# Brigalow - Stay Away (?)



## quantocks

so after one week in the bottle (I know, not long enough) I decided to chill a bottle of Brigalow Bitter and see if the smell or flavour was any different from the absolutely DISGUSTING taste/smell from the primary fermenting vessel.

here's two photos, after a quick taste test, it smells almost like apple juice/yeast flavoured, it's as clear as anything, but it just doesn't have any beer characteristics at all ?

fair enough, it's only been in the bottle for one week but surely it can't get any better than this garbage?

I used,

1x brigalow bitter goop
1kg dextrose
kit yeast

brewed to 20 litres

in primary for 2.5 weeks,












I can't believe how clear it is compared to my other brew which looked like it had dust all through it 

but it tastes like poo. anyone else done this brew?


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## InCider

Hey Quantocks (had to use a capital, sorry! :lol: )

It's a lager - it will take a lot longer to lose some of the smells etc. That might be 6-8 weeks. Put down as many brews as you can so you can age your lagers and really enjoy them unhurried.

Cheers,

InCider.


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## tazman1967

Nothing wrong with the kit, thats what you get with 1kg of Dex...Alcohol only, no body or "lacing" down the glass. You need to add some malt or other unfermetables to the brew. Also use some extra hops for flavour..either in pellet or teabag form. For this style some Goldings hops would have been nice.
Cheers
Keep on brewing..dont get too disappointed with your efforts.


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## QIK86

The more I brew, the more I'm finding that time heals all brews. 

Give it another month and it'll be a different beer!


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## buttersd70

Make up a label that says "Quantocks' Finest Cider", that will fix everything  :lol: 
sorry, couldn't help myself.

Qik is close, time heals many (but not all) brews.

IMHO, I think the main issue is way too many simple fermentables.


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## quantocks

I've got a Coopers Real Ale in fermenter right now, with that instead of 1KG dex I used a Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 and it actually tastes (straight from the fermenter) like BEER!

almost actually like real beer, haha.. I might just stick to Coopers and stay away from Brigalow.

could it just be i used no BE in this batch? if I want to hit ~5% in my brew, do I use more brew enhancer or do I use a combo of dex and BE?

at the moment I just want things as simple as possible, I've been scouring this forum and i get so confused with all the mashing, sparging, lautering, boiling, steeping talk all I want is to chuck the can of goo in, throw in some sugar/whatever stir it around, sprinkle on yeast and then seal the lid!


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## Bribie G

OK here's the lowdown on Brigalow.

They started off in the 1970s based in Beenleigh in QLD and made a friggn' fortune during the beer strike in QLD in 1979 when XXXX workers walked off the job. This really made the home brew market in QLD and before long every town had a LHBS. I was living in Bundaberg and my mate at the LHBS was urgently looking for someone to manage a new store he wanted to set up in Maryborough. Yours truly obliged and the 'Brew Place' in Maryborough was set up (I managed it for a couple of years).

Brigalow put out a range of beer kits such as Bitter, Extra Bitter, Pilsener etc based on non-kettled brews consisting of malt extract, glucose syrup and a shot of hop extract. The main vehicle was the brewery in a box ( $19.99  ) with the fermenter, and everything that is basically in the Coopers kit today less the PET bottles. The resulting brews were nothing like commercial beers and had a strange twang, but if stored for a few weeks and drunk cold would get you pi$$ed.

Coopers came into the market in 1980 with two types of product. Initially they had a big 5 gallon cube of wort (stout or bitter) similar to today's fresh wort kits that you just poured into your fermenter, then later a bag in a box similar. Nectar, but not to last.
Soon in the 80s they went into vacuum-concentrated cans, as they do today, and sort of took over Brigalow's segment of the market. Other wannabees like Tooheys then came in.

When I got back into HB recently I saw that Brigalow was still going and tried a Bitter kit to see how it would go.

It took 3 weeks to ferment, and after a few weeks I cracked one and guess what, the twang is still there, and on the first sip I was right back in the 1970s !!!

