Jsaa Clone Kit

[Spiderpig]

Greetings all,

Not sure if I am passin on old news to everyone, but Ezybrew have released a James Squire Amber Ale Clone Kit that is supposed to be bang on the mark (around the $31 mark). I spoke to the man behind the product at ESB yesterday (G'day Richard) and he reckons it's a pretty good drop. Apparantly it was only released in November, so it's only being sold at The Brew Shop presently. You can order it online and for those of us not living in Sydney, they can organise fairly cheap courier costs on 3 cans or more.

For those of us that have tried everything in K&K to try and match JSAA, this is a god send (potentially). Nothing I have made thus far has come close, nice beers but not JSAA. It's a 4.5kg can you add to your fermenter with enough water making 23 litres, chuck in the safale yeast it comes with and there you have it.

Has anyone tried this yet, anything to report out there? I am massively interested in anyone's feedback.

Cheers,
Spiderpig

 

[MarkBastard]

Has anyone tried this yet, anything to report out there? I am massively interested in anyone's feedback.

I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds alright and I'd probably give it a go.

I assume for $31 you get a decent yeast as well? Seems expensive for a kit.

I've made the JSAA 'partial' clone on these forums and it was awesome. The cost wouldn't have been much more than $31 though so unless this kit tastes as good I don't know if it'd be worth it.

 

[brilinjo]

It's a 4.5kg can you add to your fermenter with enough water making 23 litres, chuck in the safale yeast it comes with and there you have it.

I assume for $31 you get a decent yeast as well?

yeah, that Safale is crap. <_<

 

[MarkBastard]

Hmm I believe that's the same yeast I used.

I'm in!

 

[bradsbrew]

Ive done a couple of these but the LCPA ones the first one I done straight with no adjustment, was ok bit watery. Second one I added some carared and dry hopped with Amarillo and willamette turned out great but not as good as my AG LCPA clones. Best thing about them is flavor for time ratio.

Cheers Brad

 

[Fermented]

yeah, that Safale is crap. <_<

OT and no hijack intended...

When you say that Safale is crap, can you please let me know what you mean? I'm curious to learn.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[bradsbrew]

OT and no hijack intended...

When you say that Safale is crap, can you please let me know what you mean? I'm curious to learn.

Cheers - Fermented.

I took it as he was being facetious
<_<

 

[Fermented]

D'oh.

Sorry - worked until 07:00 this morning since yesterday arvo, slept two hours, worked more, couple of brews with lunch. i.e. Sleep deprived and alcohol improved brain doesn't good so work.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[Thunderlips]

was ok bit watery.

I did the LCPA and JSAA today and filled to the recommended 22.5litres,.
It did taste a bit watery from the fermenter but I wanted to do it to instructions the first time around.

If your kegging though you'd only really need to go to 19 or 20L depending on your keg size.

 

[MarkBastard]

I did the LCPA and JSAA today and filled to the recommended 22.5litres,.
It did taste a bit watery from the fermenter but I wanted to do it to instructions the first time around.

If your kegging though you'd only really need to go to 19 or 20L depending on your keg size.

I just ordered the LCPA and JSAA kits. I've been a bit slack lately and haven't had a lot of time so at least with these two kits I'll have some beer quicker and hopefully good enough.

As I'm going into kegs I'll probably do up to 20L or so so hopefully it won't seem 'watery'.

 

[davewaldo]

I'm keen to hear how you guys go with these kits. Please keep us posted on your results!

 

[MarkBastard]

Will do dave. I may make a new thread and take some pictures of the kit etc too and various stages of the brewing process.

 

[Jase71]

What's the advantage of getting a kit for that price, when you could do an extract brew and control the hopping for around the same price ? I'm about to embark on a JSGA clone, and I'm sure the cost won't be too different. Lets punch the numbers:

$6 for 60g hops
$15 for wheat malt
$12 for pale malt
$2 for 150g crystal malt
$0 for recultured yeast

So that's $35, a mere $4 more for a beer that I have more control over than a kit.

 

[shellnaf]

I have done the brewcraft LCPA, cost me around $40. The other day I put down another LCPA, similar to the brewcraft but using ingredients I bought from lhbs, cost me just over $30 for a damn good tasting brew, and as jase71 said you have more control. That way you can tweak a bit here & there until it's just right for you. Also if you're a newb like me, I'd rather being doing brews with additions than just throwing some goo and water in a fermenter.

Nathan

 

[MarkBastard]

What's the advantage of getting a kit for that price, when you could do an extract brew and control the hopping for around the same price ? I'm about to embark on a JSGA clone, and I'm sure the cost won't be too different. Lets punch the numbers:

$6 for 60g hops
$15 for wheat malt
$12 for pale malt
$2 for 150g crystal malt
$0 for recultured yeast

So that's $35, a mere $4 more for a beer that I have more control over than a kit.

I recently did an extract brew JSAA clone. I'll let you know if there are any 'advantages' when I'm done. That said obviously if you don't want / need 'more control' and just want to make an actual clone, you can save money and a fair deal of time by using a kit.

Having multiple options is a good thing IMO.

I'm particularly interested in the differences between using this premium kit and doing an extract brew to try and achieve the same result and would be happy to report what I find.

 

[Jase71]

Not really much more time. Maybe an hour more. Less if you look at it practically, you start your hop boil, then go and clean your gear while its bubbling. You need to spend time cleaning & sterilising anyway, so why not have something on the boil while you do so.

