Bill Murray Lager fresh wort kit

[GFC07]

Hi Guys,
2nd post, generally when i take a new hobby up i jump in as deep as i can afford and see how i go.
So in saying that, i have now three 19 ltr kegs, 3 fermentors, single gas reg and a pluto gun. Kegs are set up one at a time in the newly prioritized bar fridge. (misses is also now getting a new deep freezer in the coming weeks )
First three batches of beer (all kegged after about 12 days ferm @ approx 23-4 deg c) have been a coopers heritage lager with tin of light liquid coopers Malt extract & kit yeast, Coopers IPA with BE2 1kg + LDME 500g + cascade + amarillo and kit yeast, and a coopers pale ale with BE2 + 1 kg + LDME 500g + cascade + amarillo and kit yeast.

The heritage lager didn't get time to carbonate properly due to eagerness of myself and the father in law, and the fact i found out after we finished it that it was leaking co2 for the 3 days it was connected, however was very nice at the very end for a first brew.
The IPA which i think im down to the last few pots off out of the keg was very nice indeed. Was very bitter initially which i grew to enjoy more and more. this one lasted 5 days on the co2, no leaks this time and every beer poured perfectly, which is how i realised i had a leak somewhere in the first keg.
The pale ale, i haven't tasted as yet, i've put it in the deep freeze to crash chill a bit hopefully and will put in the bar fridge as soon as i finish of the IPA tonight.

Anyway back to topic, i went to the brew shop (sunbury brew supplies) with the intention of trying to make a Fat yack clone ($50 basically) to keg, and also something else. I came across a fresh wort kit of 15 litres called "Bill Murray Lager" for $40.
Now it has Bill Murray's face on the front from stripes where he is pointing at you and i had to get one purely for the fun factor with the mates.
So $90 down for 2 fermentors worth of what i hope is the best beers to date, whereas that'd get a few coopers tins and BE2 for the same value.
link to Bill
http://allinnbrewingco.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/bill-murray_WEB.pdf

So i guess my questions are, Has anyone used this fresh wort kit before?
Being a lager and its been sitting @ around 22-3 deg c for the duration, will this be a waste?
Tastes really good, tonight took a gravity reading and was @ 1.004, im thinking its nearly ready to keg tomorrow perhaps if its the same again. Which leads to my next question can beer be ready to keg after a week?

Going to a brewing event this weekend in Bendigo should be good also

Fat yak kit was as follows for those interested
1 can black rock NZ bitter
25g cascasde hops
25g nelson hops
1 kg brew blend #20
150-200g wheat malt
safale us05 yeast

Cheers

 

[maaark]

Welcome to the forum & joys of brewing mate. I've used an All Inn kit before but not the lager.

Which yeast did you use for the fresh wort kit?

 

[GFC07]

Hi Maaark,
Cheers, it says on the front you can use 3 different types, M?84 i think cant quite read it, saflager S23 which is the one the guy @ the home brew shop recommended and you can also use WY2278 also according to the packaging.

What did you think of the ones you tried?
Better than a kit and bits?
The HBS had others there also with different sixteys chicks on the front of em, betty and ruby or something like that from memory.
I was going to get another next pay, a different flavor perhaps?

Cheers,

 

[Killer Brew]

Lol, Bill Murray Lager. So if it is from his Caddyshack period then it could be cut with some Kentucky Bluegrass. Legendary actor, one of my faves, but can't help you with the wort. Good novelty factor though!

 

[maaark]

With the warmer ferment for the lager yeast you will still make beer but probably not your traditional bright lager.

The fresh wort kit I brewed was great but I also added an additional 120g of hops.

The wort kits are good but still fairly expensive compared to kits & bits, especially if you start adding extra hops like I did.

Your best option would be to do an extract brew, this is where you have unhopped malt extracts & boil the hops yourself, this gives you more freedom with your brewing rather than having to stick to kit/tin recipes. Plus they're cheaper than a wort kit.

Have a read of this extract recipe & see what you think;
http://www.coopers.com.au/#/diy-beer/beer-recipes/ale/detail/cascarillo-amber-ale-recipe-pack/

 

[Tahoose]

Welcome to the wonderful world of brewing.

