K&k Benchmark Brew

[Bribie G]

Since getting back into brewing recently (on to brew 11) I've never let the dreaded cane sugar anywhere near the fermenter, using kits plus LDME or liquid ME, dex, maltodex, hop teabags etc.

Most of my brews are at least $20, up to around $30 for a Morgans kit +large can of ME + teabag.

It struck me whether, by spending more than twice the dollars of a K&K, was I actually getting a 'must have' experience, considering that at the heart of the brew is just a kit?

The above mentioned $30 brew has turned out very very nice rich copper coloured smooth beer, and I'm making it again as I see the value there but a couple of lighter kits + 750 dex + 500 LDME + Cluster have ended up well, a bit unspectacular although I'm sampling them fairly young. What I was trying for was a strongish, but refreshing crisp quaffing lager but I find them a bit sweet, malty and "chewy" for what I require. Also I'm getting some disappointing chill hazes with the Coopers (but not the Morgans so it's not the LDME) which deters me from throwing too much extra money at a Coopers kit.

So for a 'benchmark' exercise, prompted by recommendations on another thread in this Kits subforum I went to BILO today and bought a Brigalow Bitter plus a kilo of the pure white and deadly. Total $10.75. Will mix it up forthwith.

I'll bump this thread in about six weeks and do a full report.

 

[clarkey7]

Since getting back into brewing recently (on to brew 11) I've never let the dreaded cane sugar anywhere near the fermenter, using kits plus LDME or liquid ME, dex, maltodex, hop teabags etc.

Most of my brews are at least $20, up to around $30 for a Morgans kit +large can of ME + teabag.

It struck me whether, by spending more than twice the dollars of a K&K, was I actually getting a 'must have' experience, considering that at the heart of the brew is just a kit?

The above mentioned $30 brew has turned out very very nice rich copper coloured smooth beer, and I'm making it again as I see the value there but a couple of lighter kits + 750 dex + 500 LDME + Cluster have ended up well, a bit unspectacular although I'm sampling them fairly young. What I was trying for was a strongish, but refreshing crisp quaffing lager but I find them a bit sweet, malty and "chewy" for what I require. Also I'm getting some disappointing chill hazes with the Coopers (but not the Morgans so it's not the LDME) which deters me from throwing too much extra money at a Coopers kit.

So for a 'benchmark' exercise, prompted by recommendations on another thread in this Kits subforum I went to BILO today and bought a Brigalow Bitter plus a kilo of the pure white and deadly. Total $10.75. Will mix it up forthwith.

I'll bump this thread in about six weeks and do a full report.

Bribie,

I made kit beers for 3 years and was sweet...You can make great beers and be happy drinking them and serving them to your friends.
There is a fantastic range available....BUT not all kits are created equal.
If your making 22L batches, its more than 2 cartons beer for 30 bucks......

Don't skimp to save a few dollars......you will be disappointed with the results.

Good luck with it all.

PB

 

[dc59]

The third ever kit brew I made was a budget brew. Did everything as cheap as I could, mainly cause I was still at uni and broke, but also to see if it was really worth speading the extra money.

I found that with home brewing, you really get what you paid for, and not surprisingly, the beer was ordinary.

Never used the Brigalow kit before so hopefully it comes good, at least it should be drinkable.

Very interested to see how it goes, be sure to let us know.

 

[Thunderlips]

If your going to spend $30 on a kit it's hard to go past the 3kg ESB tins which include a good safale yeast.

6 weeks!
Jeez, it must be hard waiting that long.
Kegs man!

 

[Mantis]

If your going to spend $30 on a kit it's hard to go past the 3kg ESB tins which include a good safale yeast.

6 weeks!
Jeez, it must be hard waiting that long.
Kegs man!

Just bought an ESB 3kg Bavarian Wheat can. Will give it a go this week when fermenter becomes available. Not sure whether to add any fermentables etc or just go can only.

 

[dc59]

If it's your first time using that can I'd be tempted to go as is.