It looks nice and clear and well carbed and doesn't taste like beer. They obviously haven't learned a thing in 30 years. I put a dash of yellow lime cordial in the ones that I have left and it still gets you pi$$ed :lol: :lol:


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## InCider

Great background BribieG! 

My first kit was Brigalow Cider!  

InCider.


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## 0M39A

InCider said:


> Hey Quantocks (had to use a capital, sorry! :lol: )
> 
> It's a lager - it will take a lot longer to lose some of the smells etc. That might be 6-8 weeks. Put down as many brews as you can so you can age your lagers and really enjoy them unhurried.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> InCider.



no its not, its an ale.

just because they call it a lager on the can, doesnt mean a thing. if he used kit yeast, its an ale. lager rules dont apply.

that said, should get slightly better with age, but as the saying goes, you cant polish a turd. 

best to move on from it and stick to better kits and better fermentables than dextrose, which will add nothing to your beer besides alcohol


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## King Brown

InCider said:


> Great background BribieG!
> 
> My first kit was Brigalow Cider!
> 
> InCider.



How did it turn out? I hope not too bad, I have a Brigalow Cider going at the moment :S smells pretty good so far though


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## HoppingMad

Likewise my first kit beer was a Brigalow. I think a lot of old plastic stuff (spoons and sugar measures) I have hanging around the brewshed is made by them. They had a lot of distribution at Kmart and the like before Coopers moved in with their kits and did it better.

Agree that most of my early Brigalow Beers tasted like cider. Should have actually taken heed, and brewed Brigalow Cider! Think I did one of their Ginger beers once that turned out ok. But hard to say, might have been pissed on their cider-like ales! :blink: 

Hopper.


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## buttersd70

quantocks said:


> at the moment I just want things as simple as possible, I've been scouring this forum and i get so confused with all the mashing, sparging, lautering, boiling, steeping talk *all I want is to chuck the can of goo in, throw in some sugar/whatever stir it around, sprinkle on yeast and then seal the lid*!



Quantocks,If you want to keep things as simple as humanly possible, my suggestion would be this:

1 tin of goo
500g ldm
600g dextrose
20L
OG 1047
FG (approximate) 1010-1012

The reduction in volume will concentrate the bitterness enough that you should be able to get away with 500g ldm without it being too sweet. The dextrose is <25%, and in this volume, the alcohol should be 4.67-4.9% post ferment, with about another 0.5% in the bottling.

Buying dextrose and ldm and making your own blend is a lot cheaper than the BE as well. If you want more hop flavour, dry hop either 4 days into primary ferment, or in secondary. The easiest (but the least cost effective) way of doing this is to get the teabag type hops. Chuck it in and be done with it.

There are methods that will produce much better beer, some of them complex, some of them (reasonably) simple. But for a straight out, chuck it in, forget about it type of brew, I think thats about as good as you'll get. When you're ready to move on from that, we'll be here to (happily) help you on your way. In the meantime, I think this will give you a big improvement.


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## olde

I picked up a couple of cans of Brigalow, a stout and a lager (for next to nothing). I'm thinking of tossing them into a twocan brew with 300g of brewing sugar (more free stuff I want to get rid of). I've a choice of yeasts, Safale us-05, S-04, and Nottingham. Which should I use?


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## Bribie G

Probably the Nottingham. I would tend to chuck in some aley hops like some fuggles or goldings (teabag boiled 10 minutes) as the Brigalows I have tried have virtually no hop character. If you want to introduce some malty character as well maybe steep some crystal malt and the resulting brew _might_ turn out like some sort of a dark Scottish ale?


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## Bizier

I got the brigalow fermenter kit and coopers fermenter kit at the same time, both came with a lager. I tried the syrup of both and decided never to go near Brigalow again, as it tasted like sugar water, not beer.

I made a toucan with both of these cans, and it is without a doubt the worst beer I have made to date. An experience that non-brewers call "homebrew".

The fermenter works fine though...


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## olde

Thanks for the reply.
Can't really add crystal malt, it's not available in town and I'd like to put the brew down this arvo, so mail is out of the question. The only hops I have at present is Saaz, which I thought might be wasted, but I'd happily lob it in there if it wouldn't get lost.


