Brewing n Cork

oconn

Hi ,
I read that people are picking up stuff like malt extract / dextrose / glucose in health shops /tesco stores etc....Does any one know of any health shops in the Cork city area that sell that kind of stuff. Any one ive been in ( natuers way / holand n barret etc ) dont seem to have it???

Also I am doing a coopers kit with a muntons kit enahancer ( dme and dextrose mixed ). Does adding extra hops do much for general taste or is it a real refinment >?

noby

Hi oconn,
Your kit should be hopped already, so there's no real need to add extra hops, unless it's a bitter you're brewing and like hoppier ones, or if you want to dry hop. In general, though, there's no need for kits.

oblivious

Hi oconn

Have you tried Glengariff Homebrew Centre,

Here is his address and phone number

Mr. B. Tansey
Lough Avaul Farm
Glengariff
County Cork
Eire
Tel. 0044 27 63444

oconn

thanks for fast reply.
I get my kits off Bob in glengarrif, was just specualting if some things could be got at hand. Im interested in doing a bit more than the kit and enhancer ..but i dont want to rush.. only made 4 brews so far..3 good 1 bad..

oblivious

You could steep some crystal malt to make nice pale ale, or some roasted barley, chocolate/ crystal malt and a little black patent to make a stout.

bigears

I think adding hops to your kit will only improve it. You won't get any extra bitterness as this is only achieved through a boil (e.g. 60 minute). The flavour and aroma hops in the kits don't survive the concentration process but you can easily add these by making a "hop tea". Just steep your hops in hot but not boiling water - around 70-75 deg C in a sterile cup or bowl and chuck into your fermenter. Steep for 5 to 10 minutes for aroma and an extra 10 minutes to give a little flavour. Try anything between 10 - 30 grams. It may be easier to put them in a hop bag as they won't clog up your syphon when racking.

Some styles such as stout & wheat beer benefit less from flavour/aroma additions but most styles will be enhanced. For English style ales you could try Fuggles. Goldings etc. Cascade works very well with Pale Ales. For lagers Hallertau or Saaz work well. This is an easy improvement to make and it's a gentle step along the way to customising your beer and giving it your own stamp. Try some good beers and see what hop flavours you like, then see if you can find out what hops they use and shoot for something similar.

btw as oblivious mentioned, steeping is a good next step to make to add some 'freshness' to your beer. chocolate malt works really well in a stout!

oconn

I have a mr beer stout 1.2 lbs hopped kit ...it came with a pak of dextrose..say 1 lb. I was plannin on putting in a 1 kg kit enahncer...does anyone know if this will be enough I fear it might come out just black and bland.....could I throw anything like oatmeal ( does that mean flahavans oatmeal?? )... or choclate etc in ...or would i be best order stuff from my supplier....if so what ......

bigears

I've heard of Mr. Beer but I'm not familiar with their kits. If you have 1.2lbs kit and you're already adding a lb of dextrose, another 2 lbs of kit enhancer will make your beer less like a stout - maybe you could call it a porter or brown ale? . As far as I know the kit enhancers are a mixture of dextrose and DME, what ratio I don't know.

Assuming it's 50/50 you'll be starting off with

1.2 lbs kit
1 lbs dextrose + 1 lbs dextrose from kit enhancer
1 lbs DME from the kit enhancer

You could make a smaller quantity (what quantity does the kit suggest?) , use the kit enhancer and hang on to the dextrose for another batch or for priming. This way you're not diluting it as much.

Chocolate malt can be steeped and will add some colour and flavour to your stout. Use a couple of hundred grams in a few litres of water and heat up to about 65 C. Switch off the heat, discard the grains and use the resulting liquid. You can cover your pot and let them rest for 30 minutes but it's not really necessary with steeping.

Oats would need to be mashed, if you haven't steeped grains before I would hold off on this step for now.

oconn

the mr beer is for 9 liter batch.. i will use the 1.2lb stout kit and 1kg enahncer ( think its 70/30 dme/ dextrose) and drink whatever it makes ! stout / porter / dark ale ....all suit me..thanks for the advice....do stouts take less priming sugar ? how much per 2liter or 500ml bottle ?
Also another question....if i under prime can i add in another bit of sugar later on and let it sit for another whilee? I primed 2liter bottles with 1.5 table spoon of white table sugar not sure if its enough...

oblivious

Generally around 100-140 grams of sugar per 19 litres add to half a pint of water and bring to a boil to sanitise it. I am not sure if you could accurately weigh sugar of 2 litre batches, it just if you add too much it could result in bottle bombs. 50-70 grams of sugar in you 9 litre batches should wok out ok

Hendrixcat

I used to toss a teaspoon of sugar into each bottle before I got into properly calculating parts of CO2. I was always afraid that I would over pressurise the bottles, and all the books warn about it, but I never managed to detonate a single one. I'm slightly dissapointed about it really....

Adeptus Titanicus

oblivious wrote:

Have you tried Glengariff Homebrew Centre,

Here is his address and phone number

Mr. B. Tansey
Lough Avaul Farm
Glengariff
County Cork
Eire
Tel. 0044 27 63444

Does Bob have a Website, or can he send a catalog/list of what he's got? So far I've found the local suppliers pretty poor on variety

Did I read somewhere that Mr. Tansey has a shop in the UK (considering the UK phone number above)?

Thanks

oblivious

He used to have a website but I don’t think its working anymore. If you ring him he will send you a catalogue of his products. Grape and grain do the basics, pale malt, extract and a limited rage of specialty grain. I order addition specialty grains from hop and grape in the UK, here is the link http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/

noby

Adeptus,
There is a pretty basic site, but I can't put my finger on it now. Try the homebrew sticky. As Oblivious said, give him a ring and he'll post a catalogue.

He does have another shop in the UK, which he goes over to once a month or so, so if you are on the south coast (N25), he'll arrange to stop and meet you, saving on postage.

sean_0

oblivious wrote:

Hi oconn

Have you tried Glengariff Homebrew Centre,

Here is his address and phone number

Mr. B. Tansey
Lough Avaul Farm
Glengariff
County Cork
Eire
Tel. 0044 27 63444

I think that should read 00353 27 63444. I've dealt with Bob a few times and that's his cork phone number not England. His old website has gone offline so that's why you can't find it Noby. I have the current pricelist at home, might try to scan it tonight and pm anyone who wants it.