Review the Pre-Hopped Kits (lazy man's beer)

[EoinMag]

I've done a few all malt kits from Woodfordes.
Wherry - Excellent bitter.
Nog - Lovely old style porter.
Admirals reserve - Nice hoppy strong ale.
Great Eastern - Beautiful golden ale.

I have only good things to say about them, but then I haven't move on to pure extract or AG yet.

http://www.woodfordes.com/

 

[SeamusMac]

Wrong bud,I cant stand cascade.I use centennial or sometimes palisade,never cascade.

To date everyone who has tried it has liked it. I didn't say everyone liked Cascade.

Funnily enough, I got a muntons IPA kit and was thinking about sry hopping for about a week with some Amarillo that I've got kicking around. 1 oz should be okay?

I found 1 oz. for 11 days was too much at first... so 1 oz. might be right for you if only dry-hopping for 1 week. After 4 weeks in the bottle the flavour of the hops was still very noticeable but less-so and what I had expected it to be from the beginning. I believe that with the proper amount of malt extract the balance will suit my pallet once bottle-conditioning is through.

 

[johnd4]

Quote:
Originally Posted by johnd4 View Post
I made a Coopers Real Ale and it was ok but needed a little something. The second batch was dry hopped with cascade and it was much, much better. Embarking on a Coopers IPA this weekend.

So you dry hopped the Cooper's real ale kit and it turned out well or was it another kit?

Yes, it was a second batch of Real Ale. I did a third batch and made some mistakes (like adding too much water, trying to add DME to make up for it, etc.) and the end result is not something I would want anyone else to taste but it is drinkable-esp. in these 102-103 Deg. F. days we have been having lately.

 

[Panther1911]

I did the Coopers Lager can for my first brew. I used the can and 2.5 lbs of corn sugar.

I would personally rate it 2.5, but most feedback I've got from others would be like 4.5. It tastes a little sour to me from to much corn sugar. But every one who I have served it to really likes it. A few people asked me to take some home so they can have more and give a taste to their spouse. One of my buddies was about to stop over and asked of I had any left, when I said that I did he got real excited. It tastes a little too BMC for me. But when I while I am waiting for my other brews to be finished and I run out of store bought beer I don't mind drinking a it. I'd say its a great beer to serve to BMC drinkers, but if I am going to take the time and effort to brew beer, I want something better.

 

[SeamusMac]

I'd say its a great beer to serve to BMC drinkers...

This sounds like exactly what I should be making to fill corny kegs I plan on lending to friends throughout the up and coming school year :cross: I hate BMC, in fact I've often ordered water instead of any of those at restaurants that don't serve anything even half-way decent, like Rickard's.

Did you actually lager it?

I'm assuming that your friends would rate it 4.5/5 against BMC, which would be 5/5 in their seriously misguided opinions ha ha.

 

[Panther1911]

I did not lager it, it uses standard coopers ale yeast (comes with it). I had it in the primary for a week then in the bottles for 3. If I could do it over again I would have left it in the primary for 2 weeks.

As far as BMC goes. If you are making some for your friends, a "BMC clone kit" might be better. The coopers couldnt get any easier to make. But for my second brew I made morebeer.com's American Lite, it came out a little better than the coopers lager, but it does require a 60min biol for hop additions.

 

[ManyBrews]

bottled my first brew last night, cooper's ipa. tasted amazing, even flat, after 14 days in primary, but i could be bias :>)

 

[carbon111]

Here's the recipe I use with Munton's Old Ale kit for an amazing brew!

2 cans Muntons Old Ale (6 lbs, 10 oz)
2 lbs Light DME
1/2 oz Magnum (12.7 AA) finishing hops

Bring 3.5 gallons of water to a boil

Take off heat and stir in Muntons old Ale kits (warmed in hot sink water to make pouring easy) and Light DME

After complete mixing, turn heat on again and return to boil

Set timer at 15 minutes, start it then add the hops

When timer stops, cool wort as quickly as possible - an ice bath for the brew kettle in the sink works great

When wort is at 70 degrees F pour into fermenter and top up to 5.5 gallons with bottled water

Stir vigorously to introduce lots of air

Take a hydrometer sample

Pitch both yeast packets from kits by sprinkling on foam

Seal fermenter and apply airlock

Wait

 

[wesfriday]

I use a lot of mutons lme kits but I double the yeast, add 3lbs DME, and add some rice syrup. 1 week in the primary fermenter, 1-2 weeks in the secondary, then 2-3 weeks bottle conditioning. All phases are placed in area set at 65 degrees and so far now matter which style I have had fantastic results. 5 stars on all mutons lme kits, if done right they're better than any thing you buy off the liqueur store shelf.

