Brewferm, Abdij review

mickthetrick · Jul 10, 2012

brewed this kit in early January as i read it takes a long maturing period so i thought id get it done and keep it for this Christmas.
was made to the instructions. OG 1072 / FG 1018. had it in the fermenter for 2 weeks and couldn't seem to get it any lover but i was happy enough with 7.2%
anyway bottled into Grolsch swing-top bottles with just a half teaspoon on granulated sugar.
5 months on and a couldn't resist anymore and had a bottle last night.
swing-top popped with good pressure and there was a nice carbonation when poured.
Taste...... beautiful, nice on the pallet and you get the alcohol but definitely not over powering at all. Biscuit like after taste.
this is the best kit Ive done to date and i highly recommend it.
its a little like Old Tom / Leffe Brune in style and a little deeper in colour and taste.
roll on Christmas when i can enjoy the rest of the delight this kit has turned into. :thumb:

PD · Jul 10, 2012

you masochist, what's so special about Christmas ?
Anyways to make up for the lovely summer we are having the Government ( spit ) have decided that from next month there will be a Christmas day every week
although they will not pay any bank holidays. :clap: :clap: :clap:

R-9 · Jul 18, 2012

Sounds lovely gonna have to try a brewferm kit soon I think :thumb:

supergenius · Jul 30, 2012

I made a double batch of this last October together with a Christmas Ale. I used 500g of brewing sugar and 500g of medium dried malt extract. OG was 1066 but I have huge problems fermenting Brewferm kits out and it stopped at 1020, making it around 7.2%. Bottled it and stuck it in boxes up in the loft to keep it out of temptation's way. Had a bottle at the weekend for my birthday and it was amazing.

I did another double batch yesterday, using 1kg of brewing sugar and 500g of medium dried malt extract. OG was 1080! If that ferments out properly it won't be far off 9%! It will be carefully stored away for at least a year before drinking!

mojonojo · Nov 30, 2012

A very good review from me, made mine back in june (a double batch made up to 18litres) with golden syrup, had it maturing in a corny keg,

I will certainly be doing this again, just need to bottle it as my only issue was it tied up a corny for 5 months.

mickthetrick · Dec 29, 2012

well ive had a few bottles of this over the the last week and it was bottled early January.
its beautiful.
have to be careful though as its a drink i just keep wanting to open another.

supergenius · Dec 29, 2012

The batch I bottled last October (14 months ago) is now unbelievably good. It's smooth, sweet and malty but with a hint of bitterness in there too. I would definitely recommend leaving this at least a year and the character changes with every bottle if you can bear to leave a couple of weeks between tastings. I've been brewing this every few months so that I can leave it for as long as possible and I'm hiding away a few bottles from each brew to leave for two, three or even five years just to see what happens to it.

bottler · Dec 29, 2012

supergenius said:
The batch I bottled last October (14 months ago) is now unbelievably good. It's smooth, sweet and malty but with a hint of bitterness in there too. I would definitely recommend leaving this at least a year and the character changes with every bottle if you can bear to leave a couple of weeks between tastings. I've been brewing this every few months so that I can leave it for as long as possible and I'm hiding away a few bottles from each brew to leave for two, three or even five years just to see what happens to it.

Its on my list, near the top :thumb:

flamenco · Feb 4, 2013

Just yesterday (Feb 4 2013) I made up one of these (Brewferm ABDIJ) for my first kit in 20+ years. Used bottled water (cheap from Lidl). When I peeked just before bedtime, the top of the liquor seemed to have a network of "ropes" tangled above the surface - I don't remember seeing anything quite like that before - yeast activity I guess?

It seems to have settled down into a more normal appearance now, so have wrapped up the FV in a sleeping bag and pushed a thermometer between FV and sleeping bag so as to keep an eye on temps while it does its thing for the next week or two.

I have been in the habit of occasionally buying a box of Belgian ales from Beers of Europe and thought I'd pursue the Belgian trappist types in my renewed home brew hobbying.

I have left the stirring spoon in the FV - not sure why. Would it be ok to give it a bit of a stir from time to time? Or might that mess things up?

:hmm:

bottler · Feb 4, 2013

flamenco said:
Just yesterday (Feb 4 2013) I made up one of these (Brewferm ABDIJ) for my first kit in 20+ years. Used bottled water (cheap from Lidl). When I peeked just before bedtime, the top of the liquor seemed to have a network of "ropes" tangled above the surface - I don't remember seeing anything quite like that before - yeast activity I guess?

