fbsf
Landlord.
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2012
- Messages
- 1,376
- Reaction score
- 3
Cheers MD!
Ok, now I know this is AG so might not be considered a kit, but it's as near to a kit as AG gets.
Firstly, you aren't completely sure what goes into it - you get a bag of mixed grains, and two bags of unidentified hops (which I suspect are Goldings) marked only with their boil time. You also get a sachet of Windsor yeast and a whirlfloc tablet, all for £15.
The instructions are adequate, and assume you understand terms such as mash and sparge. They do give you an approx og reading and a final abv target which does help.
It all went ok, and following the instructions hit target - 2 points, so given my skills are still at novice AG level, I was happy with that.
So, how does it taste? Bloody lovely that's how. It's got a really nice nutty malt flavour, with a reasonable balance of bitterness and hop aroma - not one for the punk ipa freaks though.
It was meant to come out at about 4.5% but I used S04 instead of the supplied Windsor (long story...) which got it down to 1.006 meaning around 4.9%.
My only gripe is that for a beginner, whilst its easy to make it would have been nice to know what grains and hops were present, so you could learn what grains make which taste. It would also be good for tweaking - say if you wanted to make it a little darker/sweeter etc.
Overall? A good 9 out of 10, and definitely going to be brewed again.
Ok, now I know this is AG so might not be considered a kit, but it's as near to a kit as AG gets.
Firstly, you aren't completely sure what goes into it - you get a bag of mixed grains, and two bags of unidentified hops (which I suspect are Goldings) marked only with their boil time. You also get a sachet of Windsor yeast and a whirlfloc tablet, all for £15.
The instructions are adequate, and assume you understand terms such as mash and sparge. They do give you an approx og reading and a final abv target which does help.
It all went ok, and following the instructions hit target - 2 points, so given my skills are still at novice AG level, I was happy with that.
So, how does it taste? Bloody lovely that's how. It's got a really nice nutty malt flavour, with a reasonable balance of bitterness and hop aroma - not one for the punk ipa freaks though.
It was meant to come out at about 4.5% but I used S04 instead of the supplied Windsor (long story...) which got it down to 1.006 meaning around 4.9%.
My only gripe is that for a beginner, whilst its easy to make it would have been nice to know what grains and hops were present, so you could learn what grains make which taste. It would also be good for tweaking - say if you wanted to make it a little darker/sweeter etc.
Overall? A good 9 out of 10, and definitely going to be brewed again.