Has anyone made any of the "Crafted Beer Kits" ?

[Mark24]

Hello all, just wondering if anyone has tried making any of the Crafted Beer kits? I made a batch of Crafted Pear Cider and it turned out fantastic. I'm now getting ready to put on a batch of Crafted Irish Red Ale. Anyone try these out yet and have any tips or advice, I'm hoping to make all varieties of both beer and cider? Is it as simple as more sugar for a higher alcohol %?

 

[Still Brewn]

There is more to it than that and it will change the beer but yes you can simply add sugar and you will get more alcohol up to the limit of the strain of yeast you are using will tolerate. The beer you are showing to be in style, according to guidelines, will have between 3.8%-5% ABV.. but you can make beer however you want.

 

[Kirkwooder]

I've never brewed one of these kits, but they should make a fine beer if basic brewing procedures are followed. Keep everything clean as grandma's kitchen floor, cool quickly after a boil, pitch a ton of yeast, and keep the ferment temps in the yeasts "happy" zone, and the beer should be better than OK.

And yes, increasing abv can be as simple as adding more sugar, however that generally has a very negative effect on the final product.

 

[madscientist451]

I made a batch of Crafted Pear Cider and it turned out fantastic. View attachment 615870

Where did you find it? I looked online and it the places that sold it said it was out of stock.

 

[Mark24]

Where did you find it? I looked online and it the places that sold it said it was out of stock.

I'm here in Nova Scotia, Canada. The local store I buy from is called Valleybrewtique
I see you are in Bedford, is that Bedford, NS? Or are you elsewhere?

 

[Mark24]

The beer you are showing to be in style, according to guidelines, will have between 3.8%-5% ABV.. but you can make beer however you want.

How is one supposed to know this? Like where should I go to have it explained? I'm just getting started but I'm going to brew steadily. I'm still not understanding ABV vs. the 5% alcohol that's listed on the majority of beers here in Canada, what's the difference?

 

[Still Brewn]

https://www.homebrewing.org/Beer-St...MIstr8zYHq4AIV0LXACh1drgFaEAAYAiAAEgJKFfD_BwE
www.homebrewersassociation.org
What ever you can't find here at HBT you can find on the above link. The current beer style guidelines can be downloaded from this page or found in many books. I would suggest reading Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Home Brewing to get started.
https://www.homebrewing.org/Beer-St...MIstr8zYHq4AIV0LXACh1drgFaEAAYAiAAEgJKFfD_BwE

 

[Still Brewn]

Here is a primer on abv and abw basicly alcohol weighs less than water but takes up about the same amount of space and that is where the difference comes from.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_by_volume

 

[Mark24]

https://www.homebrewing.org/Beer-St...MIstr8zYHq4AIV0LXACh1drgFaEAAYAiAAEgJKFfD_BwE
www.homebrewersassociation.org
What ever you can't find here at HBT you can find on the above link. The current beer style guidelines can be downloaded from this page or found in many books. I would suggest reading Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Home Brewing to get started.
https://www.homebrewing.org/Beer-St...MIstr8zYHq4AIV0LXACh1drgFaEAAYAiAAEgJKFfD_BwE

Geesh, that's a beauty of a guide right there. Didn't know there were so many kinds of beer. lol, I'd like to try them all. Thank you for sending that info along, I'm guessing I'll check in on that one as a reference pretty often.

 

[Still Brewn]

I wonder if you could actually do that. Open a business name with the county and tell the IRS your working on recipes for the company in that section of the house and get a partial tax right off on the house. All equipment would be a tax right off also...Hummm...makes you wonder

That right there is why, in 12 years of brewing, I have never made the same recipe twice. That list is the 2015 BJCP style guide. Before that one there were quite a few less. https://bjcp.org/2008styles/catdex.php
Current version
https://bjcp.org/stylecenter.php

 

[Mark24]

Where did you find it? I looked online and it the places that sold it said it was out of stock.

Have you ever tried the Crafted Pear Cider? I did up the sugar a bit and the results were still great. I'm looking for the experiences of others making it. Also had some of the Crafted Apple Cider and Crafted Blueberry Cider(smells like baby poo, lol)

 

[madscientist451]

I'd like to try it but none of the retailers I checked have it in stock.