It seems to have settled down into a more normal appearance now, so have wrapped up the FV in a sleeping bag and pushed a thermometer between FV and sleeping bag so as to keep an eye on temps while it does its thing for the next week or two.

I have been in the habit of occasionally buying a box of Belgian ales from Beers of Europe and thought I'd pursue the Belgian trappist types in my renewed home brew hobbying.

I have left the stirring spoon in the FV - not sure why. Would it be ok to give it a bit of a stir from time to time? Or might that mess things up?

:hmm:

So dont stir it unless you get a stuck fermantion mate, best to ieave it alone :thumb:

MetalGuru · Feb 24, 2013

I brewed one of these kits a few weeks ago, my first in 15'ish years. My fermenting bin was near a radiator, final gravity was reached in 7 days. I've 'bottled' in a pressure keg and it's due to be ready in a couple of weeks. I couldn't resist drawing off a taster last week and am delighted with how smooth, rich and tasty this is! Will definitely brew a double quantity next time, as I'm convinced this will disappear rather quickly over Easter!

mojonojo · Mar 6, 2013

Its a brew that really really benefits from a very long (think 6months+) maturation

mickthetrick · Mar 6, 2013

mojonojo said:
Its a brew that really really benefits from a very long (think 6months+) maturation

100% with you on that.
ive 6 bottles left thats around a year old and they are put away for this Christmas.
it really is a nice drink :thumb:

birdwingsix · Mar 17, 2013

hello, I picked this up from our local homebrew shop. i didnt notice that it was for making only 9 litres.
im quite happy to make it as nine litres as it sound loverly, however
what happens if i use twice the amount of water?. will it just be lower %? also
what would happen if i used twice the water and more sugar?
your knowledge is greatly appreciated

bottler · Mar 17, 2013

birdwingsix said:
hello, I picked this up from our local homebrew shop. i didnt notice that it was for making only 9 litres.
im quite happy to make it as nine litres as it sound loverly, however
what happens if i use twice the amount of water?. will it just be lower %? also
what would happen if i used twice the water and more sugar?
your knowledge is greatly appreciated

I would brew two 9 litre kits in one fv making it an 18 ltr brew and i kg brew enhancer. I certainly wouldnt use twice the amount of water, it would ruin the brew in my opinion. :thumb:

birdwingsix · Mar 17, 2013

thanks for that. what would it do to it though. would the % be lowered, would it half the amount of taste?

bottler · Mar 17, 2013

birdwingsix said:
thanks for that. what would it do to it though. would the % be lowered, would it half the amount of taste?

Ive never tried it , but it would completely alter the taste and body of the brew, and would be nothing like what it was supposed to be. I dont think it would be very drinkable. Not sure what it would do to the abv, and i certainly wouldnt try it.

morethanworts · Mar 18, 2013

Sorry, I know this an old thread, but rather than start a new one...

Seeing these Brewferm kits do a smaller amount (ie not 5 gallons), I could boil the whole wort in the 18L pot I've got. Is there any point? People seem to report excellent results without, but the smaller kit gives me the option for a full-wort boil that I don't usually have. :hmm:

mickthetrick · Mar 18, 2013

morethanworts said:
Sorry, I know this an old thread, but rather than start a new one...

Seeing these Brewferm kits do a smaller amount (ie not 5 gallons), I could boil the whole wort in the 18L pot I've got. Is there any point? People seem to report excellent results without, but the smaller kit gives me the option for a full-wort boil that I don't usually have. :hmm:

cannot see the point in boiling it
the kits perfectly fine as it is

morethanworts · Mar 18, 2013

mickthetrick said:
morethanworts said:

Sorry, I know this an old thread, but rather than start a new one...

Seeing these Brewferm kits do a smaller amount (ie not 5 gallons), I could boil the whole wort in the 18L pot I've got. Is there any point? People seem to report excellent results without, but the smaller kit gives me the option for a full-wort boil that I don't usually have. :hmm:

Click to expand...

cannot see the point in boiling it
the kits perfectly fine as it is

Well I imagine a full boil sterilises the whole wort for a start, as long as you then cool it fairly quickly. That's why I ask.

I was wondering more whether there would be any downsides: maybe loss of hop aroma, for example...

But I'm in no rush to make it more complicated than it is! These kits must surely have some quality limitations compared to un-hopped extract brewing(?)

Brewferm, Abdij review

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