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Clint

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Hello all
Although having not yet ventured into ag brewing of any kind I get the definite impression ag produces superior beer compared to kits of any kind. I have brewed a few kits single cans with malt additions and some two can kits. All I have made has been drinkable but there are notable differences...the extract/single tin/hop steep/dry hop,which was a rough copy off the coopers website of an adnams bitter stands out,as does the Youngs AIPA two can kit. Will ag be better than these..? What makes ag in general better?

Cheers

Clint
 
It can be but like all these things it depends on the skill of the brewer. Potentially better beer, definitely more choice and more control.

it's a lot more time and effort but it is worth it, some times I think I enjoy the brewing more than the drinking.


aamcle
 
fresher ingredients, more choice and control to make beer you like, but saying that kits with a partial mash n hop up can make some excellent beer and can be done in less than half the time, if you got the time go AG all the way but if not pimping kits is fun and can produce great beer on a par with AG
 
It can be but like all these things it depends on the skill of the brewer. Potentially better beer, definitely more choice and more control.

it's a lot more time and effort but it is worth it, some times I think I enjoy the brewing more than the drinking.


aamcle
I would certainly say that I enjoy the drinking but brewing AG is addictive.

Sent from my ALE-L21
 
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Apart from the taste difference between kits and ag there is nothing more satisfying than trying a great beer you've designed and lovingly brewed from scratch.

BUT there is nothing worse than spending all that time and effort brewing something that is apparently undrinkable. :doh: :doh:

After nearly a year, I'm still waiting for a Barley Wine to "come good" ... :thumb: :thumb:

... and I hope to live long enough to witness (and drink) the event! :whistle:
 
BUT there is nothing worse than spending all that time and effort brewing something that is apparently undrinkable. :doh: :doh:

After nearly a year, I'm still waiting for a Barley Wine to "come good" ... :thumb: :thumb:

... and I hope to live long enough to witness (and drink) the event! :whistle:

That's very true, I've got a brew I'm "enduring" at the minute but I'm trying to use it as a learning experience and work out where I went wrong, if I manage that then it wasn't time wasted. :thumb:
 
That's very true, I've got a brew I'm "enduring" at the minute but I'm trying to use it as a learning experience and work out where I went wrong, if I manage that then it wasn't time wasted. :thumb:

What went wrong for me was that I used too much Chocolate Malt in the one brew and "I was clearing out cupboards before going on holiday." is hardly an "excuse" never mind a "reason"! :nono: :nono:

"Live and learn." is okay but at my age I should have known better! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
What went wrong for me was that I used too much Chocolate Malt in the one brew and "I was clearing out cupboards before going on holiday." is hardly an "excuse" never mind a "reason"! :nono: :nono:

"Live and learn." is okay but at my age I should have known better! [emoji38] [emoji38] [emoji38]
Everyday is a school day and we all make mistakes and learn from them no matter what age we are🍺
I love experimenting especially with brewing and you know that there is no one else to blame 👍

Sent from my ALE-L21
 
In some ways I think you have answered your own question

Modding single can kits with hops and grains or premium kits with fresh hops seem to make a superior product because they give it that fresh punch. (I also find the fresh hops can mask flaws in the kits which to be fair it would do the same to AG but kit extract is quite possibly going to have twangs depending on age.)

Don't get me wrong there are some good kits out there but ultimately Ag will make a superior drink.

It is a bit comparing a ready meal to a fresh prepared I guess.. However despite all this a bad AG recipe or AG that hasn't been made well can not turn out great and not every AG beer you produce will be mind blowing.. But it is much more involving, much more satisfying and the results are ultimately superior..

Edit - if you're happy making kits and are time restricted, then there is nothing wrong with it, like you say you can pimp a kit up and make it vastly superior to its vanilla form...
 
Hello all
Although having not yet ventured into ag brewing of any kind I get the definite impression ag produces superior beer compared to kits of any kind. I have brewed a few kits single cans with malt additions and some two can kits. All I have made has been drinkable but there are notable differences...the extract/single tin/hop steep/dry hop,which was a rough copy off the coopers website of an adnams bitter stands out,as does the Youngs AIPA two can kit. Will ag be better than these..? What makes ag in general better?

