Aussiekraut Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I'm sure there are plenty of people here who have used them. Are they worth the extra cost? I'm looking at the "Bavarian Wheat", which is available as a regular can or a craft series pouch. I'm not worried about the extra cost if it is worth it but I'd hate to spend it with no real difference in the finished product. Any experiences anybody? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Captain!! Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Gday, I personally haven’t used them but have heard great things about the craft pouches. Pretty sure one of the winning ciders this year (Aussie HB contest) was a mangrove jack pouch, cider I know but it still won. Captain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Generally they were a top sellers in the store I worked in - particularly the IPA's and APA's. There were a few however that appeared to be a bit of a flop - the Session Ale, Helles and London Bitter. The Bavarian Wheat did OK but I think the lesser sales for this one was more a reflection of the particular styles popularity rather than the quality of the kit itself. I don't think anything out sells IPA's and APA's ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 I have used a few of these over the years: the old Burton Union, Workhorse, cider yeast, and New World Strong Ale. Workhorse was okay but no better than the ale/lager blend in the APA and Mexican Cervesa kits, so not worth the extra money IMHO. The cider yeast, which gets great reviews, wouldn't start for me and I had to add another yeast. My batches with Burton Union and New World Strong Ale both got infected. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they only are 10gm in size and that I live in Canada? They might have been exposed to poor conditions during transport or have been a bit on the old side. Anyway, I am not too interested in trying them again. Cheers, Christina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerveja Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 The Berlinner Weise pouch is my standard beer on tap. Current keg is flavoured with homegrown mulberries. So easy to brew and tastes better than any sour I've ever bought. Have also done the Grapefruit IPA (Brewdog clone). Awesome beer. I plan on trying other pouches. No dramas handing over a few more shekels if the quality is there. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 10 hours ago, ChristinaS1 said: I have used a few of these over the years: the old Burton Union, Workhorse, cider yeast, and New World Strong Ale. Workhorse was okay but no better than the ale/lager blend in the APA and Mexican Cervesa kits, so not worth the extra money IMHO. The cider yeast, which gets great reviews, wouldn't start for me and I had to add another yeast. My batches with Burton Union and New World Strong Ale both got infected. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they only are 10gm in size and that I live in Canada? They might have been exposed to poor conditions during transport or have been a bit on the old side. Anyway, I am not too interested in trying them again. Christina, the OP was asking about MJ Craft Series kits... not their yeasts! Their kits do of course include the appropriate MJ craft series yeast however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Sorry, my bad. I have only used one or two MJ kits, and it was years ago. For a short period of time they were cheaper than Coopers kits, and they had 100gm more of extract. I can't remember much about them except that one got infected, probably because it was under-pitched. Those kits (Traditional Series, not the Craft Series) didn't come with the Craft Series yeasts but rather 6gm of some unidentified yeast. I made the mistake of adding 1kg of DME to it (instead of 1kg of dextrose, which is what the instructions said to do) without adding more yeast. Actually I see they still make these kits and now the instructions say to use 1.2kg LME or 1kg dextrose. I would not add 1.2kg of yeast to these kits without making a Shaken Not Stirred starter or adding some more dry yeast. Cheers, Christina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 1.2kg of yeast would be a slight over pitch I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 Oh my, I am not doing very well today. Time to go to bed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiekraut Posted February 15, 2019 Author Share Posted February 15, 2019 6 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said: 1.2kg of yeast would be a slight over pitch I think. Maybe that's what they use at Yeasty Boys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_McGlass Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 I've done the Red IPA and the NZ Pale. Both went down very well. I did do grain mashes with them rather than adding extract though, and I added some extra hops too. A mate did the Berliner weisse and it was very good. I intend to get one of those and do it with raspberries, which i have in the freezer waiting. Very easy sour beer, and very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_McGlass Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 With regard to MJ yeast, as it has been raised! I have had good experiences. The M36 Liberty Bell is good, have used it a few times. The M44 West Coast made an excellent Black IPA for a friend. I got a very nice beer from M20 Bavarian wheat, which had orange peel and coriander and US hops, and another mate made a really nice 'pilsner' with the M54 cali lager. I also did a saison with M29 French Saison that was pretty good, though you can't match the liquid saison yeasts in my experience. I'm currently fermenting a lager with M76 Bavarian lager. These days I use a mixture of yeasts that I culture from commercial beers and other people's home brews, and dried yeasts, which are increasingly from the MJ range. I like Danstar Notty for some beers, but I reckon M42 is probably the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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