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## petesbrew

I made a not-too-bad JS Golden Ale last year with the brewiser wheat kit. Haven't tried any of the others though.


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## BungalowBill

Have a look at this site,

http://www.thebrewshop.com.au/beer-recipe-...b5ef610d7766f6a

I like a bitter beer and I havent given them a try Yet! but as they say they are not the same just a starting point.
My local HBS is 50 odd k's away so at the moment have to be content with Coopers till I can get there.

I am just started into kegging after 20 odd years away from the home brew scene, my first beers will be Mexican Cerveza and Bitter both Coopers would like to have a go of an apple cider and ginger beer(non alcoholic for the kids)
cheers


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## DKS

BungalowBill said:


> Have a look at this site,
> 
> http://www.thebrewshop.com.au/beer-recipe-...b5ef610d7766f6a
> 
> I like a bitter beer and I havent given them a try Yet! but as they say they are not the same just a starting point.
> My local HBS is 50 odd k's away so at the moment have to be content with Coopers till I can get there.
> 
> I am just started into kegging after 20 odd years away from the home brew scene, my first beers will be Mexican Cerveza and Bitter both Coopers would like to have a go of an apple cider and ginger beer(non alcoholic for the kids)
> cheers



Hi bungalowBill. My last experiment was a coopers sparkling ale used 1 x can of coopers sparkling and filled to 12ltrs only.Nothing else added except yeast. Fernented 12 days then racked secondary 7 days put into mates keg and gassed. Was as bitter as and a bit young. After a week it had changed for the better but still a bitter bite.Will sample again today or tomorrow.Good head, mouth feel and clear.Ive gone off dex & maltodextrin & getting good results using malt and hops only. If you like your bitters bitter this could be the way to go. :icon_cheers: 
Daz


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## BungalowBill

Thanks Daz , I will keep that in mind, BB


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## kevo

Quantocks,

try some of that medication in the pic with your next glass - might help. 

Maybe an aspro clear would be good. Sorts out carbonation and the hangover at the same time.


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## quantocks

just an update on this:

three weeks in the bottle and it still has absolutely no beer characteristics at all. I ended up tipping the rest down the sink, it was absolutely terrible. My friend commented it was almost like a really really bad apple cider.

Spoke to someone online and they said stay well away from homebrand kits and brigalow. It's definitely not worth even the ~10 dollars you pay for a brigalow kit.


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## reviled

quantocks said:


> just an update on this:
> 
> three weeks in the bottle and it still has absolutely no beer characteristics at all. I ended up tipping the rest down the sink, it was absolutely terrible. My friend commented it was almost like a really really bad apple cider.
> 
> Spoke to someone online and they said stay well away from homebrand kits and brigalow. It's definitely not worth even the ~10 dollars you pay for a brigalow kit.




Have you looked into doing extract and using specialty grains for your flavour and colour? That way you will get a more beer like brew at only a little extra hassle... You dont need to worry about mashing, just steeping which is a piece of piss, then a small boil in a normal kitchen pot and youll be on your way to making really good beers!

A little extra effort can make a way better beer! Before I moved to AG I was doing extract and the beer was far more superior to k&k...

Just a thought...


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## wood4me

Brewed a Brigalow NEW a couple of weeks back and kegged it. The leftovers were bottled in Grolsch swing tops.

Feeling a little thursty today, I thought I'd crack one of the swing tops and sample the as yet young Brigalow NEW.

I gotta tell you, if this brew improves in the keg, I'm in for some nice drinking. 
First taste reminds me of Newcastle Brown, perhaps a teensy sweeter.

Glad I brewed it before reading the negative posts had a chance to discourage me.

BTW, I also brew the Apple Cider regularly during the warmer part of the year, 
and I find it a very refreshing, always clear, sparkling brew.


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## felten

nice necro


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## Bribie G

The post or the poster? first post in 5 years. 
frightening. 

I see dead posters


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## felten

I didn't notice that, scary.


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