Beer Kits and Brew Enhancers

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Major Arcana

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G'day Fellas,

Still quite a newbie here, so was wondering if someone could give us a little breakdown as to what the difference is between kit converters and brew enhancers? Correct me if i am wrong but i am assuming the kit converter contains dextrose and dry malt and something else? And are brew enhancers the same thing or just dry malt extract?

A lot of the home brewing stores here in WA are Brewcraft so all of my products come from there so i get a little confused when i hear different abbreviations etc on the forum, like LHBS???

I have kit converter that compliments a Pilsener wort i am going to try out, it also contains a hop bag etc, i understand i have to boil the contents of the kit converter in like 5 litres of water, just a lil confused on what to do with the hop bag, would be grateful for any advice.

cheers,

Dan :icon_cheers:
 
LHBS = Local Home Brew Shop.

Kit converters and brew enhancers are synonymous terms - it's not about the terminology, but about what's in it. You can have many different brew enhancers (even coopers has more than one) each made up of different malts (and sometimes simple sugaz).

The hop bag is for containing the hops you are boiling, so you can pull them out without them going into the fermenter.

The idea of boiling for 5 minutes is to get some flavour and aroma from the hops. If it didn't contain any hops, that's strange, but the bag will likely come in use for the future.
 
Lord Raja Goomba I said:
LHBS = Local Home Brew Shop.

Kit converters and brew enhancers are synonymous terms - it's not about the terminology, but about what's in it. You can have many different brew enhancers (even coopers has more than one) each made up of different malts (and sometimes simple sugaz).

The hop bag is for containing the hops you are boiling, so you can pull them out without them going into the fermenter.

The idea of boiling for 5 minutes is to get some flavour and aroma from the hops. If it didn't contain any hops, that's strange, but the bag will likely come in use for the future.

Thanks for the reply Mr Moderator, yeah the kit did contain the hops and hop bag so will boil the whole kit up with the hops for 5 minutes take them out and add her to the fermentor! Sound about right?

thanks again for the help fellas! :D
 
Major Arcana said:
Thanks for the reply Mr Moderator, yeah the kit did contain the hops and hop bag so will boil the whole kit up with the hops for 5 minutes take them out and add her to the fermentor! Sound about right?

thanks again for the help fellas! :D
Sounds perfect!

Enjoy the slippery slope - you'll be asking about spec malts and grains and hops before you know it.

Then comes lupulin threshold shift (never enough hops in anything you used to like).

:icon_drool2:

Have fun!

PS: In future, depending on how much $ value you could assign to the hops (if it's only a small amount like 12g or comes in a "brewcellar finishing hops" type of bag), you may be better off getting a pack of hops from a Home Brew Shop that sells at a reasonable price or that caters to all grain brewing (they're less likely to rip off non-AGers as well).

If the hops cost you approx $5 for approx 12-20g, then it's way too much. You should be paying $6-$9 for 90-100g (or $5 for 50-60g at worst from some shops).

Sealer bag the leftovers and chuck in the freezer and bring them out for the next brew.
 
Lord Raja Goomba I said:
Sounds perfect!

Enjoy the slippery slope - you'll be asking about spec malts and grains and hops before you know it.

Then comes lupulin threshold shift (never enough hops in anything you used to like).

:icon_drool2:

Have fun!

PS: In future, depending on how much $ value you could assign to the hops (if it's only a small amount like 12g or comes in a "brewcellar finishing hops" type of bag), you may be better off getting a pack of hops from a Home Brew Shop that sells at a reasonable price or that caters to all grain brewing (they're less likely to rip off non-AGers as well).

If the hops cost you approx $5 for approx 12-20g, then it's way too much. You should be paying $6-$9 for 90-100g (or $5 for 50-60g at worst from some shops).