They're suppose to be really good kits, and will give you a reference point to start tweaking if you choose to brew with it again.

But back on topic, it will be interesting to see how Bribie's new brew compares to some of his more expensive efforts.

 

[Barley Belly]

So for a 'benchmark' exercise, prompted by recommendations on another thread in this Kits subforum I went to BILO today and bought a Brigalow Bitter plus a kilo of the pure white and deadly. Total $10.75. Will mix it up forthwith.

I'm drinking my first ever brew (have No10 & 11 in the fermenters) at the moment it is a Toohey's Special Draught Kit which set me back $9.95 (on special) and combined it with a $3.50 bag of dextrose, fermented for 7 days with kit yeast at 24 deg, primed with white sugar for 7 days @ 24deg, tasted early was a bit bland and watery, it's now aged 2 months in the bottle and starting to be a nice drop for the money.

Thinking of doing it again and drop the temp to 18deg and adding a 50/50 mix of LDME/Dextrose and see how that goes.

 

[Beer&Kebab]

Ok, I'll confess.. I have brewed home brand draught + 1kg of white sugar many many times.. It makes cheap very drinkable swill for under 10 bucks.. I had a mate visit yesterday who only ever drinks euro imports.. He brought over a few Grolshies (as well as 20 empties for me - god bless him .. We had a couple of those then straight into the home brand draught.. Sure there is a difference.. But nobody complained..(when it is free who ever does ?) Quite often I even add lemon or maybe green ginger wine (I know it sounds girlie).. I see it as a point of dimishing returns.. Is $30 brew better than a $10.. Certainly.. I don't think it is 3 times better though.. It is what works for you.. Having said all this I am brewing a Coopers Euro lager right now for $20.. I reckon It will turn out pretty good.

1 can of Coopers Euro lager $11.80
750gms of Liquid Wheat Malt $5.50
250 gms of Carahell $1.20
20 gms of Tettenanger $1.50

Total $20.00

Brewed to 18ltrs ='s 2 cases of beer at $10 a case.. Good value IMHO..

Good luck BribieG

 

[Bribie G]

Quite often I even add lemon or maybe green ginger wine (I know it sounds girlie).. I see it as a point of dimishing returns..

Sounds like the pommie favourite "lager and lime", a pint of 3.2% lager with a dash of yellow lime cordial - at least it used to give the Harp or Carling Black Label a bit of flavour :lol:

 

[Noxious]

From my experience, any kit yeast brewed over 20C will have a certain taste which I can only describe as undesirable and detract from the malt and hop flavours beer should include!
I spend around $35-45 for a brew and always end up with some hops left over for an experiment at a later date.
The extra few dollars for yeast are invaluable and temp control thereafter has seen a marked improvement in my brews, to which now Im more than just proud to have made beer but proud of the flavour of my beer...

 

[The Big Burper]

.......................I see it as a point of dimishing returns.. Is $30 brew better than a $10.. Certainly.. I don't think it is 3 times better though.. It is what works for you..
...................

This is an important point for our fiscally challenged (me) members of the forum.

I'll be kegging my Brigalow and white sugar el cheapo brew. I'll give my opinion in a
couple of weeks.

Brigalow deserve a bit of support though, little Aussie battler company.


cheers
Dave

 

[Bribie G]

Brigalow deserve a bit of support though, little Aussie battler company.

They have been around for thirty years at least, so as I stated in another thread they are presumably doing something right. I picked up the other can of Club Gold you left for me at the Woolies . I notice that it is 'specially formulated for midstrength'. Life's too short for light beer so I'll be chucking in the kilo (raw sugar). Maybe the 'specially formulated' means better hopping rate or something? Interesting.

On the subject of bargain brews I did a straightforward toucan with 2 cans of Coopers Lager on special. No additives, just the cans. Cracked a young bottle just now, took a slurp and immediately thought "now what's that flavour... I've tasted it recently and it's almost exactly the same....." Then it hit me.. Skol SuperLager from 1st choice liquor. The 9% widowmaker. Tastes almost identical. Hope it doesn't change too much as it ages.

