Fresh wort kits vs Can worts

[GFC07]

Hi Fella's

I've done 6 All in FWK to date and all have been fantastic in my humble opinion.

You cant really go wrong with these kits.

Ive done the following kits:
Billy murray lager (with saflager yeast) Was very nice
2 x citra pale ale (dry hopped 25g of citra & Cascade) My favorite so fat
Ruby amber ale (Safale05) nice beer
Lucy Session ale + BE2 (kegging tomorrow) should be good from reports ive herd
and purchased an american brown today and intend to lay down tomorrow with safeale05

Money wise it compares to extract brewing (traditional flavor tin, 2 tins of extract, specialty grains,hops, yeast etc) with half the effort (- additional hops).
Time wise is no comparison.
Taste wise i personally believe they are much better than majority of the kit and kilo brews you will make, however some of my extract brews where awesome but they cost me around $65 to make.
In short they are excellent value for money for great tasting beer for little to no effort.

I might add i dont have temp regulation for ferment, i dont crash chill, i dont rack off to secondary, i do keg and i love beer
I try and keep ferment in range around 20 deg +/- 2 or 3 deg

Cheers

 

[Rocker1986]

What were you putting in your extract brews to have them cost $65?? Or are you located somewhere where it costs more? :unsure:
Most of my extract brews were around the $30-$35 mark. Now, with AG they're around $20-$25 a batch, unless I make a big beer, which is rare.

I don't rack to secondary either, never have done, even with lagers. Can't see the point to be honest, except in certain circumstances (long term conditioning before bottling/kegging etc.)

 

[GFC07]

What were you putting in your extract brews to have them cost $65?? Or are you located somewhere where it costs more?
Most of my extract brews were around the $30-$35 mark. Now, with AG they're around $20-$25 a batch, unless I make a big beer, which is rare.

I don't rack to secondary either, never have done, even with lagers. Can't see the point to be honest, except in certain circumstances (long term conditioning before bottling/kegging etc.)

I've been finishing a coopers pale ale keg of so i apologize in advance

Today i purchased in northern suburbs of melb,
Blackrock american pal ale tin - $23.90
Morgans Xtra pale LME - $14.50
1kg DLME - $10.00 (the dry light stuff)
sf05 - $6.50 (can use kit yeast if i wanted)
=$55
I haven't included hops yet for boils and additions or used specialty grains and steep/mini mash blah blah blah. :chug:
Add hops which they sell @ $5 -7.5 p/50g, and if your making a hop hog or similar and use 2 or 3 different hops, that's another $10 - $15 so your looking at $65 - $70.
= $70

I gotta say, beers with the extras and hops and shit thrown in are the bests you may make without going AG (up for debate), but had ive had similar results with the citra FWK with extra hops for dry hopping.

Dont get me wrong, i love trying out different shite, im up to about 25 - 30 extract/kit/FWK brews, I've only had 1 that was total shite due to infection from my young fella poking hole in the glad wrap and dropping in a couple of leggo's i later discovered :blink:

I'm sort of half way along making an AG/mash rig that i can also use to distill "water" with so i can make my own oak flavored "water" drinks with

Anyways im always looking to make things cheaper and I'm trying to save so i can finish of the shed thats up with concrete/electrical/Gas/water then look out all grain brewing/mashing and all things crafty :beerbang:

 

[Lowlyf]

What were you putting in your extract brews to have them cost $65?? Or are you located somewhere where it costs more? :unsure:
Most of my extract brews were around the $30-$35 mark. Now, with AG they're around $20-$25 a batch, unless I make a big beer, which is rare.

I don't rack to secondary either, never have done, even with lagers. Can't see the point to be honest, except in certain circumstances (long term conditioning before bottling/kegging etc.)

What is your secret to a clear brew then?

 

[mongey]

GFC07 - that shop is pretty expensive. Cans are $5 more than other shops and esb sell 05 for less than $5

 

[Rocker1986]

Yeah, I can see how it adds up. I didn't like the hops prices at the brew shop so I started sourcing online for heaps cheaper. Yeast I re-use to save on that. I'm not gonna get into the debate of extract vs AG but in my personal experience my AG brews have been streets ahead of the extract ones I did. In saying that, the extract plus grains and hops were better than the kits. Of course, as I went along I also learned about temp control and other things to improve my beers, so it all sort of evolved as I moved up the "ranks" so to speak. The FWKs are all AG as far as I know.

What is your secret to a clear brew then?

I use Brewbrite in the boil (last ten mins) and I add Polyclar during cold crashing about a week before I bottle the batch. It basically does the same thing as time - just a shitload faster.

 

[Bbowzky1]

I shop at Grain and Grape and they usually rotate there brews thru the kezza. There FWKs are amazing and usually very fresh.
I usually use these when i don't have enough time to do a propper brew, or if i javnt got any yeast ready i just put one on with US05.
Definitely worth the 45 bucks.

 

[Ghizo]

Just tried my first Hefeweizen fresh wort kit. Must say pretty good. Easy drinking. I will try another fresh wort brew.

 

[MRZ]

I was at the LHBS and saw some 15L FWK and asked about them. They said just put in the fermenter and top up to 20L and put yeast in and thats it. Can add some late hops too.

I thought about it and is easier than me curently doing kit and kilo and they said its also fresher compared to the can stuff.

I will try it later when I get through some of my cans.

 

[Mikeyr]

FWK's are a bloody good step up, add in some "05" yeast and a handful of hops ..... you get a great brew ............BUT BEWARE!!!!!

FWK's are definitely the "gateway drug" .... before you know it you will be meeting guys in dodgy carparks to collect your latest group buy grain :lol: ...which reminds me .. i need some more Pils...

You'll have more plastic tubs than Bunnings

Your laundry will start looking like someone's set up a meth lab and your wife will want to know why you need ANOTHER fridge .....and you know what an Erlenmeyer flask is and you can spell it!

And just like "free fish" when fishing ..... that "cheap beer" that you once used to make is costing more per litre than grange ..... when all the gear is costed in!!

AND LOVING IT!!!!!!!