Steeping Kits?

[milob40]

hi, has anyone had experience with these? linky
seems like a good step to try from k&k, is there any hbs on the east coast that sells these as i think the postage would be a killer.
not interested in long drawn out grain brewing as i don't have a lot of spare time.
"she who must be obeyed" has long list of "things to do" around house that apparently are more important than beer making :angry: lol

 

[Lecterfan]

I haven't tried these ones specifically, but the ones that Phil and Brad used to do through stillbrewing.com.au (that were originally grumpys masterbresw) were an awesome way to enhance kit beers and to start to learn about different hops, grains and flavours.

You specifcally state you don't want to get into partials or Ag etc and I reckon something like this would be a good way for anyone to learn about the different tastes etc that are available from using various adjuncts, hops and grains.

As you say, postage mighht be the killer, but things like this are certainly another step up from Coopers brew enhancers and they get you thinking a bit more about the process and the unlimited possibilities.

Good luck! :icon_cheers:

 

[keifer33]

I have tried these ones and indeed they where a step up in quality over the standard kits. They come with a muslin bag ready to steep away. Maybe give James an email or call im sure he will be able to give an estimate on how shipping would go. They are around 500g a pack.

 

[kelbygreen]

postage wont be to bad it would prob be like 200g of grain and like 20g of hops so wont cost to much to post

 

[Silo Ted]

For someone wanting to get into enhancing their kits, these are an excellent stepping stone in your brewing hobby. Plan your next four brews and buy a few of these packs, it will be more postal cost effective. Then if youre happy with the results (you will be), you can start thinking about buying greater quantities of grain, hops etc.

Once youre comfortable with the process, you could even look at stepping up the grain quantities to 1kg at a time, even doing a mini-mash to add to your kits beers. A word of warning though, its a downward slope from there, because your hobby will become an obsession, and youll soon be arguing with the Mrs about why you need to buy shiny big pots, burners, mills etc

Good luck, I highly recommend that you go ahead with some of these. Let us know what you think of the difference in taste when you have brewed with them.

 

[bconnery]

hi, has anyone had experience with these? linky
seems like a good step to try from k&k, is there any hbs on the east coast that sells these as i think the postage would be a killer.
not interested in long drawn out grain brewing as i don't have a lot of spare time.
"she who must be obeyed" has long list of "things to do" around house that apparently are more important than beer making :angry: lol

Well what you could do is read the ingredients list, buy the equivalent grain from a more local hbs to you and away you go...

As some of those kits contain base grain you would definitely be better off 'steeping' for the longer end of the time range, and keeping them warm in some way.

Read up on mini-mashing as this is the technique you will need if the 'kit' contains base grain.

 

[Bribie G]

Learning about steeping, what each crystal / roast / pale malt does and what each hop is like (I've been at this 2 years and there are heaps of grains and hops out there I haven't even tried yet) can be almost a degree subject in itself. It's good to see someone making up packages that offer a balanced range of ingredients to emulate a particular style.

Unfortunately many LHBS operators wouldn't have the knowledge and probably not the turnover to keep a range of packs in fresh condition so it's really a concept suited to internet based stores or larger outlets such as Brewers Choice or CraftBrewer. No affiliation but CB's site gives great information on each grain and hop so once you acquire a basic knowledge of what's happening, you can mix and match from their range and can order as little as 500g of each grain. How I started off.

 

[petesbrew]

They look like a pretty good buy. And adding some steeping grain & hops to your supermarket Coopers kits REALLY improves them.

If you want to do it yourself, the old coffee plunger & strainer setup works just fine. The instructions should be in the articles link above somewhere.

 

[DU99]

i have bought a couple of those packs,have used one so far..easy to use,will be ready to taste test in a couple weeks..used the golden pack with a coopers draught

 

[milob40]

i have bought a couple of those packs,have used one so far..easy to use,will be ready to taste test in a couple weeks..used the golden pack with a coopers draught

let me now how your brew turns out.
good to hear encouragement from everyone,
my local hbs is more into spirits and k&k than craft brewing.
suits me fine but if i can add that little spark to my brew to give it idividuality.........
oh crap, is this how it starts? i think i have a problem :icon_drunk:
wait a minute... i don't go to meetings so no problem

 

[Kieren]

They even sell HI TECH yeast :unsure:

http://preview13.awardspace.com/brewz2you....p;product_id=14

But seriously, just get into it and try one - it's the only way - as long as your sanitation and cold side (fermenting to packaging) brewing is up to scratch you will taste the differences between what you are doing currently and the differences between each of the packs.