 

[derekp83]

Given the pandemic, it's time to revive this post. No way am I heading to a beer distributor. I just bought 2 Muntons prehopped kits and 3 lbs of Muntons Extra Light DME.

I've got a bunch of freezer hops of different varieties.

For each kit...

I think I'll bring 1.5 gal of water to a boil, cut the heat, pour in half a pound of DME, turn on the heat and add .50 oz of bittering hops for 30 mins. Cut the heat, add another .50 oz for aroma, and whirlpool for 5 or 10 mins. During the whirlpool, when the temperature drops below 200 F I will add the prehopped kit and another half pound to full pound of DME.

When it drops below 140 I will add the wort to my bucket that is filled with a gallon of cold tap water. Top off to probably 4 gallons, maybe 5.

 

[dwhite60]

I find it really interesting how kits are so popular in England, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand but get almost no respect here in the states.

I brew all grain but just ordered a Coopers Australian Pale Ale kit to try. I'm sure a lot of people have their judgement skewed by all the bad press kits receive.

May not end up being my regular brew but if it's good it could fill in when I don't have time to do all grain.

 

[derekp83]

I've done, I believe, 2 kits so far. A Coopers IPA about a decade ago that I don't even think I realized was hopped til after the fact, and I put an ounce of cascade in it for an hour, and probably boiled the kit for that hour, too. A friend loved it!

I tried a Muntons Irish Stout about a year and a half ago. I just used the kit and kept it to 2.5 gallons and it turned out amazing, especially after several months.

The only drawback to these kits is the underwhelming yeast packet of 7 grams. Since I paid for it, I'm gonna use it. I'd have no problem pitching the slurry from another batch, but I don't have any right now. I plan to ferment 4 gallons and that should fix the shortage of yeast cells problem.

They're fun to play with and make good beer. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Riley Henderson]

I only brew the pre-hopped kits due to mainly time restraints and currently have 6 batches in the works, I recently did a Coopers Real Ale with 2 LBS of sparkling Amber DME and about a cup of Dextrose just to bring the OG up to about 1.042. I let this one age longer then any of the other ones I have done before and absolutely loved it. That was a beer I wouldn't only serve to my friends but would be willing to pay for if it was in a store. Now I know that taste is really subjective. But I would give this 3.5 - 4 stars in my opinion. Definitely going to make it again.

 

[derekp83]

I only brew the pre-hopped kits due to mainly time restraints and currently have 6 batches in the works, I recently did a Coopers Real Ale with 2 LBS of sparkling Amber DME and about a cup of Dextrose just to bring the OG up to about 1.042. I let this one age longer then any of the other ones I have done before and absolutely loved it. That was a beer I wouldn't only serve to my friends but would be willing to pay for if it was in a store. Now I know that taste is really subjective. But I would give this 3.5 - 4 stars in my opinion. Definitely going to make it again.

What's your take on the yeast? Do your brews ferment dry enough? I plan to do 4 gallons to compensate for the 7 grams.

 

[Riley Henderson]

What's your take on the yeast? Do your brews ferment dry enough? I plan to do 4 gallons to compensate for the 7 grams.

For the Coopers real ale kit I believe I just used the supplied yeast (didnt keep the best records when I started that batch), but I started going to abit better HBS and getting better yeasts depending on the beer type. I found the 7g packet did the job but could of been better. I believe I did use less then the full 5 gallons though, probably between 4-4.5

 

[derekp83]

You know, I have a packet of Nottingham I've been meaning to use. I may use it for one kit and then put the 7 grams packets from two kits into one batch. Question is, Nottingham for the Muntons Premium Pilsner or Canadian Style Beer? New thought to ponder!

