Brewferm, Diablo

Decided to have a go at home brewing so popped down to my (very) local home brew shop. This kit caught my eye mainly because it was Belgian and strong. I got it home with all the stuff and eagerly set to work with my dad who did home brew in the 70s and was keen to help out. Being a total beginner I followed the kit instructions to the letter and left it to begin fermenting.

The next morning it was fizzing away and all signs looked good. I monitored the SG over the next few days and bottled it about 10 days later. I put some sugar in each bottle and capped them.

Two very long weeks passed and I decided to crack one open to try it. I was quite disappointed. It tasted flat with no real strength of any flavour. I clung to the knowledge that most beers get better with age and hoped it would improve.

3 more weeks passed and I bravely put a bottle in the fridge. I cracked it open and was amazed at the difference. Fizzy, a creamy head that stayed the whole glass and really flavoursome (had a Heineken after that just tasted like water). Only tried by one mate so far who said he would be "happy to pay for that in the shops."

I have put away (stored at Dad's) the remaining 3 ltrs in the hope it gets even better. ABV was spot on 8% as stated on the tin.

I know I have nothing to compare it to but I was very happy with my first ever home brew kit.

Reward comes to he who waits as they say?! I'm starting my first brews for 20 years myself when everything arrives next week (forgot to take into account the bank holiday...!) so it's good to hear patience bears benefits.

BTW, your comment about Heineken tasting watery made me smile, I'm not surprised after an 8% ABV beer!

Chris

Started this kit 20/04/12

500G brewing sugar
added 8 litres of ashbeck mineral water
Did not write down OG (reason below) but FG was 1.015
Bottled 13/05/12 with 1tspp brewing sugar.


I actually was not too fussed about this kit at all, hench the lack of notes etc. The tin was in date, but had sat on my shelf for I dont know how long, the ends of the tins had buldged to the point of explosion, so I thought rather than bin it I would just make it up quickly to see if it fermented.

Well as you can see from the notes I did take, it fermented. Its the first brewferm kit I have made without using Candy sugar.

I sampled one probably a month after being in the bottle, and actually, it was very nice, I have high hopes that this might be almost as good as the Grand Cru...however Unlike the grand cru, this tastes quite good almost straight away... I think it will be great next year.

A nice supprise considering I thought the kit had gone off! :)

Hi all. This is only my 2nd brew. Started it a week ago, OG 1070 and seems to be fermenting nicely. Used a 680g jar of golden syrup instead of adding sugar, as advised by some on these forums, plus 8 litres Lidl spring water.
One question please - can anyone tell me whether it is important is it to rack off into a secondary (as per the instructions) or can I simply bottle it when it's done and just let it condition a little longer? I may invest in a secondary FV this weekend, just to be on the safe side, then leave it in my attic to settle for a couple of weeks before bottling.
I assume this is good practice even for kits that don't specifically recommend it?
Cheers.

Just done one of these kits by adding 500g of dextrose to the wort kit

The first thing I noticed is the yeast starts like the clappers and continues like that for about 3-4 days and was definitely done fermenting by day 7

I had close to 80% attenuation with the yeast, the best I've got so far with any kit yeast. I followed the instructions and re-hydrated the yeast before pitching this might have had something to do with it. It was also in temp controlled environment. (20-22C)

I batched primed light Muscovado sugar which is a little stronger in flavour than Demerara but it's all an experiment.

Final ABV % was 7.5%

Initial tastes from the trial jar before priming were excellent. The only problem is leaving it for 6-8 weeks
:whistle:

cantstopbrewin said:

Just done one of these kits by adding 500g of dextrose to the wort kit

I had close to 80% attenuation with the yeast, the best I've got so far with any kit yeast. I followed the instructions and re-hydrated the yeast before pitching this might have had something to do with it. It was also in temp controlled environment. (20-22C)

I batched primed light Muscovado sugar which is a little stronger in flavour than Demerara but it's all an experiment.

Final ABV % was 7.5%

:whistle:

Click to expand...

I've got the Abdij to do first (and a Wherry), but this kit is another one I'm looking to do at some point.

You sound pretty scientific: What were you're gravity readings and did you include the priming sugars in that ABV calculation, just out of interest (not that people tend to worry too much about exact ABV around these parts!)? Be sure to review it here in 6-8 weeks, then!

Mine took a full 2 weeks to ferment from 1070 down to 1014 but that might have had something to do with the recent weather; was struggling to keep the temp in my lounge much above 16C. Racked off to secondary and left it in my attic for another 2 weeks (temp about 10-12 C) after which it dropped to 1012.
Think I've answered my own question as to whether this is worthwhile. Looked clearer and tasted much better after 2 weeks in secondary. Bottled on Thursday - it will be a long 6 weeks' wait before I crack one open!

I did their Grand Cru kit, it took a long time to get good, over 6 months, so be patient and it might well get there :thumb:

This (and the Triple) are my favourite brews, and I always have one or two on the go.

I use 500g of candied sugar, and 9 litres of tesco "Perthshire" water to brew.

Normally takes about 12 days in primary, and then I rack to secondary for another 2 weeks before bottling in 500ml bottles with 2 Cooper's carbonation drops. 2 weeks in the warm carbonating, and then at least 4 weeks in my shed to mature (that's about as long as I can resist).