Sealer bag the leftovers and chuck in the freezer and bring them out for the next brew.
Sounds like they have caught a few people out with their extravagent bloody pricing then, i will keep this in mind when i head there this weekend! cheers again for the info! :)

Dan
 
Hi Major, if you google home brew shops Perth there are a few that are not Brewcraft, and probably worth visiting if not to far.
Cheers
 
grott said:
Hi Major, if you google home brew shops Perth there are a few that are not Brewcraft, and probably worth visiting if not to far.
Cheers
Cheers grott, mate didnt think of that will get onto that right now!! :beerbang:
 
Hey mate I'm in WA as well and find brewcraft are pretty expensive and give bad advice, ie ferment your lager at 24c.

There is a place called brewmart in bayswater that I find really good and the staff there seem to know a lot as well.

That hop tea bag in the brew enhancer / converter is pretty much rubbish if it is the one I'm thinking off. It's not vacuum sealed and it's stored at room temperature.
 
Brewcraft seems to have the same reputation nationally, besides the high prices it would seem most give poor advice. I would have thought good advice = more business! and newbies not doing a crap beer on that advice and thus quitting thus losing further business.
That's my speech for today, cheers.
 
brzt6060 said:
Hey mate I'm in WA as well and find brewcraft are pretty expensive and give bad advice, ie ferment your lager at 24c.

There is a place called brewmart in bayswater that I find really good and the staff there seem to know a lot as well.

That hop tea bag in the brew enhancer / converter is pretty much rubbish if it is the one I'm thinking off. It's not vacuum sealed and it's stored at room temperature.
brzt6060 thanks for your reply mate, yeah fermenting your lager at 24c sounds like crap advice haha, yep i am assuming that the hop tea bag i have in the kit converter would be the 1 your thinking of,this will be my second batch to date that im gonna start either tonight or tomorrow so will probably try it out anyway, what are your thoughts about it?

cheers,

Dan
 
I used one of their "own brand" enhancer kits on my first brew and tbh there is little to no hop taste or smell. I actually forgot I had even used one until you mentioned it here.

In my second brew I uses a larger hop tea bag that came vacuum sealed and from a freezer at brewmart much better.

My suggestion is brew it up anyway, odds are it will be a drinkable beer and it will give you something to compare your next beer to.

All that having been said I still think the beer will turn out better then it would if you had just dumped 1kg of dextrose in.
 
I went to 2 different brewcraft stores and was amazed at the different level of retail skills between them.One guy seemed more interested in his laptop and couldn't give a ****,the other was helpful,up for a chat and knew what he was selling.Wish I was the hidden boss.
 
Your best brew kit enhancers are grains, and you'll find it cheaper and more enjoyable. And we are all here to help, just ask.

Batz
 
Cheers for the guidance fellas!!!

i have been going to a local Brewcraft store and the guy is actually quite helpfull is happy to answer your questions and cracking jokes and what not, but he is a moody ******* the next weekend i went there he said fuckall, probably got an infection or something!

Dan
 
G'day Shack,

mate i live in Wandi right next to Aubin Grove, and Cockburn etc. 20 mins from perth :beerbang:
 
Major Arcana said:
Cheers for the guidance fellas!!!

i have been going to a local Brewcraft store and the guy is actually quite helpfull is happy to answer your questions and cracking jokes and what not, but he is a moody ******* the next weekend i went there he said fuckall, probably got an infection or something!

Dan
Ice
 
Have the same experience with brewcraft, they're close so I do go there but every time I walk out the door I feel a tad ripped off and try to promise myself I'll stop going there lol, 6.50 for 25g of cascade is what I paid for my first brew before I wised up and shopped elsewhere
 
google TWOC. There at the stock rd markets. Cnr of stock rd and spearwood ave. they sell it all and will point you in the right direction
 
Nizmoose said:
Have the same experience with brewcraft, they're close so I do go there but every time I walk out the door I feel a tad ripped off and try to promise myself I'll stop going there lol, 6.50 for 25g of cascade is what I paid for my first brew before I wised up and shopped elsewhere
I will shop at brew craft sometimes but only because there is one about 5minutes from my house vs 20 or so minutes for brewmart.
 
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