Bottle Priming -> Fresh Wort Kit Czech Pilsner

[donburke]

Hello fellow brewers,

newbie here, fantastic forum, plenty to learn, and am really enjoying this new found hobby/obsession

i am about to put down a fresh wort kit, its the 15 litre st peters brewery czech pilsener, and will be bottling it when done

from what i have read, most people found these kits just a bit watery if made up to the recommended 20 litres, and most of these were kegged

as i will be bottling, the fermentation of the priming sugar in the bottle will increase the alcohol % by a bit, but will it increase flavour intensity ?

i am thinking of making the kit up to around 18 litres to give me a stronger flavour, my previous brews were all made to recommended levels from K & B and have been a bit thin

any experience with this kit is much appreciated

thanks

don

 

[raven19]

as i will be bottling, the fermentation of the priming sugar in the bottle will increase the alcohol % by a bit, but will it increase flavour intensity ?

Welcome aboard firstly. Great forum indeed, with lots of experienced HB'ers to answer any kind of question.

In terms of priming sugars, it wont have a significant effect on flavour, as its a small amount compared to the amount of already fermented sugars in your beer. Approx 0.5% alc increase from priming in my experience.

You could try priming with malt in lieu of sugar if worried about off flavours, however, now that I keg, I usually only have 6 or so bottles to fill and just use brown or white sugar.

2c.

 

[caleb]

from what i have read, most people found these kits just a bit watery if made up to the recommended 20 litres, and most of these were kegged

as i will be bottling, the fermentation of the priming sugar in the bottle will increase the alcohol % by a bit, but will it increase flavour intensity ?

i am thinking of making the kit up to around 18 litres to give me a stronger flavour, my previous brews were all made to recommended levels from K & B and have been a bit thin

Priming sugar does nothing for flavor really, it just makes the beer fizzy. I've bottled with white sugar, brown sugar, dextrose and dry malt powder, and haven't noticed any real difference in taste or appearance, even when it's in the same batch.

What OG are your "watery" brews starting at, and what do they finish at? Maybe you could measure the OG as you top up, and stop when you reach a desired level - say around 1.046.

What yeast are you using? A very attenuative yeast, i.e. one which eats most of the malt sugars, might also leave the finished beer seeming "watery".

 

[donburke]

raven19 & caleb, thank you for your replies,

i havent been measuring the OG with my brews, so i suppose i should measure the OG and add water accordingly

kit yeast was used for the first few brews, and have just bottled a lager using saflager s23, admittedly, that tastes a lot better out of the fermenter than any of the other kit yeast brews

good to know that the priming sugar doesnt add flavour

thanks

don

 

[caleb]

Always measure OG and FG. How else will you answer that inevitable question
.
.
.
:icon_drunk:
.
.
"So... how much alcohol is in it?"

 

[dmcke109]

Hi Don,

I've been using these wort kits for a couple of years now. I now have a keg set up so I generally make the beers up to 19L or 1 keg. Before this I always made them up to 20L as specified. I've never had a bed wort kit from St Peters. Just follow the instructions they give you, keep the temp down (and constant) when you brew it and you'll be enjoying a lovely Pils in around 4 - 5 weeks.

Cheers,
Dan

Hello fellow brewers,

newbie here, fantastic forum, plenty to learn, and am really enjoying this new found hobby/obsession

i am about to put down a fresh wort kit, its the 15 litre st peters brewery czech pilsener, and will be bottling it when done

from what i have read, most people found these kits just a bit watery if made up to the recommended 20 litres, and most of these were kegged

as i will be bottling, the fermentation of the priming sugar in the bottle will increase the alcohol % by a bit, but will it increase flavour intensity ?

i am thinking of making the kit up to around 18 litres to give me a stronger flavour, my previous brews were all made to recommended levels from K & B and have been a bit thin

any experience with this kit is much appreciated

thanks

don

 

[dr K]

Here is an extreme example of what this fresh wort kits are capable of.
I bought an NNL kit back (Sparkling Blond) with me in 2006 which I gave to a mate who was keen on getting a keg system set-up, he had kegs and bits, just needed a brewing area. 2007 passed. In 2008 he still had not brewed it so he gave it to mate to brew on the proviso that he get half back which he did and gave me PET bottle of it to sample..well it sat at work and then sat at home and then one day I thought, what the heck, I am in a judging mood so chilled it and on the Saturday around 11 I had a few waters, calibrated with something ( a JS Pilsener most likely),had more water sniffed some coffee beans and sat down to judge, in full BJCP mood. I don't have my notes but I do have my mind, woops memory. I had my blinkers on so as to push as much of my known provenance of the beer aside as possible.
Nothing great on the nose but nothing out of place.
Bright and sparkling.
Well attenuated but still a decent malt presence, just balanced by the hops.
Not just a drinkable beer but in the 32-36 points category.
I was I must say, shocked.....
Just brew it.....

K

 

[donburke]

well dr K & hop_alot, you've given me something to look forward to !

put it down yesterday, added 3 litres, that makes the total 18litres

also threw in some more saaz hops

thanks