Freaxta Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Hi all, New brewer here, so sorry if its been discussed already! I got a Craft brew kit for fathers day and im not much of a craft beer drinker so was wondering if you can buy the 1.7kg Extracts and just use 1.3kg or will it make it all out of whack?? Im hoping someone has some sort of formula worked out to use them?? Cheers Ash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Hi Ash, you are right this topic has come up before. Try the following links for some advice and welcome to the forum. BREWING NEWBIE WITH SOME QUESTIONS USING CRAFT BEER KIT WITH ORIGINAL BREW CANS Or try a search in the forum by entering "Craft Kit" or similar Cheers Shamus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I bottled a pale ale up last night that tastes very promising! 1.7kg Mexican Cerveza kit 150g Simpson's Light Crystal malt (steeped) 40g Dr Rudi at flameout (after boiling the steeping liquid) 60g Dr Rudi dry hop Made up to 11 litres with a 4 litre ice brick and cold tap water, then fermented with S-04 / BRY-97 blend slurry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freaxta Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 12 hours ago, porschemad911 said: I bottled a pale ale up last night that tastes very promising! 1.7kg Mexican Cerveza kit 150g Simpson's Light Crystal malt (steeped) 40g Dr Rudi at flameout (after boiling the steeping liquid) 60g Dr Rudi dry hop Made up to 11 litres with a 4 litre ice brick and cold tap water, then fermented with S-04 / BRY-97 blend slurry That makes no sense to me at all haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 What do you usually drink? Just because the thing is called a craft kit doesn't mean you can only brew craft beer styles in it. A fair few of the 1.7kg kits are craft beer styles or can be turned into them as well. There are a couple of methods I've seen others using to brew 1.7kg kits in the small FV. One involves using a low bittered kit like the Mexican Cerveza to 11L like John posted above, another method is basically doing it like a full 23L batch but using half the ingredients in the 10-11L, e.g. instead of a kit and kilo of added fermentables you use half the kit and 500g added fermentables. The only thing that isn't halved is the yeast, pitch the whole pack (you can scoop some out of the fermenter after bottling the batch to pitch into the next one if you use the half kit method). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freaxta Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 15 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said: What do you usually drink? Just because the thing is called a craft kit doesn't mean you can only brew craft beer styles in it. A fair few of the 1.7kg kits are craft beer styles or can be turned into them as well. There are a couple of methods I've seen others using to brew 1.7kg kits in the small FV. One involves using a low bittered kit like the Mexican Cerveza to 11L like John posted above, another method is basically doing it like a full 23L batch but using half the ingredients in the 10-11L, e.g. instead of a kit and kilo of added fermentables you use half the kit and 500g added fermentables. The only thing that isn't halved is the yeast, pitch the whole pack (you can scoop some out of the fermenter after bottling the batch to pitch into the next one if you use the half kit method). Usually drink Carlton Dry or Great Northerns. When you say scoop some out of the fv, you mean the gunk left in the bottom after bottling yeah?? sorry new to this so just want to be sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Yes that's what I meant by scooping some out. You only need about a third of it. You might not get a beer exactly like those unless you're able to do proper lager brewing or at least temperature controlled brewing. My first batch was a kit intended to be like those types of beer, and it didn't really turn out like it being fermented with ale yeast at whatever ambient temperature was in the middle of December. The high temp and too little yeast were the main causes of it tasting crap. It may have been better if I'd been able to keep it at 18 degrees. Fast forward to a year or so ago and even though I don't like those beers anymore I thought I'd have a crack at one just for shits and giggles to see it I could get it closer with the knowledge and improved processes I'd adopted. It was an all grain batch rather than a kit, with 500g raw sugar. Did the whole cool lager fermentation process and it turned out almost exactly the same as a commercial example, with just a tad more hop flavor. To get something like it with a kit, I'd try the Mexican cerveza kit. Use half the kit, plus 350g light dry malt and 150g sugar or dextrose. Mix to 10 litres. Pitch the kit yeast and try to ferment it at 18 degrees. A wet towel around the fermenter and/or sticking it in a tub of water kept cool with ice bricks or frozen water bottles will keep the temp down. That will keep it clean like those beers are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freaxta Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 cheers for the help, something to try in the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worry wort Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 On 10/15/2018 at 11:59 AM, Freaxta said: That makes no sense to me at all haha im looking for a translator too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 On 10/17/2018 at 9:55 PM, worry wort said: im looking for a translator too.... Translation... A couple of days before brewing, boil 4l water and freeze in a sanitised container. On brew day, steep 150g Light Crystal Malt in 1 litre 70C water for 30 mins. Strain, top up to 5l and boil for 15 mins. Turn off the heat, add 40g Dr Rudi hop pellets, stir in the Mexican Cerveza kit and pop the lid on. Allow to steep for 15 mins. Meanwhile sanitise your Craft fermenter and pop the 4l ice brick into it. Strain your boiled liquid into the fermenter on top of your ice brick. Top up to 11l with cold tap water. When down to low 20s C temperature (won't take long), add yeast, then ferment at a nice temperature for your yeast strain of choice. After a week or so, add 60g Dr Rudi hop pellets into the fermenter (contained in a stainless infuser or mesh hop bag if you like). Bottle after another week or so, checking for a stable FG. Should be a nice pale ale. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonPolo Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Just a little point for new brewers I assume that by "On brew day, steep 150g Light Crystal Malt in 1 litre 70C water for 30 mins.", you mean steep 150g Light Crystal Malt (cracked by the local brewshop, or cracked in some other fashion at home)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Yep need to crack the grain... Rolling pin and a zip lock bag will do the trick nicely if it hasn't been cracked by the LHBS. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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