 

[DangerousDave]

ive made a few of these and been really happy with the added boost they give to kits

 

[shonks69]

I've used these steeping kits quite a few times now and had great results, the kits are very user friendly (if you can make a cup of tea you can brew one of these kits). Try these kits for a couple of brews and I bet you will move on to partial brews in a very short time, once there you will never look back. :icon_drool2:

Happy brewing
Shonks

 

[milob40]

well i did it, ordered some steeping kits today and found this one may be the answer to that bland can of coopers mex i keep staring at ontop of the fridge pinata steeping kit
also bought a few "aussie pride"
so will let you know how i go.
p.s. the brew 2 u new site has some bugs so i had to navigate to the old site through the home page :icon_cheers:

 

[petesbrew]

well i did it, ordered some steeping kits today and found this one may be the answer to that bland can of coopers mex i keep staring at ontop of the fridge pinata steeping kit
also bought a few "aussie pride"
so will let you know how i go.
p.s. the brew 2 u new site has some bugs so i had to navigate to the old site through the home page :icon_cheers:

The last time I did a Coopers Mex cerveza, I threw in 500g chinese rice Malt extract syrup. It actually went pretty well with it.
Get it from the asian supermarket near the sugar section.

 

[milob40]

The last time I did a Coopers Mex cerveza, I threw in 500g chinese rice Malt extract syrup. It actually went pretty well with it.
Get it from the asian supermarket near the sugar section.

sounds interesting :icon_drool2:
so do i put less dextrose in it to avoid higher abv? i want to finish around 4.8%.
also if i'm steeping grain should i lower dextrose or is this minimal effect on abv?

 

[matho]

http://www.absolutehomebrew.com.au/?page_id=10Absolutehomebrew sell a similar product about halfway down the page under infusion kits

i have used them alot and they are great for kits

cheers mathohttp://www.absolutehomebrew.com.au/?page_id=10

 

[petesbrew]

sounds interesting :icon_drool2:
so do i put less dextrose in it to avoid higher abv? i want to finish around 4.8%.
also if i'm steeping grain should i lower dextrose or is this minimal effect on abv?

Hng on, I'll dig up my recipe.

EDIT: found it.
Possum Trap Cerveza
Coopers Cerveza
1kg Saunders LME
500g Rice Malt Syrup
120g Carahell (steep)
10g Saaz @ 60min
10g Saaz @ 10min
US-05
Next time I'd forget the Saunders LME... I had started using it lately, but I might go back to LDME or Brew enhancer...
From memory it was okay, but I think it took a while to improve.

 

[milob40]

Hng on, I'll dig up my recipe.

EDIT: found it.
Possum Trap Cerveza
Coopers Cerveza
1kg Saunders LME
500g Rice Malt Syrup
120g Carahell (steep)
10g Saaz @ 60min
10g Saaz @ 10min
US-05
Next time I'd forget the Saunders LME... I had started using it lately, but I might go back to LDME or Brew enhancer...
From memory it was okay, but I think it took a while to improve.

ah so no dex required , lucky i asked or would've ended up at 9%.
thinking of using the steep kit , 750gm of brew enhancer, and rice malt. does the steep kit add much in the way of fermentable sugar?

 

[petesbrew]

ah so no dex required , lucky i asked or would've ended up at 9%.
thinking of using the steep kit , 750gm of brew enhancer, and rice malt. does the steep kit add much in the way of fermentable sugar?

For that small amount of a couple hundred grams, bugger all really, maybe 10%.
It's more for flavour, mouthfeel & head retention that you add steeping grains.

I'm not really the best source of info. Far from it, but Rice malt pretty much adds little to no body to beer, just a step sideways from Dex or sugar.
I think it's suited to Mex or Asian beers, but maybe have a search for info into it.