What Is In A Can/kit?

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sluggerdog

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Hey All,

Just wondering if anyone know what is the standard ingrediants within a kit/can?

Pretty much from what I can guess it is Malt and hops so if I am right does any one know approx how many grams of hops per 1.7 kg so I can re-create this myself to my liking using unhopped malt and my choice in hops.

Thanks

SD :)
 
Slugger,

Some of the kits will give an IBU rating based on the final volume but that doesn't tell you the amount or proportions of hops used to acheive the bittering. If the kit doesn't indicate the bitterness a side by side of a standard commercial beer and your home made jobby will give you a starting point -- if -- you need to add more to get to the level you are used to.


As to what is in a kit .......... such are the mysteries of life :D





steve.
 
There is Hops, and there is Hops. well then there is Isohop thats just bitter extract (if i am correct)

So to create a fresher better beer use extract and "REAL" hops to get a better fresh beer.

Now this is where AA% (alpha acids) come into the deal. the more AA% the more bitterness (this is effected by its storage and age also - keep it cold and out of the air )

so most mega swill use POR hops. these are a high AA% hence you need little.

Use a German hop like Hallertau (lagers?) and its much lower AA% hence you will need more.

Also you need to match the bitterness to the maltyness to keep it balanced.

Kits are (I find) light on in the bitterness.

give a example beer you would like to brew and the ofther members i am sure will help!
 
Well I tend to use the morgans cans...

- Golden Saaz Pilsener
- Blue Mountain Lager - Color in 23 litres ebc 4.5 bitterness 25 IBU
- Canadian Light - Colour 4 ebc, bitterness 16 IBU
- Golden Sheaf Wheat Beer - Color in 23 litres ebc 5.5 bitterness 20 IBU


To name a few cans that I was particularly interested in

Thanx
 
Guys, bit of a silly question, but what does EBC stand for? I tried searching for it but I couldnt find anything!
 
Morry, European Brewing Convention, A bit like the Standards Australia spec, if we had one, for brewing. Used as the standard for malt and beer analysis across most of Europe and here in Australia.

Wes
 
EBC is usually used to refer to the colour of malt (or the colour it contributes to a beer). The bigger the EBC number, the darker.

As pointed out earlier, EBC is the european standard. In the US I understand SRM and Lovibond are used.
 
Grumpy's have 15IBU wheat extract cans, 20, 25 and 30 IBU malt extract cans, 34IBU dark malt extract cans and unhopped extra light cans. All 1.7kg and designed for 23 litres.

tdh
 
Sosman, EBC is much more than the just the colour of the malt. It refers to a complete analytical procedure that covers off all of the malt parameters in the same way as the ASBC (American Society of Brewing Chemists) have their system which reports colour in SRM units, and IOB (Institute of Brewing), the UK based system that repotrs colour in EBC units but has a different test mash volume to the EBC method and always comes up with a lower colour than straight EBC.

All these analytical procedures use the Lovibond colour wheel to measure comparative mash AND finished beer colour. So just converting the colour from these different analytical procedures is quite easy but not so some of the other parameters like diastatic power and protein levels etc. Most of the malt sold in the world is presented under the EBC Ananlytical system.

Wes
 
Quincy,

With respect to Wes, you don't need to know everything, at a high level, to be able to make a decent beer.

Sometimes, you just need to be able to read a recipe, and perhaps have a guess at substitutes, when you can't match the ingredients locally.
I was gonna ramble about different hops, adding grains and trying liquid yeasts to sse what U like...but I'm sure U will find your own path to beer enlightenment :rolleyes:
 
Quincy, Weizguy is right - dont sweat the techo stuff, just keep them brews rolling and you will gradually pick up the necessary knowledge. I post some of the more finite technical info for those brewing souls that are into the more anal realms of brewing.

Cheers,

Wes
 
Weizguy/Wess

I am new to the game and my mind is like a sponge at the moment.
I'm just brewing simple things now (basically Kits and Bits) but can't help myself when I read some of the more advanced aspects of the craft.


One day I'll be a big boy!!! :D

Patience is not one of best suits.

Cheers
 
Dude,

We've all been there. ;)
It was a revelation when I started using liquid yeast, malt extract and fresh hops.
I thoroughly recommend getting a boiler (if U haven't already) and giving the kits the flick.
Your beer will be better and cheaper, although you may make a few dogs along the way. I know I did. :(
Don't want to overwhelm U with info. Just some pointers.
All in your own good time...
 
Coopers light extract, 28Kg for $89, just a tad over $3/Kg, way cheaper than what you pay for kits, even allowing for needing to add some specialty grains and hops.

If you go that way get 50L boiler, then slide easily into AG

Jovial Monk
 
Jovial_Monk said:
Coopers light extract, 28Kg for $89, just a tad over $3/Kg, way cheaper than what you pay for kits, even allowing for needing to add some specialty grains and hops.

If you go that way get 50L boiler, then slide easily into AG

Jovial Monk
Sounds good, for my next go I will try a brew with something like the following:

- 3kg light extra
- 20g Saaz Hops (1st)
- 10g Fungles Hops (2nd)

and see how that goes....
 
Hi,

Bulk malt is sold unhopped, so you have to work out how bitter you want your beer.

When you buy your hops, they should be marked with the alpha% rating.

This value is really important in determining the bitterness of your final beer, as is the amount of hops.

When you find out what this alpha % is, plug this into a bittering equation, rather than making a stab at 20 grams.

Also, use the same hops for the first and second addition. Fuggles and saaz are both very good hops to use, but usually not together.
 
Don't forget to work out the hop utilisation in working out your bitterness: the higher gravity the boil, the less the utilisation

JM
 
pint of lager said:
Hi,

Bulk malt is sold unhopped, so you have to work out how bitter you want your beer.

When you buy your hops, they should be marked with the alpha% rating.

This value is really important in determining the bitterness of your final beer, as is the amount of hops.

When you find out what this alpha % is, plug this into a bittering equation, rather than making a stab at 20 grams.

Also, use the same hops for the first and second addition. Fuggles and saaz are both very good hops to use, but usually not together.
Hey thanks for the heads up

Just wondering if you know where I could find a 'bittering equation' as stated in your post.

ALSO with the Fuggles and saaz hops together, i got it from a recipe from my local HBS and thought I would give it a go... why is it a bad idea to mix hops?

Thanks
 

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