About to order, Advice needed please for summer brew

[BrewDan]

Hello all,

I did say to myself I won't brew anything until I move and have more space, however I am bored and decided that I need to do something after recently trying one of my coopers Mexican cervezas which were fairly disappointing when first made, but they must be coming up to a year old and they have been sat in a fridge for the best part of 4 months, what a difference!

Anyhow , I have been looking on one of our sponsors websites, and decided I want to get something going for the summer, (kit only, not all grain) something that will be quite sessionable and easy going after a hard days labour as the house is going to need a fair bit of work (will need something to bribe the friends with). Normally I would brew and leave things 6-12 months+ before drinking them, so I don't know if I have left it too late for that now.

I am going to put in a fairly large order to take advantage of the free delivery, I have a few things in mind for more long term storage, but I am stuck with ideas on what to go with for a summer brew.

Anyone have any suggestions? :

 

[RobWalker]

not at all - I regularly drink after a month. not quite as good, but meh...youv'e got a good few months before summer hits!

what do you drink? summer brews are often light and aromatic. a lot of people use coriander seed and bitter orange peel, wheat is very popular, and raspberry wheat is great in the summer.

here's two of mine that make great summer drinks, maybe they will inspire you :)

Honey Beer - viewtopic.php?f=14&t=18983&p=185030#p185030
Purity "Pure Gold" Clone - viewtopic.php?f=21&t=23528&p=225921#p225921

 

[BrewDan]

Those both look great!!

I should have wrote that it will need to be a kit, as I dont yet have the equipment/space for all grain, it will happen though once we move!!

I am going to keep that book marked so that when I am able to, I can give it a go. Thank you :thumb:

Drink wise I try, and enjoy most things. The brewferm Pils has turned out really well, however I have now drunk them all which is a shame, and they took nearly a year to get to the level they did.

Looking around for kits to try and get going for summer, I have a few things on my list, cant pick between Coopers Canadian blonde, Coopers European Lager, Coopers Pilsner, or the APA.

Never tried any of the above, so I dont know if they will be any good for summers drinking. As I said, I am not too fussy, I am more of an ale drinker, but most of my friends drink lagers etc. I have about half a keg of Cider and a few bottles of TC, but I want to get something else going for summer time.

 

[RobWalker]

Aah that would be useful! Lol. I cant help you with kits but woodefordes are bringing out their light summer ale in kit form soon - mid april or so. Its on my buy list!

Woodfordes have announced the release of a new beer kit to the home brew market.

Their popular Sundew Ale has been delayed but is now due for release around April 2012, and as always we'll be the first to have this new beer kit on sale.

Sundew is a Subtle golden beer - pale in colour and light on the palate with the distinctive hoppy Woodforde’s finish.
Deliciously golden and refreshing. ABV 4.2%

 

[BrewDan]

Ohh, looks like it could be good!!

Just adding things to the basket at the moment

 

[thejesmonddingo]

like wheat beers in a german hefe stlyee,this isn't much more complicated than a kit,if you can boil about 10l of wort,ten dilute to 23l at the end of boiling.

Edel try 2
Recipe Edel try 2 Style Weizen/Weissbier
Brewer Batch 23.00 L
Extract
Recipe Characteristics
Recipe Gravity 1.057 OG Estimated FG 1.014 FG
Recipe Bitterness 13 IBU Alcohol by Volume 5.5%
Recipe Color 5° SRM Alcohol by Weight 4.3%
Ingredients
Quantity Grain Type Use
3.50 kg Muntons DME - Wheat (60%/40%) Extract Extract
Quantity Hop Type Time
30.00 g Cascade Whole 15
minutes
30.00 g Cascade Whole 0 minutes
30.00 g Cascade Whole 5 minutes
Quantity Misc Notes
Recipe Notes
Batch Notes

Ian

P.S. If you think it's a bit strong for a summer beer,use 3kg wheat DME,and it comes out at 4.4%

 

[Randalicous]

Hi.

Im drinking canadian blonde from bottles at the moment. They have been in them for about a month and the lager is very light. Crisp and i can picture drinking one in the late summer day sun. Some bottles seem to have that twang in them. But they are few and far between. Some of the heads im getting are like topped with cream. Im going for my first partial extract next week. Have you considered this, not much extra kit needed fromwhat i see.

Steve

 

[Pearlfisher]

Can highly recommend Brupak's Linthwaite Light , took a while to clear in the barrel , but now excellent. Not to bitter or hoppy ,with just a hint of citrus and sweetness.

 

[BrewDan]

Well I ordered a few kits from thehombrecompany.co.uk, should see though into next year, thanks for all the suggestions, I will be awaiting delivery of the following:

Breferm Framboos
Coopers APA
Coopers Canadian Blonde
Coopers brewmaster Pilsner

California connoisseur white zinfandel for the girlfriend, and a few fermentables.

I have a few other kits indoors that I plan to do at some point this year or next (diablo, tarwebier, wherry, a silver can lager kit I was given, and a selection international wine kit), I was hoping to get the canadian blonde or pilsner going for this summer, will be the first time I get to use my fridge to ferment at cooler temps, so hoping that makes a real difference to the final product.

I do have a partial kit at home that I bought some time ago, before I knew that I needed a huge pot to do it in. I have found a few pots online, but I dont know what size I need, Will post this on a seperate thread to see what others think.

Quite looking forward to getting my summer brewing going, two of my cornies should be empty soon, im undecided on bottling or kegging the summer drinks, any advice on that would be great :thumb:

Thanks for all the help :drink: