St Peters IPA - extra ingredients needed?

ReallyWiggy

Hi all, st peters IPA will be my second brew and I want to get it on so its nice and ready for Christmas. The kit comes with 2 tins, yeast and dried hops. Just wondering if anyone recommends adding any more extras? Like spraymalt or flavours etc? Anyone made it before? If so how long in the bottles is best before drinking. Thanks

mayto

Everything you need is in that 2 can kit. Ideally leave for at least 3-4 weeks in bottle before drinking them or just try a bottle/bottles after two weeks and to see how its getting on

ReallyWiggy

mayto wrote: »

Everything you need is in that 2 can kit. Ideally leave for at least 3-4 weeks in bottle before drinking them or just try a bottle/bottles after two weeks and to see how its getting on

Thanks man - really looking forward to this one. I've heard its really nice.

poitinstill

I made that last year ( i have 1 bottle left maybe have it at Christmas) I dry hop it but even straight up it is a cracking beer. Give it 2-3 weeks primary then bottle and give it 2-3 weeks maybe more and you will have a top quality beer easily pass for somthing bought in a specialist beer shop.

ReallyWiggy

poitinstill wrote: »

I made that last year ( i have 1 bottle left maybe have it at Christmas) I dry hop it but even straight up it is a cracking beer. Give it 2-3 weeks primary then bottle and give it 2-3 weeks maybe more and you will have a top quality beer easily pass for somthing bought in a specialist beer shop.

Wow thanks - cos the instructions say only 4-6 days before bottling then 2 weeks in bottles. Will try leaving it longer.

ReallyWiggy

poitinstill wrote: »

I made that last year ( i have 1 bottle left maybe have it at Christmas) I dry hop it but even straight up it is a cracking beer. Give it 2-3 weeks primary then bottle and give it 2-3 weeks maybe more and you will have a top quality beer easily pass for somthing bought in a specialist beer shop.

Wow thanks - cos the instructions say only 4-6 days before bottling then 2 weeks in bottles. Will try leaving it longer.

poitinstill

they always give minimum times..ie you "could" drink it but it wont be at its peak. that kit is great..i think about 3 weeks in the bottle and then get into it.

ReallyWiggy

Day 2 of brewing - holy crap it makes some foam!!! Huge mound of it, also made the mistake of lifting lid to smell - really strong pungent smell - almost burned inside of nose! Hope I've done nothing wrong.

lee_baby_simms

I'm currently having a pint of it. Very tasty - i've had trouble with some of the bottles not carbonating though. Strange because some are nicely carbonated while others are quite flat. Just opened a good one though.

ReallyWiggy

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

I'm currently having a pint of it. Very tasty - i've had trouble with some of the bottles not carbonating though. Strange because some are nicely carbonated while others are quite flat. Just opened a good one though.

How long ago did u bottle?

lee_baby_simms

ReallyWiggy wrote: »

How long ago did u bottle?

3 and half weeks ago.

ReallyWiggy

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

3 and half weeks ago.

Excellent - mine should be in good shape for Christmas holidays!!

ReallyWiggy

On day eight and things going ok. My readings have been stable at 1.013 and based off OG of 1.043 makes it about 4% which seems lite as the pack says it should end up 5.5%. Should I add anything to strengthen it or leave as is?

Based on the advice here am going to leave it 14 days before bottling. I tasted it today and its not bad, can't wait until its matured for a few weeks in bottles.

Anyone recommend how many carbonation drops on pint bottles for this? I ask since I tasted my first bottle of my first brew - coopers Canadian larger - after 10 days in bottles and it was flat as water and tasted awful. I used 1.5 drops per pint in that one but still really flat. I don't want to ruin this one with bad carbonation.

Thanks

mayto

ReallyWiggy wrote: »

On day eight and things going ok. My readings have been stable at 1.013 and based off OG of 1.043 makes it about 4% which seems lite as the pack says it should end up 5.5%. Should I add anything to strengthen it or leave as is?

Based on the advice here am going to leave it 14 days before bottling. I tasted it today and its not bad, can't wait until its matured for a few weeks in bottles.

Anyone recommend how many carbonation drops on pint bottles for this? I ask since I tasted my first bottle of my first brew - coopers Canadian larger - after 10 days in bottles and it was flat as water and tasted awful. I used 1.5 drops per pint in that one but still really flat. I don't want to ruin this one with bad carbonation.