I'm not experienced enough to argue the kit vs extract advantages, if any, but I would think that boiling my own hops will give a fuller bitterness/flavour/aroma element than the whole lot that's been done already, then left to sit in a can on the shelf.

Either way, for me it gives a greater element of DIY, than as shellnaf said, just opening a can and adding some water.

Would love to hear some theories from the more experienced people here............

 

[BEC26]

I'm about to embark on a JSGA clone, and I'm sure the cost won't be too different. Lets punch the numbers:

$6 for 60g hops
$15 for wheat malt
$12 for pale malt
$2 for 150g crystal malt
$0 for recultured yeast

Hey Jase,

What are the kg and specifics of the malts you used in your recipe and where did you get it from?

thanks in advance

Cheers
Bruce

PS I am assuming that the hops were amarillo . ..

Cheers again

 

[Fermented]

Not really much more time. Maybe an hour more. Less if you look at it practically, you start your hop boil, then go and clean your gear while its bubbling. You need to spend time cleaning & sterilising anyway, so why not have something on the boil while you do so.

I'm not experienced enough to argue the kit vs extract advantages, if any, but I would think that boiling my own hops will give a fuller bitterness/flavour/aroma element than the whole lot that's been done already, then left to sit in a can on the shelf.

Either way, for me it gives a greater element of DIY, than as shellnaf said, just opening a can and adding some water.

Would love to hear some theories from the more experienced people here............

I would have to agree with Jase71 about going all malt.

I made the jump towards the end of last year and have mostly been pottering about with ales so far to try to get my experience up a bit more and really get a good feel for the ingredients. Instead of cans of malt, I bought a 28 kg pail of Coopers LME and another pail with a honey gate to dispense it.

Jase is dead right about using the time between finishing one batch and starting the next. After bottling, I clean and sanitise the benches, start the boil, take a couple of cups of slurry and give it a feed and finally go clean and sanitise the fermenter. By the time that's done, it's about second hopping time and grain steeping time. Enough time for a smoke and a drink then pull the malt from the pail, add it to the boil, add the liquid from the steepings and it's just about time to toss the lot in the fermenter. Total time? About 1 hour 20-something minutes including clean-up. Not really a lot longer than doing K&B.

Despite the sentiment of some about 'can fresh', there are elements of flavour and chemical composition in beer that I feel would be lost in the production of a concentrate. Good quality hops, properly stored, will more than likely taste and smell far better than something that has been processed.

Tweakage and tuning is a big part of the joy of doing this. You don't have to accept what someone else's interpretation of a style is. Sure you can hop a kit, change yeasts, mess with fermentation temperature, etc but you're still stuck with what's in the can.

The big thing is really the improvement over kits. It's a small step, doesn't cost a lot to get started and you're reducing your production costs from day one. Not to mention getting a much better product at the end of it. Give it a shot - well recommended.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[Spiderpig]

Hey guys,

I like the sound of an extract as opposed to this type of kit put out by ESB. However, getting knowledge of the 3 different malts and 3 different hops James Squire Amber Ale uses (incl quantities) seems to be a rather difficult task. Tony (AHB member) posted a quick fire recipe I am yet to try, others have mentioned it is pretty good. That recipe only uses Williamtette and I am not sure this is the right hop selection on it's own for JSAA. I posted this thread to focus purely on JSAA, so if anyone has a tried and tested Extract recipe that is on the money, please post it or direct me to the thread. Please, no AG, this is a kits and extracts area for dumb f#cks like me I am yet to progress to AG, that all seems a bit "scary" for want of a better word. Still only 12 months into this brewing caper and trying to learn from you more experienced brewers.

I had someone tell me previously that maybe a combo of East Kent Goldings, Fuggles and Williamette maybe the hop selection? Obviously some Crystal Malt would be in the mix for your grains for colour?

Spiderpig Out!

 

[MarkBastard]

Hey guys,

I like the sound of an extract as opposed to this type of kit put out by ESB. However, getting knowledge of the 3 different malts and 3 different hops James Squire Amber Ale uses (incl quantities) seems to be a rather difficult task. Tony (AHB member) posted a quick fire recipe I am yet to try, others have mentioned it is pretty good. That recipe only uses Williamtette and I am not sure this is the right hop selection on it's own for JSAA. I posted this thread to focus purely on JSAA, so if anyone has a tried and tested Extract recipe that is on the money, please post it or direct me to the thread. Please, no AG, this is a kits and extracts area for dumb f#cks like me I am yet to progress to AG, that all seems a bit "scary" for want of a better word. Still only 12 months into this brewing caper and trying to learn from you more experienced brewers.

I had someone tell me previously that maybe a combo of East Kent Goldings, Fuggles and Williamette maybe the hop selection? Obviously some Crystal Malt would be in the mix for your grains for colour?

Spiderpig Out!

Spiderpig.

I have made Tony's recipe and it's very good. I would recommend giving it a go. I don't think you'll get a better extract JSAA clone.

As for everyone else, we can theorise about this crap until the cows come home. I'm giving something new a try (something you have not done before, and me either), and I'll reserve judgement until after I'm done. As I have done an extract clone of JSAA I'll have experience at both options and can report factually on the difference in time / money / final result.

If anyone here has created a JSAA clone using Tony's recipe (or similar) and has used this JSAA clone kit, feel free to give factual input. I for one will be interested.