Kits V Ingredients

[SerLung]

Making beer, your options are just endless.

My neighbour brews, his opinion on the difference between summer and winter is the amount of fermenting time. Summer is great, doesn't take as long to brew. Winter just takes longer he says. But u get the same result.

My friend and I brew. Tonight we bottled and put on another kit. Whilst bottling, we discussed a mate who does everything from ingredients. Boils this, adds that etc etc. Takes him 6 hours!

So my questing is - how much better can it really get. At the moment we are getting some great results from just the regular beer kits from the shop. We make our beer to drink, not to win awards.

Do I really need to complicate my life by making beer from this and that? Is it really that good, just for my drinking pleasure.

 

[manticle]

As you brew and become excited about beer and beer history, your palate changes.

The extent of how far you go is entirely up to you and you should always brew for yourself.

I would say yes the difference is worth it (amazingly so) and the 4-6 hours I spend brewing is something I look forward to as the process is fun and relaxing and rewarding. I enter very few competitions (two so far in my 4+ year brewing life) and those just for feedback.

Essentially it's up to you and what you expect from your beer.

If you're brewing the beer you like then brew it. I f you start liking something else then learn more and brew that. Have you tasted your mate's beer?

 

[Punkal]

If you enjoy what you drink then there is no need to change but experimenting and learning is part of the fun...

Ask your mate if you can steal a brew or 2 of his best what i assume is all grain (because of the time factor) then you will know what can be made.
I quick and easy way to get some of that flavor without taking more time (around 20-30 mins) is grain steeping and adding late addition hops. There has been hundreds of threads created about it already if you use the search you will find lots of info...

Also I read John Palmers How to Brew when i was first starting out, it has helped me so much and i have gone back to it a few times because i knew the answer to my question was there... There is also a PDF version floating around on the net i find it easier to use, both are free for the 1st edition.

 

[Nick JD]

Okay - if you are bottling and making kit beer, you are doing as much work as someone making all grain beer and kegging.

But they are drinking awesome beer and you're not.

It doesn't take 6 hours to make all grain beer. It takes about 1 hour, spread over three - unless you need to stare at a mash tun for 90 minutes and watch a wort boil for an hour.

It takes me 10 minutes to mill grain, 20 to bring water to strike (watching TV), 10 to drain the bag, 5 to measure hops, and about 5 to cover the kettle, and 5 the next day to pour it into a fermenter. That's not even 60 minutes.

Add 10 minutes to clean out my kettle and hose the grain bag.

6 hours?

 

[ekul]

Totally worth getting 'complicated'. I brewed on and off since i've been 15 (started helping mum and dad) but it was always kits. Last year i found this site, met some brewers and tasted their beers, i was amazed that you could actually make beer that tastes like beer.

Its a slow process where you learn about things alongte way. If i knew nothing about brewing and someone told me i had to get some fridges to ferment in, wire up a temp control, buy a grain mill, import hops from america, buy a big pot, weld a brew stand, sew a grain bag and buy fermenter, gas burner, scales, hydrometer etc etc etc i probably wouldn't have bothered. But since i started i've just plodded along buying bits and pieces (the majority of the time on a uni student budget) learning as i go along. And the more you brew the better it gets.

Give extract brewing a crack. The difference in quality over kits will make you want to try all grain, thats what happened to me. And once you try all grain its all over

 

[Yob]

But they are drinking awesome beer and you're not.

Cant exactly agree with how this was put... AG Brews can be rubbish too...

If you are enjoying the results you are getting and are happy with the time you can put into it there is no reason to change what you are doing.

Many nice brews can be made from a Kit can, (and some can be rubbish)

many will skoff and point you in the direction of all grain brewing, but as said, this process can be very organic and come with time and your increased curiosity with control over the various ingredients you use,

dont be in too much of a hurry to make things more complicated than they need to be for you... especially learning about the why's and why not's of the more complicated processes.. also get along to your mates brew day one day and he can show you how much fun/simple it can be if you can.. also a good opportunity to sit for a few hours with a few beers!!

If you are happy with what you can do then all good, if you are curious by nature, you will soon be heading down a long enjoyable road to brewing your own beer.

 

[Pennywise]

But IMO they are drinking awesome beer and you're not.

Fixed

 

[Nick JD]

Fixed

It's not just my opinion.

 

[stuchambers]

I think by putting up this post you are already wanting to move away from kits. I did one K&K, then moved to kit with some hop additions, next 2 brews were full extract, Im just waiting on the post man to deliver my next lot of All Grain ingredients.

I think the biggest increase in quality was adding some hop additions it masked the metallic taste I always seem to taste in a Kit beer
Edit: Im still yet to try my first all grain its still conditioning.

I obviously have moved very fast into All Grain but I have had a lot of time recently to research the processors. Move at the pace that is right for your time and budget.

