The Craft Range

Tefral

Anyone used "The Craft Range" yet?

Based in Galway, so far I have made the Cider and the Blonder larger kits. The Cider was perfect, the larger kit they gave me a stout yeast by accident, so i am waiting to brew the proper one. Even with the stout yeast it doesnt taste too bad! Some Head on it though. Wonder if its related.

Ronan|Raven

I made the IPA. Found it very enjoyable to sample after only a few weeks in the bottle. I am tempted to get the cider kit next.

Stereomaniac

Do you mean a lager set, as opposed to a larger kit, J? Sorry, I don't mean to be pedantic here.

ian_m

I am waiting to put on the wheat, interested to hear any views.

Elbow

Can't say how good the kit is on its own but I do have a pretty fantastic smelling hacked stout kit sitting in secondary at the moment :-)

Ronan|Raven

Elbow wrote: »

Can't say how good the kit is on its own but I do have a pretty fantastic smelling hacked stout kit sitting in secondary at the moment :-)

What did you hack it with?

Elbow

Held 250g of chocolate malt @ 70 degrees for 30 minutes in 1L of water, added that to the kit along with a tin of dark malt extract, then siphoned 2L of wort back into the saucepan and boiled for 30 minutes with 25g cluster hops added @ 30 minutes & 20g @ 10 minutes.

2 packets of s-04 yeast

OG - 1.064

Dry hopped with the tea bag that came with the kit after a week

Dry hopped with 25g cluster after 2 weeks

Its now sat in secondary with bourbon soaked oak chips, dried cranberries and jasmine flowers

My take (albeit slightly lower ABV) on brewdogs Tokyo

Ronan|Raven

Elbow wrote: »

Held 250g of chocolate malt @ 70 degrees for 30 minutes in 1L of water, added that to the kit along with a tin of dark malt extract, then siphoned 2L of wort back into the saucepan and boiled for 30 minutes with 25g cluster hops added @ 30 minutes & 20g @ 10 minutes.

2 packets of s-04 yeast

OG - 1.064

Dry hopped with the tea bag that came with the kit after a week

Dry hopped with 25g cluster after 2 weeks

Its now sat in secondary with bourbon soaked oak chips, dried cranberries and jasmine flowers

My take (albeit slightly lower ABV) on brewdogs Tokyo

Sounds delicious! let us know how it turns out. Currently sampling some the IPA. It is very nice I have to say even for a relatively unadulterated kit. I did however add extra hops along with the ones included.

lee_baby_simms

Elbow wrote: »

Held 250g of chocolate malt @ 70 degrees for 30 minutes in 1L of water, added that to the kit along with a tin of dark malt extract, then siphoned 2L of wort back into the saucepan and boiled for 30 minutes with 25g cluster hops added @ 30 minutes & 20g @ 10 minutes.

2 packets of s-04 yeast

OG - 1.064

Dry hopped with the tea bag that came with the kit after a week

Dry hopped with 25g cluster after 2 weeks

Its now sat in secondary with bourbon soaked oak chips, dried cranberries and jasmine flowers

My take (albeit slightly lower ABV) on brewdogs Tokyo

Bloody hell! That sounds amazing. Kudos.

poitinstill

i have the wheat on for 9 days... had a taste from fv yesterday. WOW.
ive made maybe 3 wheat beers before none have tasted like this one its actually like a flat warm bavarian commercial brew.
ive made ??? beers in total not sure any have been so promising from the fv.
hopes are high.

ian_m

poitinstill wrote: »

i have the wheat on for 9 days... had a taste from fv yesterday. WOW.
ive made maybe 3 wheat beers before none have tasted like this one its actually like a flat warm bavarian commercial brew.
ive made ??? beers in total not sure any have been so promising from the fv.
hopes are high.

I've had mine on the go for roughly the same time. Haven't really gone near it but its clearing quickly. Tempted to bottle now to keep it yeasty.

neoanto

I used the craft range of light malt extract to make a London Pride clone.
Its still in the fermenter (about a week now) but tastes lovely so far.
I think its really great stuff. Will definitely buy more of it thats for sure.

Loanshark Blues

but the heater blanket I used usually keeps things at around 30oC?


Oh please dont, room temp in any modern house is plenty enough temperature

BeerNut

Don't use the heater blanket.

Donadea Leo

Loanshark Blues wrote: »

I just bought a Craft Stout kit, hoping to get started early next week. Just wondering if anyone has any tips for keeping it at the right temperature? It says it needs to be kept between 20 and 24oC, and above this the quality will be reduced, but the heater blanket I used usually keeps things at around 30oC?
Any suggestions?
Thanks

you don t need the heater blanket. If you have a coolish room in the house keep it there. Below 20 would be ideal for fermenting once you give it 2 to 3 weeks in fermenter. You could put it in bath and put some cold water in changing every night or so if your house is warm.

Loanshark Blues

BeerNut wrote: »

Don't use the heater blanket.

Donadea Leo wrote: »

you don t need the heater blanket. If you have a coolish room in the house keep it there. Below 20 would be ideal for fermenting once you give it 2 to 3 weeks in fermenter. You could put it in bath and put some cold water in changing every night or so if your house is warm.

I was thinking this yeah, but it says below 20 will take much longer, and it will stop if it drops below 15..

BeerNut

Loanshark Blues wrote: »

but it says below 20 will take much longer, and it will stop if it drops below 15..

It's wrong. Never read kit instructions.

blueshed

BeerNut wrote: »

It's wrong. Never read kit instructions.

First rule of kit instructions, never read kit instructions.

poitinstill

they should cut the crap and say give it 20 days . its cutting huge corners saying ...this will be ready to bottle in 10 days drink after another 10. I got a scottish heavy muntons old 3kg kit. and to be fair it says... the usual ferment for 10-14 days / bottle or keg. drink after 14 more days BUT hold for 6 months to see how much it gets better. i bottled it last friday and wont taste till santa is on the radar.

lee_baby_simms

I just bottled the craft wheat beer. The FG was 1.016 which seems way too high but it had been fermenting for almost a month. I very gently stirred it with a sanitised paddle a week ago in an attempt to get yeast going again but it didn't budge from 1.016.

It tastes ok - we'll see how it turns out.

Donadea Leo

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

I just bottled the craft wheat beer. The FG was 1.016 which seems way too high but it had been fermenting for almost a month. I very gently stirred it with a sanitised paddle a week ago in an attempt to get yeast going again but it didn't budge from 1.016.

It tastes ok - we'll see how it turns out.

you might well be grand with that, don t know much about wheat beer or what fermentables you used. If you want to be cautious, you could put the bottles in a box in case of bottle bombs if you re worried it should have gone down further. Those with more knowledge might advise a bit better.

lee_baby_simms

Donadea Leo wrote: »

If you want to be cautious, you could put the bottles in a box in case of bottle bombs

heh, that's exactly what I did.

I just followed the kit instructions - you get one pouch of malt extract, another ingredients pouch and sachet of yeast. I batch primed with 220g of sugar too!

The pitch temp was a little high - 23c which rose to 25c when fermentation kicked off then settled at 22c after a few days.

Tigger

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

heh, that's exactly what I did.

I just followed the kit instructions - you get one pouch of malt extract, another ingredients pouch and sachet of yeast. I batch primed with 220g of sugar too!

The pitch temp was a little high - 23c which rose to 25c when fermentation kicked off then settled at 22c after a few days.

220g of table sugar? its gonna give about 3.5 volumes of co2
if it had fermented out it'll be quite fizzy

adamski8

We dont know his final volume though do we. 220 does sound like bittle bomb territory though

Tigger

adamski8 wrote: »

We dont know his final volume though do we. 220 does sound like bittle bomb territory though

final vol on the craft range would be no more than 22L

adamski8

Tigger wrote: »

final vol on the craft range would be no more than 22L

Not necessarily i made mine to 26L ;p

Ive made kits and know others that make say 17-19L for stronger beers too and they have turned out ok

Tigger

adamski8 wrote: »

Not necessarily i made mine to 26L ;p

Ive made kits and know others that make say 17-19L for stronger beers too and they have turned out ok

he said he followed the instructions

and yeah if you were making a kit from the kit and without subbing in lme then their nicer at 17l then 23l but its still less than 22l

the bottles will be fizzy

lee_baby_simms

Tigger wrote: »

220g of table sugar? its gonna give about 3.5 volumes of co2
if it had fermented out it'll be quite fizzy

22L with 220g of dextrose. I want it to be fizzy - i'd usually use around half that for an ale.

I've kept them well covered just in case...

Tube

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

22L with 220g of dextrose. I want it to be fizzy - i'd usually use around half that for an ale.

I've kept them well covered just in case...

I'd be surprised if you don't have gushers if not bombs at that level.

adamski8

Id seriously consider opening and rebottling depending on how long they have been in bottle. Broken bottles arent fun.

lee_baby_simms

adamski8 wrote: »

Id seriously consider opening and rebottling depending on how long they have been in bottle. Broken bottles arent fun.

I'm aiming for around 3.3 vol of co2. We'll see how it pans out. I'll post an update of my success/disaster.

I think I used this as a guide.

lee_baby_simms

Hmmm looks like you folks were right. They're only a few days bottled, I just opened one and it gushed a bit.

Are these guaranteed to explode? What should I do?

lee_baby_simms

adamski8 wrote: »

Id seriously consider opening and rebottling depending on how long they have been in bottle. Broken bottles arent fun.

Ok i've just done this.

They're crown capped. I just put them all standing up in the bath and pried open the caps a pinch to release the pressure. A bit of gushing from each one but its died down now and and i'm waiting for the head to recede in the bottles before i crimp the caps down again. I haven't lost much in each bottle.

