that may help with clearing your beer.

Will Irish Moss work on a no boil kit? Isinglass should work though.

 

[fishnfever]

Well let me face up a little here. I have made a batch of this in the past. I thought it was good NOT great but a decent every day beer. Hey think of it this way, It has more color than Budweiser, Coors or miller. Has more taste and YES it is a whole lot cheaper than any Bud etc.

Was seeing what others thought of this and find any good tips or recipes including this

Gramps loves it and it's kind of "cool" to BS with him about this beer

 

[Sgt. Major]

I bottled it, and let it sit for several days now. After cooling the beer, it cleared up nicely. The taste has greatly improved! I have to admit, it is better than most commercial beers on the market, however, it is very filling. It also has a little more potency than I like in a brew. Can't handle too many of these in one sitting! A very nice dark amber color and has hints of apples and spice in smell. The taste is smooth and crisp with a nice finish. After getting off of work (about an hour ago), I poured a glass and went out to the garden for my morning inspection. Talk about an enjoyable experience!!! A nice, cool morning with dew still on the grass, my first attempt at making beer in hand, sun shining through the brew....what a way to end a long night shift. I'm hooked!

 

[Revvy]

Wow, they're in Michigan on the same street as Dragonmead Microbrewery...interesting.

Premier Malt Products
25760 Groesbeck Hwy., Suite 103
Warren, MI 48089
Toll-Free: 800-521-1057
Local: 586-443-3355

AND they've been around for 50 years....So they were making Pre (homebrewing) Prohibition malt products....I wonder if they give tours.

A little of their history...

There were also those who sold beer-related products with a wink and a nod. For instance, Premier Malt Products shipped malt extract under a variety of names - Blue Ribbon and Banner were two of them - out of Peoria Heights, Ill., starting in 1925. And when Prohibition ended, Premier Pabst Corp. went immediately to making beer in Peoria Heights.

So they were the original maltsers of Blue Ribbon Malt extract.

They were the company that if you wrote requesting baking recipes, they sent you this;

But if you were interested in another kind of recipe, this is what happenned.

Around 1975 or '76, the first time I got interested in brewing, I bought a can of the mysterious Blue Ribbon malt syrup. The label invited me to write to Premier malt products for a recipe book, and I did. A few weeks later it arrived: a well-produced, four-color print job with recipes for using malt syrup in cakes, cookies, biscuits and the like, but not a word about making beer. A few weeks later a plain brown envelope with no return address appeared in the mail. Inside were two mimeographed sheets of beer recipes---including this recipe.
Ingredients:
1-3/4 pounds, sugar
1 can, Blue Ribbon hop-flavored malt syrup
yeast
Procedure:
Dissolve sugar and malt syrup in 6 quarts of hot water. Stir until dissolved. Pour 14 quarts of cold water into a crock that has been scoured with Arm & Hammer baking soda and rinsed with clear water. Add hot solution of malt, sugar, and water. The temperature should be about 65F. Dissolve a cake of compressed or dehydrated yeast in a small quantity of luke warm water (about 8 ounces of 75F water) and add to crock. Stir thoroughly. Cover crock with clean cloth and allow to ferment 4 or 5 days. Skim off foam after first and second days. Siphon beer into 12 ounce bottles. Before siphoning, place a scant 1/2 teaspoon of sugar into each bottle. Cap and allow to remain at 60-70F for 7-10 days. Cool and consume.
Things to remember: Cleanliness of utensils, including bottles, siphon hose, crowns and crock is essential for good results. Wash everything in soda solution or detergentbefore and after each batch. A 7 or 9 gallon crock can be used to prevent messy foam-over.

Many consumer failures can be averted by using a starter consisting of: 1 package of yeast, 2 ounces of sugar, 1 pint of 72F water. Let starter stand for 3-4 hours before mixing into crock with malt solution.

Too cool, I wonder if they have a historical archives...and if their Dry Malt Extract is any good...I think it would be fun just to tour their malting setup.

If you want to hear about actual homebrewers who used it in the 70's (including charlie Papazian) listen to this Basicbrewing podcast from a couple weeks back.

Just click to start listenning.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr02-14-08history.mp3

 

[MX1]

This is by far one of the best threads I have read on here. I really need to ahold of some of the Blue Ribbon Malt! PBR was the only beer my grandfather woulf dring, and my first beer as well ( given from his hand when I was 15). My grandfather was me hero and mentor, and for a side note, he past away from a stroke in 1987 with a PBR in hand, never spilled a drop. I can still remeber the Dr.'s talking about having to remove it from his hand.

I would deffintaly love to do a brew in his honor if I can get some of the malt.

Tim

 

[hkohl]

Made lots of this beer when I was younger. It was called Blue Ribbon made by Pabst. You could do it the easier way and go buy Chimay made by the Monks, tastes the same. EC Kraus.com has this malt. Happy brewing!

 

[Dave R]

I've made over 200 gallons using this malt extract and have used different additives like vanilla, strawberry, raspberry, cinnamon, even almonds and most have been decent beers...all are better than BMC.
The can is only $4.90 around here. I use it as directed. I tried using two cans and no sugar and I didn't like it as much.
If you are going to use this, use it according to the directions.

 

[fishnfever]

I was getting it the same way. The local supermarket sold it for 4.99. Just the other week they stopped carrying it . Oh well I am sure I will come across it local sooner or later.

I can't see paying over $16.00 off the web when I was purchasing it for under $5 local.

