# Second go with a brigalow



## Milk-lizard84 (29/4/13)

Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations when using a brigalow cider kit?
Is the kit yeast and nutrient worth using or should I shell out some coin for a better yeast?


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## Kiwimike (29/4/13)

I have only tried brigalow a couple of times but i think the best thing to do is get rid of the yeast and use something decent


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## BeardedWonder (5/5/13)

I've done one Brigalow cider and I'm not too keen on it.

I stuck with the recipe (although I did add some pear juice to sweeten it) that was listed on the can and at the moment it borders on undrinkable.
I can't decide if it's still kind of yeasty (although it finished priming in March) or if there's something else going on. It's real dry and The Minister for War and Finance won't touch it (even with backsweetening). I'm leaving it for as long as possible (they're in PET bottles, so I've gotta drink them before they go flat in September!!) to see if the extra time in the bottle will help.

My other thought is that it got shagged by temperature.
I was desperately trying to keep the fermenter cool in an ice bath during a heat wave and the temperatures varied significantly. 

I still haven't decided if I'll give the Brigalow kit another shot. Maybe now that it's colder. I may give it a shot with a better yeast and nutrient.

What I did find was what a lot of people have said before about ciders: It will most likely take longer than the listed time to complete primary fermentation (mine took an extra week).

I would also suggest trying your hardest to keep it as close to the cool end of the yeast's temperature range. That will probably add more time to the fermentation process, but it's worth it.

It may even take longer to prime as well, I'm sure someone here can confirm whether that is true or not. My results are a bit mixed as I experimented with a couple of different priming fermentables and my note taking has taken a bit of a slide (ie...I'm slack).


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## Yob (5/5/13)

I wasn't aware that briglow made any decent consumables.. bench capper is pretty good but I've never used anything that I was going to consume..

I've always considered them to be pretty much bottom rung and wouldnt expect too much from them


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## r055c0 (5/5/13)

Yob is right, I've made a few of the brigalow kits and by comparison their bench capper tastes much better


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## Bribie G (5/5/13)

I would heartily recommend the Black Rock cider kit and beef up their instructions by adding 4L less water and replacing with 4L Coles apple juice.
The Black Rock yeast is excellent.


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## manticle (5/5/13)

Yob said:


> I wasn't aware that briglow made any decent consumables.. bench capper is pretty good but I've never used anything that I was going to consume..
> I've always considered them to be pretty much bottom rung and wouldnt expect too much from them


Rubbish. Their dextrose is fine.


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## Milk-lizard84 (5/5/13)

Well this will be my 3rd attempt with brigalow ( 2 cider and 1 Munich lager). They really don't seem to get a great reception on this forum, but I'm guessing from my experience it fair enough.

Going to try a recipe Deep end put up but maybe add 500g of lactose.
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/70464-2nd-cider-about-to-go-down/#entry1024497
Hopefully this will make a brigalow kit useable.
Going to try ec 1118 yeast with it and the nutrient that came with the can.


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## Yob (5/5/13)

Good luck with it, I would suggest though that if you are after top quality product, start with top quality ingredients.


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## Milk-lizard84 (5/5/13)

Thanks Yob. Yeah I wanted to get a black rock but being abit low on funds I went for the poor mans option. I'm still abit of a noob so just still kind of experimenting at this stage.


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## Nick JD (5/5/13)

One _must _use Kingston Black apples grown within Sommerset on a south facing ridge ... and only the first press, daaaaaarlings.


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## BeardedWonder (5/5/13)

I'm with Milk-lizard, sometimes you gotta roll with the cheapest option.

Having read the link to Deep End's recipe, I'm now keen to give the Brigalow kit another crack with a butt load of juice. I'm well keen to experiment and I'm not prepared to spend big money on potential draino.


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## Bribie G (5/5/13)

Brigalow was started in Queensland in the 1970s and rose to prominence during the Beer Strike when home brew shops proliferated.

I ran a LHBS in Maryborough and Brigalow was the most popular kit, although a few short-lived kits came and went such as Gympie Gold, Sundowner and Brewcan Brigalow has survived.

In the 70s when a kit cost $2.95 IIRC I made up quite a few for demo purposes but it was pretty awful stuff. At least it was better than the standard home brew recipe of those days like a kilo of Saunders Malt, a kilo and a half of raw sugar, Tandaco bread yeast and an ounce of dried brown stale hop flowers.

