Brewcraft Wizard Smith Kit

[Spork]

Went to homebrew shop today. Not the one in town with the unfriendly attitude, the one at Plant Plus Legana. Was just going to grab a bung and some sanitiser and maybe some PET bottles, for when I finally do my first brew. $100 later... I got the bung, the sanitiser, and 30 PET bottles, then I saw a Brewmaster kit, for Boags Wizard Smith's clone! I couldn't resist.
Now, many people say "Do a pale ale, use a coopers kit" for 1st attempt. I guess thats good advice, esp. if you like Pale Ales. Personally though, if they were my favourite kind of beer I would prob. just keep buying them for $40/carton and never have even seen this site. As it is, I much prefer a bit more flavour, and apart from more expensive treats and tasters my regular poison is the Wizard. I don't really want to go to the effort of making 20 - 23 litres of something that even if I made it "perfectly" I would not particularly enjoy.
Hoping the rest of my gear will arrive this week so I can make up a batch on the weekend.

Anyway, I haven't seen this particular kit before, and I know there are a few here who might like to make a WS clone. I think there may be recipies in the AG section, but this is for we n00bs. (or is that br00bs?) who may want to try a similar beer but who can't find the kit. I also have a few questions I'll ask in here to help me get it right 1st time.

Contents:
Black Rock Colonial larger 1.5kg
Black Rock light crystal malt 1.5kg
150g Crushed Crystal grain
150g Wheat dried malt
25g Goldings hops (pellets)
Safale S04

Method:
1. Grains and Hops.
Bring 3 litres of water to the boil, add crushed crystal grain and simmer gently for 20 minutes. For the final 10 mins. of the simmer add the hops. Then turn off heat and rest for 15 minutes, then strain into brew.
Q. What should I use to strain this? Just a wire kitchen strainer, or a bag (ie. BIAB) of some kind? It's only 150g. Can I use a clean cotton sock?

2. Cans and dry wheat malt.
Heat canned ingredients in hot water, open and empty into brew. Add the 150g of dry wheat malt. Stir to dissolve with 4 litres of warm water.

3. Fermentation.
Add cold water until total volume is 21 litres, stir well. Add yeast when starting temperature is around 25c. Brew between 18-24c.


And thats about it as far as the recipe that came in the kit goes. Also the cans of wort have further instructions on them. They say to use sugar, 1 slightly heaped teaspoon per 750ml bottle for carbonisation.
Q. Is plain sugar the best thing I could use? The shop I got this kit from has carbonisation drops. Would these be better, or just easier? Would another alternative be better?

 

[jayse]

Theres a lot more to pale ale then 40 dollar coopers, wizard smith itself is essentially a pale ale.

 

[Pennywise]

You should be fine straining with your kitchen strainer, I have a grain bag (which most lhbs sell) which I guess is just a small biab bag
Personally, I prefer plain white sugar to carb bottles with as it's measurement is more accurate, those carb drops can be (even though they look similar) quite different in size, and if bottling in 750ml bottles you'd be surprised at the difference it can make if you put two small ones in one and two bigger ones in another. No bottle bombs, but you (I) can tell the difference

 

[Spork]

Theres a lot more to pale ale then 40 dollar coopers, wizard smith itself is essentially a pale ale.

It is? The bottle says "English style ale" or something similar. I should know better than to believe marketers... :unsure:
I reread my post, and it does sound like I'm bagging out pale ales. I didn't mean to do that, but the Cooper's is perhaps not the best example of the type, IMO. One of the nicest beers I have ever had was a Bison IPA, and I guess IPA's are "just" pale ale with extra hops... ****, the Bison wasn't even a true IPA, as Bison Brewery is in USA, so it was really a API in IPA style! Arrgh, confusing myself.

 

[ianh]

The crushed grain should be steeped at 65C (30 mins) and not near boiling as above about 75C get extraction of tannins.

Then remove the grain and bring to a boil and add hops etc.

I use dextrose for carbonation but that's just personal preference.

 

[Guysmiley54]

It is? The bottle says "English style ale" or something similar. I should know better than to believe marketers... :unsure:
I reread my post, and it does sound like I'm bagging out pale ales. I didn't mean to do that, but the Cooper's is perhaps not the best example of the type, IMO. One of the nicest beers I have ever had was a Bison IPA, and I guess IPA's are "just" pale ale with extra hops... ****, the Bison wasn't even a true IPA, as Bison Brewery is in USA, so it was really a API in IPA style! Arrgh, confusing myself.

You know, brewing beer is a fantastic way to learn about different beer styles.

I recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Brewing-Classic-Styl...s/dp/0937381926

It's a great guide to understanding different styles and how to brew them. After a few brews under your belt, you'll hopefully start to get an idea of what different hops, grains and yeasts taste like. After a while you'll get to a point where you can read a recipe and have an idea of what the end result will taste like.