Cheers

Clint
I used to think people were just being snobbish saying "when you taste your first AG, you know, you just know the difference" i brewed kits for almost three years and now I have done 3 biab brews, the taste is fresher,cleaner and much more satisfying, but,and its quite a big but depending on your circumstances, it does take significantly longer, even if you do walk the dog,do the dishes, rewire the house and save a cat from a burning house between processes,and its a PITA cleaning up compared to kit brewing. Im now hooked on biab but may have to brew the odd kit in occasion, it will however only be a Festival or Youngs or a decent two can job from lovebrewing.Try Clibits small batch method and see if its for you, nothing to lose except money if you like it as equipment upgrade is inevitable 👍
 
Having done kits to kick off with i have progressed to extract(using brewers friend) and concocting my own recipies or tinkering with known ones and have made some vastly superior brews, way above my expectations and have moved on to BIAB,small batches.I do both methods but still learning the ropes with the latter.
You will find both far better than any kit-imho anyway.:thumb:
 
I spent a full day plus a few hours the previous night preparing for a hectic brew day with my mate.Steeped grains for partial mash so could get of to a flying start the next morning.
That day we got three brews done and I was busy to near midnight.
There was a few lessons learned that day and from tasting there's been a few more.All brews are drinkable and one the mate thinks is fantastic so much so he wants to try a stove top and he's been doing kits for over a year.He has pimped,dry hopped and has tried different fermentables.
One thing I know for sure is that I will never use carbonation drops as those three brews had drops for priming which he supplied and they just don't work for me.
I done my first kit since starting back and it tastes lovely when transferring but when brewed it took me 45 mins which is brilliant but lacked the satisfaction for me.Would I brew a kit again?Yes but prefer brewing with grains..
 
I spent a full day plus a few hours the previous night preparing for a hectic brew day with my mate.Steeped grains for partial mash so could get of to a flying start the next morning.
That day we got three brews done and I was busy to near midnight.
There was a few lessons learned that day and from tasting there's been a few more.All brews are drinkable and one the mate thinks is fantastic so much so he wants to try a stove top and he's been doing kits for over a year.He has pimped,dry hopped and has tried different fermentables.
One thing I know for sure is that I will never use carbonation drops as those three brews had drops for priming which he supplied and they just don't work for me.
I done my first kit since starting back and it tastes lovely when transferring but when brewed it took me 45 mins which is brilliant but lacked the satisfaction for me.Would I brew a kit again?Yes but prefer brewing with grains..
If I had to use carbonation drops all the time I would give up brewing.
I have said it before and a few probably don't believe me but when I batch prime,I open up my FV,dump in the dextrose (not dissolved in any water) don't even stir it and ten minutes later I bottle,I can honestly say it works every time.
If I have an underprimed bottle,it means the whole batch is underprimed as I have used too little sugar.
Who is brave enough to try it?
 
If I had to use carbonation drops all the time I would give up brewing.
I have said it before and a few probably don't believe me but when I batch prime,I open up my FV,dump in the dextrose (not dissolved in any water) don't even stir it and ten minutes later I bottle,I can honestly say it works every time.
If I have an underprimed bottle,it means the whole batch is underprimed as I have used too little sugar.
Who is brave enough to try it?

Only reason they were used was that my mate brought them over.I normally prime each bottle individually and haven't had a problem.Will try batch priming as I'll try anything once but as I don't have dextrose shall try caster sugar as it's pretty fine.🍺
 
I would suggest AG brewing provides you with the potential to brew something special. And although its a basic procedure, to mash sparge n boil, there are plenty of potential spanner magnets involved too..

However its often the brews that involve a calamity of some sort that stand out in your memory and can provide un repeatable and desireable results ;)
 
BUT there is nothing worse than spending all that time and effort brewing something that is apparently undrinkable. :doh: :doh:

After nearly a year, I'm still waiting for a Barley Wine to "come good" ... :thumb: :thumb:

... and I hope to live long enough to witness (and drink) the event! :whistle:

About 6months ago I made a saison that came out over strength (~9%). It was largely undrinkable :( Over time I've been trying the odd bottle to see if/how it's maturing and have noticed improvement over time. Had a bottle a couple of nights ago and it was really, really nice. Massive shame I brew small batches and now only have a single 330ml bottle left :(
 
I brew a Belgian Blonde AG (Malt Miller Kit) with SafT58 and it turns out slightly rough at first, but is good after 6 months and amazingly smooth after a year. This year I'm not going to touch it until the 6 month mark and make sure I keep back at least 30 bottles for the full year.
 
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