When I took up brewing again a few years ago I bought a Brigalow tin to see what improvements had been made over the years. On cracking the first bottle I was instantly back in my flared pants, Adidas trainers, bad hair and tie-dyed t shirt. :unsure:

fkn shocking. But someone must be buying the stuff I suppose.


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## Yob (5/5/13)

Very sad, very true..

Bench capper has gone the distance to be fair.


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## Florian (5/5/13)

The bench capper is a superautomatica though, isn't it?

Not produced by Brigalow, just repackaged.


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## Deep End (5/5/13)

I dont have anything too bad to say about the Brigalow Cider Kit, cant say I've ever followed the instructions too carefully. Always add some extra juice to replace part of the water requirements. I turn out a product that satisfies me and my mates palates, and has made certain mass produced ciders unpalatable now. Maybe I'm easily pleased, but I've never bothered to try a Black Rock as yet as its twice the price and a little more. One day I'll get round to doing one.


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## Brice (5/5/13)

Can't comment on the taste of the Brigalow bottle capper, but I've brewed their cider kit a few times when low on funds and its passable.

Now days I tend to use apple juice rather than a kit when making cider.


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## Florian (5/5/13)

Brice said:


> Can't comment on the taste of the Brigalow bottle capper


Bit of a metallic twang if you ask me.


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## Yob (6/5/13)

Florian said:


> The bench capper is a superautomatica though, isn't it?Not produced by Brigalow, just repackaged.


Certainly possible, but what re packaging!! That box has lasted 3 years and is still going strong.. 

Slightly OT but WTF is with those 'finishing hop' tablets I used to see in big w? They have some wacky ideas about what I will put in a beer.


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## Florian (6/5/13)

That's the future of dry hopping right there, Yob.

why would you want to weigh those stupid little pellets, or even mess about with 'flowers', then having to vacuum seal it all up again when you can just grab a tablet out of a single serve pack?

you better have a good hard look at your current business model, Yob!


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## bum (6/5/13)

There's some truth to that. I was grabbing some PET caps from Big W yesterday and they had sold out of the finishing hops. Sold out! So people use them. Someone here must use them. We want feedback.


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## Yob (6/5/13)

Imagine the space I could save!!

I might have to send Briglow an email and see if I cant become a stockist :blink:


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## Florian (6/5/13)

bum said:


> There's some truth to that. I was grabbing some PET caps from Big W yesterday and they had sold out of the finishing hops. Sold out! So people use them. Someone here must use them. We want feedback.


Well, I once bought one at the beginning of my brewing caper. I remember opening it up and even breaking it in half (I think it had like a marker in the middle like a 'real' tablet), but I can't for the life of me remember if I actually used it or not.
Judging by the tin of Brigalow Lager that came with my kit and is still sitting on the shelf in the garage I might have been smart and just wrapped it back up in glad wrap and dumped it in some box that I haven't looked at since.

I know Manticle has used them though, and he felt like a brewing superstar when he did it, so they it must be some good stuff!


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## r055c0 (8/5/13)

I used them a couple of times when I first started, they were pretty unmemorable but so were all my early brews. Maybe there is a maverick / pioneer out there who is willing to stick 10 tablets in a beer to make an IPA?

I'm not going to drink it though.


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## manticle (8/5/13)

Florian said:


> Well, I once bought one at the beginning of my brewing caper. I remember opening it up and even breaking it in half (I think it had like a marker in the middle like a 'real' tablet), but I can't for the life of me remember if I actually used it or not.
> Judging by the tin of Brigalow Lager that came with my kit and is still sitting on the shelf in the garage I might have been smart and just wrapped it back up in glad wrap and dumped it in some box that I haven't looked at since.
> 
> I know Manticle has used them though, and he felt like a brewing superstar when he did it, so they it must be some good stuff!


Those things are the dogs bollocks (or is that dog's balls?)

I used them a couple of times - they have no aroma or flavour and there is no variety - just 'hop finishing tablet'. They are designed to add hop oils so you get better retention - I remember believing my beer had better retention at the time but I was also doing crazy stuff like adding portions of LDME to my beers.

Then I discovered those crazy hop teabag things. Wow! They were the dog's bollocks. Apparently hops come from actual plants and there are different ones with different characters. These things were green like a plant and had aroma and flavour in them. You put them in different beers, depending on what kind of beer and what you wanted.

Long time ago now, my belt has seen many onions since then,


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