 

[PetteriSeppanen]

I have brewed a ton of prehopped kits and 100% spraymalt brews.
By far the best bang for buck have been the Thomas Coopers kits and Real ale of the classic kits.
My process is to put the DME in a 10L boiling pot and boil flavor hops for 25min and aroma hops for 15min then cool the wort in a kitchen sink with running cold water and occasional stir with a paddle. The LME kit is added straight to the fermentor and the can is rinsed with a 1L of boiling water, then follow with another 1L of boiling water to the fermentor. The LME wort is cooled rapidly by adding 3-4L of cold tap water. After the DME wort is cooled and added through a meshfilter, I add water to the 25L mark so I get 3 full cases of 24x0,33L bottles.

I have added 50-100g of hop pellets for aroma (Pale ale) and 25g of hop pellets for flavour (lager).

When conditioned for three months these recipes usually end up in the 4-5 star category and taste pretty excellent and get better the longer they age in the bottle.

 

[derekp83]

I have brewed a ton of prehopped kits and 100% spraymalt brews.
By far the best bang for buck have been the Thomas Coopers kits and Real ale of the classic kits.
My process is to put the DME in a 10L boiling pot and boil flavor hops for 25min and aroma hops for 15min then cool the wort in a kitchen sink with running cold water and occasional stir with a paddle. The LME kit is added straight to the fermentor and the can is rinsed with a 1L of boiling water, then follow with another 1L of boiling water to the fermentor. The LME wort is cooled rapidly by adding 3-4L of cold tap water. After the DME wort is cooled and added through a meshfilter, I add water to the 25L mark so I get 3 full cases of 24x0,33L bottles.

I have added 50-100g of hop pellets for aroma (Pale ale) and 25g of hop pellets for flavour (lager).

When conditioned for three months these recipes usually end up in the 4-5 star category and taste pretty excellent and get better the longer they age in the bottle.

That's excellent to hear you have had great results! I like your hop additions. I ended up being more conservative the other night, adding Crystal hops for 10 mins to the Muntons Premium Pilsner, but it took me a while to cool, so it steeped for a good 20 mins afterward.

I for one don't like the idea of pouring boiling hot wort into a plastic fermenter. Leaching and melting are my concerns. My buckets can handle 180 degrees F. I've yet to put anything above 160, and that's with cold water already in the bucket.

 

[Riley Henderson]

I recently started Mangrove Jacks Chocolate Ale craft beer kit.
Just tried 2 yesterday and HOLY COW!!!
Delicious, not much of a chocolate flavour, its more nutty, I would place it almost at a hazelnut. But I highly recommend that kit. It comes with Empire M15 Ale yeast and I used 2 LBS of Amber DME and just shy of 5 gallons RO water. Definitely a do again!

 

[derekp83]

I recently started Mangrove Jacks Chocolate Ale craft beer kit.
Just tried 2 yesterday and HOLY COW!!!
Delicious, not much of a chocolate flavour, its more nutty, I would place it almost at a hazelnut. But I highly recommend that kit. It comes with Empire M15 Ale yeast and I used 2 LBS of Amber DME and just shy of 5 gallons RO water. Definitely a do again!

I've taken a look at these kits before. A bit pricey for me, but I'm glad to hear they result in some good beer!

 

[PetteriSeppanen]

That's excellent to hear you have had great results! I like your hop additions. I ended up being more conservative the other night, adding Crystal hops for 10 mins to the Muntons Premium Pilsner, but it took me a while to cool, so it steeped for a good 20 mins afterward.

I for one don't like the idea of pouring boiling hot wort into a plastic fermenter. Leaching and melting are my concerns. My buckets can handle 180 degrees F. I've yet to put anything above 160, and that's with cold water already in the bucket.

There is no worry of melting and my brewing buckets are ok with boiling water.

 

[derekp83]

Update and tasting notes on the Muntons Premium Pilsner that I brewed in late April. I kept it in primary about 15 days and bottled. Tried a bottle this evening (still sipping it) after about 12 days, including 1 day in the fridge, and here's what I got:

Tasted the first bottle on 5/15/20. Put it in the fridge for a day I believe. It's been bottled for less than 2 weeks, and it's got decent carbonation already with a small head that sticks around, so that's good. The aroma is nice, a little sweet, grainy, maybe some sweet corn, a little subtle, and a hint of sulfur in the back. It's a little sweet in the taste, but not bad at all. I'd imagine a few more weeks and this will taste pretty nice, and sharpen up a bit. In the case that it's still too sweet at that point, I'll consider making this again with some additional bittering hops. This is a good base, though.