Thanks

I myself would leave it and bottle it when its ready. I think that kit will be about 5.5% alc. if you make it up to 32 pints-approx 15L. If you made it to 23L , 4.0% alc. sounds about right. I find one carbonation drop works ok per 500ml bottle, one and a half should have it really well carbonated,maybe overcarbonated?. When bottling the first time did you store the bottles at about 18-20C for at least two weeks to carbonate?

ReallyWiggy

mayto wrote: »

I myself would leave it and bottle it when its ready. I think that kit will be about 5.5% alc. if you make it up to 32 pints-approx 15L. If you made it to 23L , 4.0% alc. sounds about right. I find one carbonation drop works ok per 500ml bottle, one and a half should have it really well carbonated,maybe overcarbonated?. When bottling the first time did you store the bottles at about 18-20C for at least two weeks to carbonate?

Thanks Mayto - I made the mix up to 19L per the instructions. But now that you say it thats 40 pints and not 32 as the front of the pack says! I missed that. Should be fine anyway I hope.

I did store the bottles in a cool room after bottling - it might have been a bit cooler than 18 but not much. Maybe this was my mistake...

mayto

ReallyWiggy wrote: »

Thanks Mayto - I made the mix up to 19L per the instructions. But now that you say it thats 40 pints and not 32 as the front of the pack says! I missed that. Should be fine anyway I hope.

I did store the bottles in a cool room after bottling - it might have been a bit cooler than 18 but not much. Maybe this was my mistake...

Sorry 19L is about right for 32 pints, I just googled pints to litres and must have used US conversion , if I thought about it more I would have realised it was wrong. Your OG could have been higher than 1043 as some of the syrup might not have dissolved fully when mixed.

poitinstill

final update :
drank my last one last night... checked my records... it was 13 months in the bottle. sitting in the shed for most of that. Very nice but extended storage didnt really add much to it. It was well drinkable and clear after 2-3 weeks.

ReallyWiggy

4 weeks after bottling and it is a really lovely beer. Great head with good retention [ring marks down the glass], robust flavours and just a really really nice beer - delighted with it. Thinking of the St Peters Golden Ale next - anyone done this one and thoughts?

I_am_LOST

Hey folks. I recently got St Peter's Golden Ale kit. Similar to the IPA, the instructions don't mention adding any extra sugar or malt extract to the kit. I was just wondering if this was ok? I know it was already answered in this thread for the IPA but just double checking.

With kit brewing, why is it that sometimes you need to add sugar/malt and sometimes you don't? Do some kits literally come with everything in the tin (apart from water and yeast!)

Also my previous kit didn't come with a hop sachet. This is a really stupid question I know but out of interest what is the role of the hops in the beer making process? Is it just another fermentable for flavour? Should I add the whole sachet?

Finally the instructions recommend a temperature of 18-20degrees. The first thing I learnt from this good forum is never to follow the instructions on the kit!! :pac: What temperature would you guys recommend for this kit? Thanks!

BeerNut

I_am_LOST wrote: »

I was just wondering if this was ok?

It is. It's a 3kg all-malt kit so has all the fermentables you need.

I_am_LOST wrote: »

why is it that sometimes you need to add sugar/malt and sometimes you don't?

The crappier, cheaper 1.5kg kits are the ones that expect you to add your own additional fermentables. You can make bad beer very cheaply just by chucking a load of table sugar in, and some people do this. It's not recommended. With an all-malt kit like the St Peter's ones the makers are actually concerned for the quality of your finished beers so they put a bit more effort in to stop you ruining it with cheap ingredients.

I_am_LOST wrote: »

what is the role of the hops in the beer making process? Is it just another fermentable for flavour?

Hops aren't fermentable. Bittering and flavour hops will have already been boiled into the malt extract in the tins. The extra hops sachet is for extra aroma.

I_am_LOST wrote: »

Should I add the whole sachet?

Yep, Throw it in.

I_am_LOST wrote: »

What temperature would you guys recommend for this kit?

18-20 degrees

I_am_LOST

Thanks again BeerNut. Helpful as always!

I've just finished putting that batch on but still no signs of fermenting. Hopefully I didn't kill the yeast!!! I forgot to buy another thermometer as the stick on one I have is useless so I'm never sure the exact temperature I'm pitching the yeast as. Fingers crossed anyway

BeerNut

With kit yeast I've found two or three days' lag time before fermentation starts isn't unusual.