On the plus side - I sampled one and it's very pleasant! I suppose that a month in the fermenter meant that they really only needed co2 to be quite drinkable.

adamski8

Yeah i think they would have definitely exploded. Good job you caught them now. Hopefully it ends up well.

lee_baby_simms

adamski8 wrote: »

Yeah i think they would have definitely exploded. Good job you caught them now. Hopefully it ends up well.

I'll try one again at the weekend. If it gushes I think i'll just pour the lot out.

poitinstill

chill it well before opening ... to the point of freezeing. then open and hope for the best.

Khannie

poitinstill wrote: »

chill it well before opening ... to the point of freezeing. then open and hope for the best.

Sound advice. I like to carbonate to the point of *juuuuust* about fizzing over. Chilling to near freezing makes all the difference.

Tefral

I just bottled another 23litres of Cider and 23 litres of the mixed berry, hopefully they turn out ok!

The cider before was delicious!

adamski8

lee_baby_simms wrote: »

I'll try one again at the weekend. If it gushes I think i'll just pour the lot out.

How is it now?

lee_baby_simms

adamski8 wrote: »

How is it now?

Had a good few mates around and got through a lot of it.

It was drinkable - quite fizzy but no head retention whatsover. Better than throwing it out anyway.

Lesson learned.

poitinstill

update to my craft range wheat... didnt put enough priming sugar to carbonate it enough. taste is good but its carb'd like an ale or a stout ( i usually dont like too much fizz) big big mistake with a wheat ... the taste is there but it lacks the fizz to transport it back the gob. i'd also like to try it again but to add in a lemon like hop or even lemon rind....

dm09

Ronan|Raven wrote: »

I made the IPA. Found it very enjoyable to sample after only a few weeks in the bottle. I am tempted to get the cider kit next.

I'm brewing the Craft Range IPA at the moment (First Homebrew attempt), currently on day 3 of fermentation.. Any tips or advice from your attempt? How long did you wait to dry hop?

Ronan|Raven

I added them at around the two week mark from what I remember. I left them in until I bottled after 3 weeks. It may have been a bit long but I hadn't time to remove them.

dj_

I just added mine on Sunday, about 2 1/2 weeks after starting. Going to bottle on Friday or Saturday.

Muahahaha

hey all just got back to brewing after an absence so Im a bit rusty. Have a Craft range IPA now on 14 days in the fermenter. The instructions say the IPA takes 10-14 days but I know its more likely gonna be 21-23 or so. However I just did a hydrometer test tonight and it is reading 1018. Im not sure what the OG was as I never did a test at the beginning, does anyone know approx what the Craft Range IPA is when you follow the kit instructions to end up at 23 litres? Also does a current reading of 1018 sound like it is making progress after 2 weeks or has it stalled? My instructions say it is finished when it is 1.005 which it currently seems a long way off. I'm just worried its stalled, the temperature has been 18 degrees on the sticky theromometer on the fermentor, not sure how accurate they are. I cant be sure but if there was the odd cold night it might have dropped below that as I don't heat the spare room its in nor do I use a heating belt.

scorpio.045

Hi all, I want to buy my hubby a home brewing kit for Christmas, any tips on where is best to buy everything that's required, Thanks

BeerNut

Any of the homebrew suppliers will have a starter set. I started with this one and am still using most of it six years later.

scorpio.045

Thanks a million BeerNut, great starting point!

loyatemu

Muahahaha wrote: »

hey all just got back to brewing after an absence so Im a bit rusty. Have a Craft range IPA now on 14 days in the fermenter. The instructions say the IPA takes 10-14 days but I know its more likely gonna be 21-23 or so. However I just did a hydrometer test tonight and it is reading 1018. Im not sure what the OG was as I never did a test at the beginning, does anyone know approx what the Craft Range IPA is when you follow the kit instructions to end up at 23 litres? Also does a current reading of 1018 sound like it is making progress after 2 weeks or has it stalled? My instructions say it is finished when it is 1.005 which it currently seems a long way off. I'm just worried its stalled, the temperature has been 18 degrees on the sticky theromometer on the fermentor, not sure how accurate they are. I cant be sure but if there was the odd cold night it might have dropped below that as I don't heat the spare room its in nor do I use a heating belt.

measure it again in a couple of days and see if its the same gravity or if it's still going down. 1005 is quite low for a beer to finish - I would've thought it would finish somewhere around 1010.

Muahahaha

thanks, I was kind of thinking that 1.005 sounds pretty low. It might be a typo on the instructions or something, I'm not sure. Regardless I only added the hops this evening so I'll leave it till Sunday and then measure it again.
Don't suppose you know what the OG of the IPA should have been ?

loyatemu

Muahahaha wrote: »

thanks, I was kind of thinking that 1.005 sounds pretty low. It might be a typo on the instructions or something, I'm not sure. Regardless I only added the hops this evening so I'll leave it till Sunday and then measure it again.
Don't suppose you know what the OG of the IPA should have been ?

no idea, I haven't done that particular kit. I've generally found kits ferment out in 2 weeks, but there's no harm in leaving it another week.