Altered the estimated hops in the recipe because there's no way it was "way hoppy" as my estimate was suggesting before tasting. I cut it down to 1 oz and the bitterness to gravity ratio seems way more reasonable ("slightly hoppy").

Here's the recipe, if interested. The hops are of course, my best guess (in terms of the pre-hopped content), and after tasting, I think it's a pretty good estimate. I think it's on the money SRM/color wise. I think this can make for a solid, standard pseudo-pilsner that one can experiment with. Remember, do not add the "Generic - Muntons Pilsner" hops (good luck finding them on the market anyway, lol) to the wort as that's my best guess on the pre-hopped content:

Muntons Premium Pilsner (souped-up!) - German Pilsner (Pils) (2A)
================================================================================
Batch Size 5 gal
Boil Size 1.5 gal
Boil Time 10 minutes (don't boil the pre-hopped can!)
Efficiency 70%
OG 1.042 sg
FG 1.008 sg
ABV 4.4%
Bitterness 24.4 IBU (Tinseth)
Color 4.0 srm (Morey)

Fermentables
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Muntons Premium Pilsner (LME) Extract 3.300 lb No Yes 78% 5.0 srm
Muntons DME - Extra Light Dry Extract 1.500 lb No No 95% 3.0 srm
Corn Sugar (Dextrose) Sugar 8.000 oz No No 100% 0.0 srm
Total grain: 5.300 lb

Hops
================================================================================
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Generic - Muntons Pilsner 5.3% 1.000 oz Boil 1.000 hr Pellet 21.7
Crystal 3.6% 0.500 oz Boil 10.000 min Pellet 2.7

Yeasts
================================================================================
Name Type Form Amount Stage
Danstar - Nottingham Ale Dry 2.23 tsp Primary

Notes
================================================================================
According to Kegland.com -

Typical Analysis:
Solids: 80-82%
Colour EBC: <8
Bitterness IBU: 17-31
OG: 1036° - 1040°

For bittering hops, I'm just taking an average of their IBU window.

 

[RM-MN]

Carbonation happens pretty fast. I've opened a beer that had one day room temp after bottling, then chilled 24 hours. It was carbonated but wouldn't form a head. After a week the next bottle would form a head but it wouldn't last long. At 2 weeks the head retention was better. At 3 it held a good head. That to me is the basis for suggesting that a person should wait 3 weeks before opening a bottle. As the amount of alcohol gets higher it will take longer than the 3 weeks and a darker beer like porter or stout will take longer to smooth out. I prefer the flavors of the darker beers better with 3 months or more of bottle time.

 

[derekp83]

Carbonation happens pretty fast. I've opened a beer that had one day room temp after bottling, then chilled 24 hours. It was carbonated but wouldn't form a head. After a week the next bottle would form a head but it wouldn't last long. At 2 weeks the head retention was better. At 3 it held a good head. That to me is the basis for suggesting that a person should wait 3 weeks before opening a bottle. As the amount of alcohol gets higher it will take longer than the 3 weeks and a darker beer like porter or stout will take longer to smooth out. I prefer the flavors of the darker beers better with 3 months or more of bottle time.

I agree, although I've had some strange situations, like a pale ale I made that's still not quite carbed up, and it's been about 3 weeks, yet it's been basically in the same environment, with the same conditions and temperature as the pilsner I referenced earlier. The beer is very good, but still not quite carbonated enough. I've also noticed that dark beers take longer to condition. It's funny, sometimes I'll open a brown ale or stout after 2 weeks, and the first half of the beer tastes finished, but the last half is a different story, as in still a little green.

I think there's something to be said for the fast turn around of these prehopped kits. I've had a few examples, all Muntons, where they're basically ready to bottle in 2 weeks, and ready to drink in another 2, which is faster than normal extract and 60-minute-bittering-addition recipes.

 

[Marks262]

Great info on this thread, so thanks. I have a question. Has anyone ever made one of these kits with 1/2 the water? Or, used two cans to make a 5 gallon batch? My aim is get the OG up a bit and have a higher ABV when finished. I've made a few of these and that's really my only complaint is that they all finish in the 4.5-5% ABV range and I'd love to try and get one closer to 7%-8%. Just curious on your thoughts. Thanks.

 

[Rish]

Reducing the water will increase ABV but will also boost IBUs if you're using pre-hopped kits. I'd keep that in mind as you're looking at doing this.