Yorkshire Bitter

[mattcarty]

Hi

firstly I know im evil, i went to brewcraft and bought a kilkenny clone beer kit, oh the shame!

now i hope we can all move on from this controversial event and piece together the fragments of our shattered lives and deal with question at hand.

my problem is that the kit came with

1 can muntons yorkeshire bitter
15g fuggles t-bag
15g goldings t-bag
muntons gold yeast, not sure what type of yeast that is

and

the fermentable sugar that was added to the pack was a brewcraft mix looked like dextrose and LDME but who knows anyway I opened it up and it was hard as a rock grrrrrrr, probably could have boiled it up and got it disolved but thought using old crusty malt might be a bit detrimiental to the beer so in my panic i grabbed the only malt I had handy, a kilo of dark DME and dumped that in the brew

now i have never used dark malt before so will this recipe taste ok, obviousely wont be a kilkenny clone anymore but im wondering if it will turn out any good.

did i make the right choice by not using the old crusty malt that came with the kit or would this have been ok?

also another Q that comes to mind is do different types of fermentables give different alcohol percentage ie if i had used a kilo of LDME or dextrose or raw sugar instead of the DDME would I get the same %.

and for the record, lesson learned no more brewcraft kits.

cheers
carty

 

[cozmocracker]

i contacted Muntons about the yeast, i posted somewhere what the yeast is, i will do some digging and let you know.

Saccharomyces Cerevisia is what Muntons told me the yeast is.

 

[buttersd70]

now i have never used dark malt before so will this recipe taste ok, obviousely wont be a kilkenny clone anymore but im wondering if it will turn out any good.

Don't see why not. Only possible issue is that by going all malt (regardless of light or dark) instead of a blend containing flavour-neutral sugars like dex or maltodex, the beer may end up being slightly sweeter than intended....although, if the hops were boiled, and not just steeped, it should carry it through OK anyway....You'll probably end up with a dark mild. Probably a better beer than you intended.

did i make the right choice by not using the old crusty malt that came with the kit or would this have been ok?

Yep, I wouldn't have used it

also another Q that comes to mind is do different types of fermentables give different alcohol percentage ie if i had used a kilo of LDME or dextrose or raw sugar instead of the DDME would I get the same %.

Yes, the fermentability of the sugars will be different, which will effect the final gravity, and as a consequence, the ABV. The ddme is probably slightly less fermentable than ldme, so it might end up a couple of points higher in fg. (note; probably and might being the operative words.) Not a real problem imo.

and for the record, lesson learned no more brewcraft kits.

cheers
carty

 

[altone]

Butters links will give you all the answers...

Still, my XP with sugars that have caked due to moisture - I guess. - No problem so long as they're fully dissolved.
Dark malt will of course change the appearance and taste of the final brew - so you've just created a unique beer - grats

and as for your location,
Location: my couch is three metres from my keg, i am slowly wearing a path in the carpet.
buy a longer beer tube - no need to get off the couch :icon_chickcheers:

 

[mattcarty]

and as for your location,
Location: my couch is three metres from my keg, i am slowly wearing a path in the carpet.
buy a longer beer tube - no need to get off the couch :icon_chickcheers:

i ponder the effects of building a beer hat that will hold 2 cornys instead of beer cans. might be an ineresting balance issue after a few brews.

 

[manticle]

Sounds ok to me. The type of dark malt may affect the beer in different ways as dark crystals are sweeter but chocolate and black malts are roastier.

You may end up with something resembling a stout or porter. I like stouts and porters. The crusty malt sounds dubious and if you haven't thrown it away I would take it to said HBS and ask for an exchange.

 

[Bribie G]

"Yorkshire Bitter" covers a whole lot of styles, if you go there you will find beers so light in colour (Theakston) they look like lagers and others so dark they look like brown ales (John Smiths, Camerons). They also do a low range of ordinary bitters about 3.6% ABV and a 'higher band' of brews up to 5%. So I guess yours will turn out as a darker best bitter style with the DDME, should be fine provided the Muntons kit wasn't too aged and the malt was fresh as well.

:icon_cheers:

 

[manticle]

i ponder the effects of building a beer hat that will hold 2 cornys instead of beer cans. might be an ineresting balance issue after a few brews.

I ponder a beer hat. Is it like a meat hat?

 

[altone]

i ponder the effects of building a beer hat that will hold 2 cornys instead of beer cans. might be an ineresting balance issue after a few brews.

If you mount the cornys below waist level, it might actually help stop you falling over - lower centre of gravity :lol:

 

[mattcarty]

I ponder a beer hat. Is it like a meat hat?

thats HOT!