Cheers stu

 

[Kevman]

Just adding some fixes and clarifications to this rather misleading post.

Okay - if you are bottling and making kit beer, you are doing as much work as someone making all grain beer and kegging.

This is a crap statement.
And what if someone is making all grain and bottling? How long does that take.

It doesn't take 6 hours to make all grain beer. It takes about 1 hour, spread over three - unless you need to stare at a mash tun for 90 minutes and watch a wort boil for an hour.

If you are starting out then you will need to take regular temperature checks during mashing to see if its retaining enough heat. Also you will need to watch your boil so that it doesn't boil over.

It takes me 10 minutes to mill grain, 20 to bring water to strike (watching TV), 10 to drain the bag, 5 to measure hops, and about 5 to cover the kettle, and 5 the next day to pour it into a fermenter. That's not even 60 minutes.

Add 10 minutes to clean out my kettle and hose the grain bag.

Time efficiencies can be gained with the correct equipment. See other posts for what equipment works best. Also please consider that these times are for BIAB method of all grain and that other methods may take longer.

For a kit - this is the open tin and pour it in fermenter, add malt/dextrose/BE2 part, then fill with water. About 30 minutes if you dawdle.

6 hours?

It could take 6 hours for your first AG brew to complete but with experience this time requirement will be reduced.

 

[manticle]

As my experience grows, my brew day time has actually increased.

Nick's statement is disingenuous (what a surprise). No it's not 6 hours of continuous, non-stop, hands-on work like concreting or working in a commercial kitchen but you still need to allow a period of time (usually between 4 and 6 hours) to make an AG batch.

Nick: You're suggesting (falsely) that you can make a batch in 55 minutes. Your stovetop brewing might take a three hour period which still gives the lie to 55 minutes. Other people's methods (whether you're interested in using them or not) might take a bit longer (or at least be spread out over a longer period)

Mash 1 hour, boil 1 hour. There's 2 hours already and even superman couldn't get a batch done properly in that time, regardless of short cuts.

 

[Braumoasta]

It's not just my opinion.

but it's also not fact. Speak from your opinion, not others.

 

[Yob]

It's not just my opinion.

This is the Gospel according to Nick.

How is it not just your opinion? as far as I can see it IS in fact just your humble and unbiased opinion..

Now that you have so clearly shown me the error of my ways I shall rush out and get myself a new massive esky and stainless steel 60 lt pots, mongolian burner and pump etc etc..

FFS

I guess those Kit beers Ive read about winning comps must have just been a lie and all the judges must have been utterly wrong too....

 

[ekul]

something that you could try if you want is a fresh wort kit. This is all grain wort without the 5 hour brewday. Just add yeast and you're away.

To get more out of your brewday you can get a bigger kettle like in this thread http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=52148 This bad boy knocks out 4 cubes for a 4-5hr brewday. So even if you are spending 6 hours a brewday, you're getting a fair amount of product. Most peole don't go this big, they do singles and doubles, or even triples.

 

[[email protected]]

I enjoy my all grain brewing day more then I enjoy drinking it (although I do plenty of both simultaneously). It depends on the type of person you are as to whether AG is worth it. There's plenty of observations you can make about your life to work out if AG is for you.

If when cooking you buy frozen premade stuff because there's no messing round, you can just pop it in the oven and it's cooked then KK is for you. If you would rather make something from fresh ingredients then you're an all grainer.

If somethings broken and you call in a handy man then KK, if you try to fix it yourself AG.

If you like to fly somewhere to holiday KK, if you drive to enjoy the roadtrip AG.

 

[Nick JD]

Let's face the truth people.

Those who have moved on from kit brewing have done so because their beer didn't taste very nice and they wanted to improve it.

When I said it's not just my opinion - I included every other person who started AG brewing and finds themselves walking past the cans at Coles and not putting one in the trolley. Whether you admit it or not, your actions are speaking volumes about your kit brewing opinion.

Sure, you can tart a kit up with hops and LDME and liquid yeasts ... but that isn't K&K.

The best K&K I ever drank left me wanting to make better beer.

EDIT: next brew I'm using a stopwatch to time the exact hands-on time it takes. It's just not that difficult, or time consuming. I can watch a recorded movie in the time I brew. Last brew I watched the F1.

 

[Nick JD]

Speak from your opinion, not others.

IMO people shouldn't enforce their opinion on how others should speak.

 

[Nick JD]

As my experience grows, my brew day time has actually increased.

It takes you half an hour to take a dump, and half an hour to read the paper.

Smart man reads the paper on the dunnie. Leaves more time to make beer - and stare at the swirling wort.

 

[manticle]

OK

 

[Braumoasta]

IMO people shouldn't enforce their opinion on how others should speak.

Good to see you're using you own opinion.