Thankfully, I have quite a few batches of Diabolo and Trippel all coming to the "6 week old" stage over the next month ;-)

I sampled my first bottle last week, after nearly 8 weeks conditioning. It went down OK but I think this brew would benefit from longer in the bottle. My LHBS where I bought it actually recommended 6 months. I'll leave a bit longer and see if it improves. At least I have a Coopers stout and a wherry to keep me going while I wait!:-)

what sort of temperatures is everyone conditioning these at?

I'm brewing in my sauna in my apartment here in sunny Finland. We never use it - being too snobbish to ever contemplate using an electric job. Pah!
So, the temperature in there is a constant 25c. It's brilliant for primary and secondary and 7 days in the bottle. Then I lug all bottles to the cellar - but that's also a pretty damn warm 20c. There, I cover it with a big black sheet and leave for 4 weeks. Not only does that keep the thieving neighbours off it, but also seems to work alright for conditioning.
My Diabolo (just about to start secondary) will be in there until Xmas, but I've had great results so far with Cooper's Stout and a basic no-name bitter kit doing the same.
Regards
Matt

Brewferm have changed their instructions in recent time - I'm not sure quite when, but in the last year or so - so people may be wondering why some are fermenting at 25C and others at 20-23. I contacted Brewferm (regarding the Abdij, at least) and got helpful responses, which confirmed that nothing has actually changed with that: the yeast and extract is the same. Looking at the instructions, they seem to be common across the kit range.

I didn't confirm the reason that they are now suggesting 20-23C and then racking to secondary, where before it was just 25C in primary, but I was told that if I liked the results before, then sticking to 25C is fine! Maybe they were concerned that some people simply wouldn't have the equipment to maintain 25C easily and wouldn't buy the kit - but then again, some people wont have a secondary vessel either, so they maybe they've genuinely decided the new method is better or more consistent.

morethanworts said:

Brewferm have changed their instructions in recent time - I'm not sure quite when, but in the last year or so - so people may be wondering why some are fermenting at 25C and others at 20-23. I contacted Brewferm (regarding the Abdij, at least) and got helpful responses, which confirmed that nothing has actually changed with that: the yeast and extract is the same. Looking at the instructions, they seem to be common across the kit range.

I didn't confirm the reason that they are now suggesting 20-23C and then racking to secondary, where before it was just 25C in primary, but I was told that if I liked the results before, then sticking to 25C is fine! Maybe they were concerned that some people simply wouldn't have the equipment to maintain 25C easily and wouldn't buy the kit - but then again, some people wont have a secondary vessel either, so they maybe they've genuinely decided the new method is better or more consistent.

Click to expand...

I think you mentioned this when i asked someting about the abdij kit review? Good to know. I have just ordered the oranje bock and abdij and my kitchen seems to be in a permanent state of 21degrees, so i will follow the new guidelines and let you know what happens.

Going for my 2nd brew of this; my first tasted good, but lacked bubbles. It has been in the bottle for 4 months but still only had "head" for about 10 mins, and seemed to lack life.

I'm generally using Newcastle Brown bottles to bottle all my beers. Although I add the sugar into the secondary as describe din the instructions, should I be adding more into the bottles to generate the fizz as they are a big bottle?

mikeyjay84 said:

morethanworts said:

Brewferm have changed their instructions in recent time - I'm not sure quite when, but in the last year or so - so people may be wondering why some are fermenting at 25C and others at 20-23. I contacted Brewferm (regarding the Abdij, at least) and got helpful responses, which confirmed that nothing has actually changed with that: the yeast and extract is the same. Looking at the instructions, they seem to be common across the kit range.

I didn't confirm the reason that they are now suggesting 20-23C and then racking to secondary, where before it was just 25C in primary, but I was told that if I liked the results before, then sticking to 25C is fine! Maybe they were concerned that some people simply wouldn't have the equipment to maintain 25C easily and wouldn't buy the kit - but then again, some people wont have a secondary vessel either, so they maybe they've genuinely decided the new method is better or more consistent.

Click to expand...

I think you mentioned this when i asked someting about the abdij kit review? Good to know. I have just ordered the oranje bock and abdij and my kitchen seems to be in a permanent state of 21degrees, so i will follow the new guidelines and let you know what happens.

Click to expand...

Yes, sorry for the duplication, but I realised the instructions were common and there was a question about temperature above. I will try another Brewferm after my current batch of Abdij, so looking around..

GJB - I bottle primed mine with 80g sugar as per the instructions, which seemed to equal just over 1 tsp per 500ml bottle. The bottle I tried was niceand fizzy and had a good head. If you've batch primed I wonder if perhaps your priming sugar hasn't fully dissolved and some has sunk to the bottom?

I stuck my diablo in the fv today, going like the clappers. Saving this for christmas. Did a double batch [two 9ltr brews in one fv] Will brew a double batch of brewferm triple next.
All of the above are fathers day presents :thumb: :

After some six weeks in the garage, following 2weeks primary and 2 weeks secondary, I tried this beer. Wow, I can't believe I made this. Strongly alcoholic but not too bitter or sweet. Great head on it and very warming. If I can keep my hands off this I will keep it for a special occasion. Lovely beer that I would pay a premium for if it came from a shop!

I have been looking at doing this as my next brew (will only be my second) but I am still quite limited with the equipment that I have.
Did anyone have good results without a secondary fermentation vessel and just going straight to bottles? Would anyone advise giving it a try, how long would you leave for initial fermentation?

Cheers :