# using fresh wort kits



## joshgallaher02 (14/11/13)

I have been making my own beer for a couples of years now. I started with the Coopers brew cans with the beer enhancer and bottling, i found that bottling was very time consuming and took up a lot of room. i then found a bar fridge at a garage sale and turned it into my very own kegerator and bought everything to start a keg system. I spoke to my locale brew shop and they suggested i use a fresh wort kit. I recommend using fresh wort kits over cans any day of they week it tasted just that much better.

Does using fresh wort give you more freedom to experiment with indigence or is it much of a muchness? 

thanks 

Josh


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## nu_brew (14/11/13)

Grain and grape make some base fresh wort kits that you can make into almost any beer with steeping grains and hops. They also make some kits that are great on their own. 

They helped me clone some recipes with these which eventually led to me going all grain. So I would say yes you can do whatever you want with fresh wort kits. 

The added bonus is you have plenty of cubes on hand if you decide to go all grain and no-chill.


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## joshgallaher02 (14/11/13)

That's what I have used, the type one with just some hops pallets and artesian ale with the same hops. Seems to be fine, now I will start to be more adventuress


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## menoetes (15/11/13)

I've only brewed one fresh wort kit before and I'm afraid it was a little troublesome.

It was an amber ale and I made it up as per the instructions, which isn't hard as it's the simplest brew ever; just add water and yeast. The trouble began when I got 4 inches of sediment on the bottom of the FV completely burying the tap outlet and condemning me to a world of heavy sediment in bottling. Unfortunately back then I didn't have a second fermentor to rack off to as I do now.

Having said that, the beer is tasty (if hard to pour clear) and one of the best I've made so far. If I was to change anything, I would have dry hopped it as it only lacks some hop flavor and aroma IMHO, otherwise it is a delight and I enjoy drinking it. It also comes to around the same price as an extract brew though it's not as much fun to make.

All in all I would peg my troubles as being the exception to the norm and recommend Fresh wort kits.


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## clintlee (15/11/13)

Ive just put down an ESB Creatures pale ale wort kit with 25g cascade dry hopped. Will be interesting to see how much sediment i get and what its like to drink. You cant really get an easier beer kit but they arent cheap. Worked out to $50 including yeast and hops.


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## mwd (15/11/13)

Fresh Wort kits are the easy if expensive way to get into AG brewing. Shipping is a killer unless you can pick them up from the LHBS.
I did two of the CB kits and they were excellent.


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## unclebarrel (15/11/13)

+1 Tropical.
I use FWK's occasionally for the ease of them. Usually the hefe kits as they ferment quick and are drinkable quickly also !
I extract brew, will go AG soon. Just been researching recently on the differences in methods and which will suit me the most.
When I want to do a quick brew with no hassles I go the FWK's. 10 mins and you're done !
Helps at the mo with a broken ankle, too difficult to stand over a boiling wort !


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## bmarshall (16/11/13)

The FWK i used was way better tasting than the kit n bits ive done so far.
I used ND amarillo kit with some extra crystal grain and mosaic and galaxy hop tea and dry hop.
I didnt get more trub after ferment than usual.
I added four liters of water with the extra grain and hops. That was probably too much.
Just try the kit on its own first too see what your playing with.
They are non chilled wort so extra dry hop will help.


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## joshgallaher02 (18/11/13)

Thanks for the response guys I plan on pitting a brew together this weekend. I'll let you know how I go.


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## unclebarrel (18/11/13)

Sweet man.
For the record, I just finished whacking a FWK hefe together. WB06 yeast. 20L.

Took 15 mins, even hobbling around in 'das boot' with the dodgy broken ankle.

Will be chugging through it in a couple of weeks ! Sweet !


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## damoninja (20/11/13)

In many years to come my dream is to move to a 100L setup and sell FWKs in 20L cubes that can be diluted to a desired volume / gravity up to 25L. 

I do this myself in single cubes, basically I'll be upgrading all my hardware over time and when I'm ready I'll look into food handling/storage certification. Good thing is no licensing required as it's not alcohol yet h34r:


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## Ducatiboy stu (20/11/13)

This is true


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## joshgallaher02 (21/11/13)

That's sweet! And a great idea.


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## Pistol (26/11/13)

For those in Sydney, I've just started a bulk buy for Ross's/ Craft Brewers FWK's, I can highly recommend many of them, check out the thread in the bulk buys section:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/76795-syd-craftbrewer-fwk-bulk-buy/?p=1107163


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