The fresh wort kits are great if you are time poor but still want great beer. They are made in the no chill method and are all grain brews. If you like to dive into things then I'd say you will end up there sooner or later(AG Brewing).

Extract brewing gives you a lot of flexibility without needing a large space for a brew rig, un hopped extract can also be bought in bulk at a saving. As can hops, grain and other brewing necessities.

It's not uncommon for wort to fully ferment out in 7 days or even less. 22c is a relatively high temp for fermenting with ale yeasts,17-19c is preferred. Even so at these lower temps it can still ferment reasonably quick. The golden rule is not to package your beer before it's finished. There is less of a risk when using kegs but if you do bottle any beers you don't want to break this rule. Exploding bottles and glass at terminal velocity doesn't discriminate.

Good luck with the hobby.

Like the Mag-58 in the profile pic, love that thing!! Worth it's weight (even if it is a heavy bloody thing)

 

[Unclestewbrew]

I've done a few fresh wort kits , the ones Ifrom my LHBS are from St Peters Brewery.
Everyone I've done has turned out fantastic using Muntons Gold yeast and fermented at 20 degrees
FG was always reached within 10 days

I did note that these do get better with age , 3 months and they were excellent.
A bit pricey for what they are but a fantastic end product never the less ,

Cheers Stu

 

[mongey]

. I havent done the bill maurray but just bottled a black IPA of theirs last weekend,. tasted great out of the fermenter . really impressed

 

[GFC07]

So bills been kegged for 4 days and poured the first pint last night. Very nice I must say very happy with the result would make again.

My fat yak which I kegged last night, taste awesome from the sample taken for fg. Have already bought the ingredients to make another yak, I think this will be a regular brew in future.View attachment 79815
Bill Murray larger

 

[GFC07]

So Bill was well worth it, The fat yack is a keeper also.

I've got a ruby amber ale kit in the Keg ready to go soon as i finish the stout i made.

I fuckn love making beer and whiskeys :super: :kooi:
Also, Got a 500ltr freezer for the keezer build from Bumtree for $150 its about 4 years old the unit :super: .
Can hold 10 on the floor and two on the hump if i need :blink:.
Just have to save up for the $500 worth of taps and ***** top fit the beast out with, along with the new pot still im planning.
Ill post some piccys of the freezer soon. Polished up the old reflux still with a ciric acid bath and some steel wool, looks like one othem flash one angain
many beers and whiskeys cant see proply

 

[RichardLavender]

I've done the Murray, Penny Pale Ale and Elle Aussie Pale Ale. In order of preference
#1 Elle - she is delicious
#2 Penny - not as pretty or tasty
#3 Murray but my temp degree was 24C.

 

[Rynobrew]

Im also from sunbury and have done the FWKs. Ive done the Citra and the IPA. Both very nice

 

[wizard81]

I've done 3 X FWK to date.

First was the Norwest from ND Brewing, that was ok, but not exactly what I imagined it to be.

Also, the Kala BIPA from All in brewing, which I dry hopped with centennial. This was very tasty!

Latest I did was the Penny Pale Ale, dry hopped with Amarillo, and this tastes amazing!

 

[DU99]

Currently Drinking Kala Black ipa,nice chocolate/coffee flavour and tried the americian brown ale.Bought one from Sunbury and other from Homemakeit.

 

[Coldspace]

Bill Murray lager with s23 at 13 degrees for 2 weeks and 1 week at 18. Cold crash for 1 week. Excellent beer.
Not as much flavour as my grain father lagers/pilsener but quick brew anyway.
Penny and aussie pale are also good from the all inn brewery.

 

[Hairy camel]

I'm doing the Elle pale ale atm she's ready for racking next up for me is bill to alongside a coopers heritage lager. No hops added as these are my second and third brews

 

[wizard81]

I'm doing a Bill Murray Lager atm, but got hold of some 3711 saison yeast. So trying it with that!!! Could be interesting!!

 

[gdupagne]

With the fat yak what were the
E hop addition times?? Keen to make this

 

[GFC07]

With the fat yak what were the
E hop addition times?? Keen to make this

They would have probably been 20 and 10 min @ 12.g each
I didnt write that detail down in my early notes