 

[Spork]

Thanks ianh, guess I'll be getting a grain bag and a thermometer sometime this week. ^_^
Guysmiley54 - thanks for the link. I've always been a beer fan, but only recently started to appreciate quality over quantity. I have learned bit in the last 4-5 months, but still sooo much I don't know.

 

[manticle]

For 150g you could use your strainer or even a clean new stocking. If you are thinking about steeping more grains in future, a grain bag is definitely a worthwhile purchase that will make like easier.

Pale ale can refer to many beers that aren't brown or darker than brown really. A beer can be English, pale and an ale all at once.

ESBs, bitters, IPA etc are all pale ales.

 

[DU99]

even home made muslin bag will do

 

[goomboogo]

You could steep that amount in a coffee plunger. If you have one.

 

[Spork]

Got the thermometer. Bit pricey, but as long as I don't drop it I'll opnly have to buy it once...
LHBS doesn't sell bags!
Think I'll buy my first pair of stockings.

Another quick question , I think I know the answer but I'd like it confirmed:
I don't have a brew 'fridge yet, or my temperature controller, so I am somewhat limited to "room temperature + heat belt". My house is heated by a wood fire, so the main living area will be too warm, the room I will be fermenting in will range between 19c down to 10-12c. Stable temperatures during fermentation will not be possible. So, which is worst. Too warm, or too cool? Safale S04 is the yeast I will be using. If it gets too cool will it simply slow down / stop working then restart as it gets warmer, or will I have to do something to get it going again? Should I use the heating belt overnight, esp. on the cooler nights? I'm more interested in producing a good beer than I am in producing it quickly. Thanks in advance for your sagely advice.

 

[yum beer]

19 during the day will brew nicely.

wrap your fermenter in blankets in the evening/afternoon when temps start to drop, this will help hold in heat. It takes a while to swing your fermenter temp too far.

You want to avoid too severe a change, but you shouldnt have too much effect on taste/quality if you use the blankets.
IMO a heat belt/pad may be a bit much for your situation. :icon_cheers:

 

[manticle]

Out of too warm and too cool I would always pick too cool. Put a blanket on it at night in the cooler area. Fermentation is exothermic (produces heat) and the thermal mass of a large beer volume means it is not in a hurry to shed heat.

 

[jasonharley]

Theres a lot more to pale ale then 40 dollar coopers, wizard smith itself is essentially a pale ale.

well i reckon it is essential a euro lager that is hopped with EKG ... it just feels too thin

 

[Spork]

Thanks gentlemen, a blanket it is then.

 

[super_simian]

The crushed grain should be steeped at 65C (30 mins) and not near boiling as above about 75C get extraction of tannins. Then remove the grain and bring to a boil and add hops etc.

+1 on this. Those instructions ("Method:Grains and Hops.Bring 3 litres of water to the boil, add crushed crystal grain and simmer gently for 20 minutes. For the final 10 mins. of the simmer add the hops. Then turn off heat and rest for 15 minutes, then strain into brew.") are downright ******, and ruined my first attempt at adding speciality grains to a kit. Whoever wrote them deserves to only drink warm Sol for the rest of his/her life.

Steep grains for 1 hour in sub-80C water, (in a thermos if you have one) then bring the liquid only to a boil, add the hops, continue boiling for 10 min. blah blah blah would be my 2c.

 

[Spork]

Thanks again for the advice guys. I'll do as suggested and soak grain @ 65c for 30 mins, then remove grain and bring liquid to the boil then add hops for 10 mins. Going to get started shortly.

Edit. Started.
While sterilising FV tried to get airtight seal - not possible, but the the lid got stuck. Had to prise it up and get hold of the rubber and remove that before I could unscrew lid. Cant't get it airtight (or even watertight) with or without the rubber, so I think I'll go gladwrap style.

Maintaining 65c with our older style (electric, solid hotplates) stove isn't easy! Has been between 71 and 60 so far. Is gas easier? I have a bbq with wok burner, also a separate two ring gas burner thingy. Not a dual ring burner, 2 seperate burners. Might try that next time. Suppose I could just experiment with them and a pot of water in the meanwhile.
Hmm, BBQ, beer? Sounds like a match made in heaven!

 

[super_simian]

When I successfully steeped, as opposed to those horrid kit directions, I did it a bit like a mash - heat the water to a point above the temp. I wanted (but not too far above +5-10C is good,) chucked in my crushed grains and insulated it for an hour or so. Trying to maintain a temperature on the heat is a losing battle, electric or gas. And not really needed. Do it in a thermos/small esky or do it in a pot and wrap it in a blanky. The temp. drop will not be an issue.

 

[going down a hill]

You should boil the liquor for an hour to kill off any bugs/microbes that were hanging around the grain. Incorporate hop boil into this hour and you should be good.

 

[super_simian]

Nope, you don't need to boil for an hour. 2 minutes would be enough to kill off any nasties, and since the kit is already bittered boiling your hops for an hour would be pointless. You are aiming for a flavour/aroma usage, so stick to 10min. With speciality grains and in those amounts, break is not an issue either.