For about $20 that's what I call a bargain, as the 500ml can of superlager is about five bucks Might slip a kilo into the next brew and bring it up to matching strength h34r:

 

[Beer&Kebab]

For about $20 that's what I call a bargain, as the 500ml can of superlager is about five bucks Might slip a kilo into the next brew and bring it up to matching strength h34r:

Crikey.. 9% is pretty heavy.. I wonder if the Coopers yeast can handle that even if you pitch both yeasts ?

 

[Swinging Beef]

Just bought an ESB 3kg Bavarian Wheat can. Will give it a go this week when fermenter becomes available. Not sure whether to add any fermentables etc or just go can only.

ESB bavarian wheat is one of the best kits around.
Other than dry hopping or using better yeast, leave this one alone.
It will taste brilliant!

 

[Bribie G]

Crikey.. 9% is pretty heavy.. I wonder if the Coopers yeast can handle that even if you pitch both yeasts ?

When I was just messing around a couple of months ago and getting back into brewing I did a Coopers Stout and accidentally put in 2 kilos of raw sugar. It fermented out fine in about ten days and ended up fairly thin tasting and dry, not to mention feral strength! I have a javascript alcohol calculator I got off the net which calculates that 3kg of sugar in 25 L will produce 9% so the 2kg of sugar plus whatever is the dry weight of fermentables in a Coopers kit should at least hit 9% and the ale yeast handled it just fine.

The only way I could drink it was to cut it in the jug with a Tallie of Carlton Mid :icon_drool2:

 

[mikeintmba]

I have spent years doing k&k off and on but have felt the commercial stuff was better.I have tasted a fellow homebrewers which was a modified kit and thought wow, wish I could do that. The last few months I have been spending heaps on hops, yeast and malt and experimenting with it all to try and make a really nice beer. Last effort that I just finished off was a home brand draught with 500g LDME , 250g suger and 1 plug of Hallertau hops boiled for an hour. Cost me over $20 and wasnt bad. I have also started cleaning better, ie removing the fermenter tap to clean and using bleach. Tonight I opened a brew that was simply a coopers real ale with 500g dextrose and bugger me it tasted pretty good in comparison and the bloody head lasts to the end of the glass. My brews prior to all this had a homebrew taste which I put down to cleanliness issues and too high ferment temps. So I believe the simple stuff can make a difference to taste regardless of the ingredients used. My quest is to find a nice beer that I can make and continue to make it myself.

 

[Brewtus]

I have been thinking along the same line. I think my own time is valuable so I am happy to spend the money but only if it gets results. If I think my time is worth at least $20/hr and to brew, bottle and clean up thats about 2hrs per brew than $10 for ingredients totals $50 a brew and $30 on ingredients means a $70 brew. Therefore with this logic if a $30($70) brew is twice as good as a $10($50) than I am in front.

No the less I am doing a Farmland Larger Toucan with good Pilsner (lager) yeast. Will advise how it goes.

 

[KGB]

Good thread BribieG, I like the idea, not only for a basic brew but also a brew you can use as a "reliable" and easy brew to have on hand and to make up easily when you need to make something and know it will (should) turn out pretty all right.
The best example I've come across so far was a toucan that sounds very similar to yours, although I believe mine was 1x Coopers Lager and 1x Farmland draught. Decent results for absolute minimum effort.

 

[Mantis]

ESB bavarian wheat is one of the best kits around.
Other than dry hopping or using better yeast, leave this one alone.
It will taste brilliant!

Ok, will do. Thanks
Sorry to be off topic here eh

 

[Interloper]

The best example I've come across so far was a toucan that sounds very similar to yours, although I believe mine was 1x Coopers Lager and 1x Farmland draught. Decent results for absolute minimum effort.

Did you use both yeasts or just the Coopers Lager?

Sounds like a nice cheapy...