 

[Tomfooleryxxx]

My local market also stopped carrying it within the past month.(Hannaford) I made a ginger ale out of 2 cans and a 4" chunk of grated ginger root, sampled it while bottling wasn't too bad. Tough to beat the price even at 6.50 a can. What stores are still carrying it ? I've checked Shaws Supermarkets and WalMart they don't carry it

 

[fishnfever]

My local market also stopped carrying it within the past month.(Hannaford) I made a ginger ale out of 2 cans and a 4" chunk of grated ginger root, sampled it while bottling wasn't too bad. Tough to beat the price even at 6.50 a can. What stores are still carrying it ? I've checked Shaws Supermarkets and WalMart they don't carry it

Same store here (Hannaford) Seams to be every where.

 

[Pogo]

This is great!

I've just found this thread through a search!

What luck...I was in the local Piggly Wiggly (a supermarket chain here in the SE) this afternoon. I had a shopping list of items for the holidays coming up, and guess what I discovered right there under the Karo's Dark Brown Corn Syrup?

Yep! A whole shelf of 2.2 LB/1 Kilogram cans of Premier Malt Extract, Natural Hop Flavored, Light @ $5.69 + tax.

The cashier said that they sell tons of the stuff! (This is a DRY county, BTW!!!)

I've read the Mr. Beer thread on this forum, but this seems even easier.

I'm going to try the recipe as posted by Revvy.

If any one has any advice, experiences, to add since the last post here, I'd be grateful to know about it!

The Light is the only variety that they stock here, has anyone tried the Amber, or any of the others?

Pogo

 

[Revvy]

This is great!

I've just found this thread through a search!

What luck...I was in the local Piggly Wiggly (a supermarket chain here in the SE) this afternoon. I had a shopping list of items for the holidays coming up, and guess what I discovered right there under the Karo's Dark Brown Corn Syrup?

Yep! A whole shelf of 2.2 LB/1 Kilogram cans of Premier Malt Extract, Natural Hop Flavored, Light @ $5.69 + tax.

The cashier said that they sell tons of the stuff! (This is a DRY county, BTW!!!)

I've read the Mr. Beer thread on this forum, but this seems even easier.

I'm going to try the recipe as posted by Revvy.

If any one has any advice, experiences, to add since the last post here, I'd be grateful to know about it!

The Light is the only variety that they stock here, has anyone tried the Amber, or any of the others?

Pogo

I have a feeling you are going to be the Premeir Malt Extract Pioneer on this forum...you're going to have to keep US posted...

 

[Pogo]

I'm thinking that there is probably not much of a facility to tour up there in Michigan.

The label on the can says 'Made in the UK for...', so the Warren location is probably a warehouse.

There is a little slip of paper with directions and a recipe (with variations) under the can's plastic cover, along with a packet of dry brewers yeast.

The variations to the recipe amount to reductions in the amount of water used, which they indicate change the taste AND the ABV.

So, making less than a five gallon batch gives one a stronger tasting brew, with more kick, too.

The label also says to, "Write for recipe.", which I've decided to do.

This is so simple, and as Dave R posted above, after making more than 200 gallons with all kinds of twists, "...all are better than BMC."

If this is accurate, Premier Malt Extract is the Apfelwein of beer brewing!

Pogo

 

[DUCCCC]

....
What luck...I was in the local Piggly Wiggly (a supermarket chain here in the SE) this afternoon. I had a shopping list of items for the holidays coming up, and guess what I discovered right there under the Karo's Dark Brown Corn Syrup?

Yep! A whole shelf of 2.2 LB/1 Kilogram cans of Premier Malt Extract, Natural Hop Flavored, Light @ $5.69 + tax....
Pogo

Man, I got all excited reading this and headed to the nearest PW by my home and they didn't have any!

There's another one on the other side of town, so I still might find this stuff. I'm really wanting to make a batch of this brew for nostalgia's sake.

 

[Dave R]

It can be found in most Mom/Pop type grocery stores right by the syrups ( of which I've used different types in my beers ).

I've never seen it in the WalMart stores or any of the major brand name grocery stores.

It takes me less than an hour to make a batch using Premier.

Note: I've only seen the "Light" Malt Extract, Hop Flavored. Directions and a packet of yeast are under the lid. It must go pretty fast around here because the yeast has always been viable when I've used it.

Usually I dump my wort right on top of the previous yeast cake so I don't always use the new packets of yeast right away, but do eventually.

Pogo...where in Al. are you? We might be neighbors.

 

[Pogo]

Hey ma2brew -

I'll bet that they can order it for you. I'm thinking that it's gotta be available on their supply list.

If I was a member of a decent sized brew club, I'd consider trying to get set up as a wholesaler myself, and buy in bulk for the members.

This stuff could really get inexpensive if a few people could come together long enough to create a nice opening order, huh?

Premier's website has a toll free number.

Hey Dave -

You seem to be the resident expert on using Premier Malt Extract.

I hope that I like this first batch, cause that will mean that there will be many more!

I see that you're in the Gadsden area.

I'm way out in the farms and fields here in rural Cullman county, probably 60 miles away, at least.

Pogo

 

[djames]

You are on the mark. To clear the beer, try adding a few camden tablets. I have a batch brewing now. I also test the alcohol content at start of fermantation. and again before bottling. Before adding yeast I put the yeast in 2 ounces of warm water for about 15 minutes, then add to the wort.

 

[fishnfever]

To clear the beer, try adding a few camden tablets

I have made 20+ gallons of this last year and they all were extremely clear with out adding any thing. May let it sit longer??

 

[Socrates_the_Dog]

Wow, I used those when I first started brewing back in the early '90's. Made some decent beer as I recall.

 

[Pogo]

BTW - I called Premier's home office regarding an opening order to get set up as a wholesaler...18 cases is the amount.

Also, both Warehouse Groceries in town stock this LME as well!

$5.19 + tax!

Pogo