Beerworks Bohemian Blonde Pils

[Dave 666]

Not sure if this kit has a review thread as despite a few mentions I can't find a review as such via the search function.

Anyways, after being offered a sample bottle in the shop I was sold on a kit I can't seem to find much review on as such and a home brewing gamble as my first brew in over 20 years. So hopefully its OK to start 1?. So, at £22.95 it's more expensive than many a kit, but also doesn't require any additional purchase, everything is included in the box so the cost is offset right away.

The liquid malt came in a pouch than a tin, the instructions mention to heat the pouch in water to make pouring it into the fv easier. Yet the shop said they never did this with their kit. But I followed the instructions anyway and slowly heated the pouch and poured it into the bucket using hot water to rinse out any remaining content. Sugar and yeast added as per instructions lid and airlock fitted. Instructions mention 24-48 hours before fermentation is expected to start. Yet this morning (started last night) the airlock is already bubbling away.

Fingers crossed all is going well and hopefully within the next 2 weeks or so this beer will be ready to bottle. If anything like the sample bottle should have a decent first beer on my hands in several weeks.

Anyone else brewed this and have any thoughts on it?.

 

[MyQul]

First of let me say Ive never brewed this kit. This being a pilsner you want as clean a flavour as possible. Im guessing they put ale yeast in the kit rather than lager yeast. That being so, in order to retard as many esters as possible and keep it clean flavoured, I suggest fermenting this right at the bottom end of fermentation temps for ale yeast. So 17C-18C

 

[Dave 666]

Actually it came with lager yeast, well it was marked as "premium lager yeast", 10 grams of it. The instructions suggest temps between 20-25, maybe that's yeast dependent?.

As to the current temp I'm not sure, as the bucket is currency on the kitchen floor and the stick on temperature gauge just doesn't seem to work.

 

[MyQul]

Actually it came with lager yeast, well it was marked as "premium lager yeast", 10 grams of it. The instructions suggest temps between 20-25, maybe that's yeast dependent?.

As to the current temp I'm not sure, as the bucket is currency on the kitchen floor and the stick on temperature gauge just doesn't seem to work.

Whilst you can ferment lager yeast at ale temps (in fact some people like doing this. There's a large thread over at HBT discussing how to/the merits of doing this) I'd still try and ferment as cool as your able to.

 

[Kman]

I’ve not done that kit but I have done a few of theirs and never been disappointed, their malt extract is good quality, never had any homebrew twang. Got the double ipa maturing and already tasting great, no alcohol burn at all and it’s 8%


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[Dave 666]

Yeah, the sample they gave me was impressive and made my choice easy despite never having gave that 1 any attention on the website beforehand. The kit stated an abv of 6.0 but the shop suggested their sample was more like 5.0.

But as per my other hydrometer thread I'd took an inaccurate first reading, never spun & was covered in bubbles. The top of the bubbles was just at the bottom of the red (1040) reading, so allowing for several mm from the liquid surface maybe the reading was more like 1044 or so on the surface. Added to that in thinking and feeling the bucket net day, the liquid would have certainly have been a good several degrees above testing temps so I'd have to add an adjustment again. Maybe more like 1046 SG?, no way to know for sure as fermentation had started and didn't want to take the risk of infection for which would be an equally inaccurate reading.

But according to the instruction sheet this kit is group C which suggests a final reading should be 1004 or less. Which if a best guess of say 1045 SG is right and a FG of at least 1004 is right then I could still be looking at a abv of around 5.4.

Well after 2 1/2 days the airlock looks to be slowing down, maybe more setting down. But either way, still waiting until day 10 until adding the hops as instructed. Though look like no bag as the website states, but instructions now say to break the hops up in 500ml of boiling water and spoon the hops into the bucket at to leave until at least day 15.

 

[Dave 666]

Incidentally, whilst the box doesn't state the source of the malt extract. I have however noticed it does mention the yeast as"US West Coast" and hops as "Saaz". Means nothing to me, but hopefully a good indicator?.

 

[GerritT]

Saaz is a typical pilsner hop, very likeable.

 

[MickDundee]

I’m assuming “West Coast” yeast will be a US-05 or M44 style yeast so it will be an ale yeast.

 

[Richard_H]

Currently only brewing Beerworks kits and slowly making my way through all of them (except pilsner/lager as i do not have a brew fridge)

Fantastic kits, probably the best out there IMO

 

[MyQul]

Currently only brewing Beerworks kits and slowly making my way through all of them (except pilsner/lager as i do not have a brew fridge)

Fantastic kits, probably the best out there IMO

You dont need one. Just swap out the yeast for some californian common yeast (a lager yeast that can be fermented at ale temps and still stays very clean). Or brew it in winter if you have somewhere about 14C and use kolsch yeast

 

[Dave 666]

Currently only brewing Beerworks kits and slowly making my way through all of them (except pilsner/lager as i do not have a brew fridge)

Fantastic kits, probably the best out there IMO

I might try their cider next, still undecided, well either that or an IPA based ale. But like you I'll probably work my way through all of them eventually.

 

[Dave 666]

Well 6 1/2 days in the fermentation looks to becoming somewhat erratic in part. What I mean is the previous 3 days the air lock has been bubbling to a reliable 50 second interval for the best part. Only this morning I timed the bubbling at rather erratic 45-80 second intervals. Maybe down to the slightly lower ambient temperature in the kitchen overnight I don't know?.

Has anyone who has done these kits know if this normal?, as by the instructions I don't add the hops until this Friday and bottle until Wednesday (at least) of next week (reading dependent). But was looking at giving it another day or 2 longer in the bucket if fermentation goes as per instructions.

 

[Dave 666]

Well after the airlock bubbles settled down 2 days ago to something more regular timing wise. I've timed again this morning several times to now note the airlock is bubbling at very regular 80 second intervals. So it looks like fermentation is slowing down, will time again when I get home from work. And if I get similar timings I'm going to add the hops tonight instead of tomorrow seeing as things could finish a day or 2 earlier than as per instructions. At least I can take the opportunity to take a gravity reading at the same.

 

[Kman]

I’ve always waited for fermentation to finish before dry hopping.


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[Dave 666]

I’ve always waited for fermentation to finish before dry hopping.


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To be honest, the instructions don't say to wait though. It simply says to add the hops at day 10 and bottle at day 15 if and only if fermentation has completely finished. So the instructions, whilst not directly stating it, does kind of suggest the hops get added towards the end of fermentation rather than after its fully finished.

But clearly I've been fermenting at the higher end of the temp scale so fermentation is bound to finish a bit early anyway. But the 80 seconds airlock bubbling intervals has now gone from 80 seconds this morning to about 105-110 second intervals now. So likely only a day or 2, 3 at the most left anyway I'm thinking.

 

[GerritT]

Hm, proper moment of stopped fermentation would be when the refractometer reports the same three times in a row.
Two weeks would also work with the average ale or lager.
Never trust a stopped bubble.

 

[Dave 666]

I might actually invest in a refractometer 1 day if, or more when I get a few brews under my belt and wanting to fine tune my methods. But for now I'll just use the ole trusty hydrometer.

Anyways, took the gravity reading, exactly 1000, did it 3 times to confirm the reading, with the brew instructions setting a target of 1004 or less. Not sure if the 1000 reading means something has gone wrong or the yeast has done it's job?. Either way, I decided to add the hops as per instructions to mash the pellets up in 500ml of hot water and spoon the hop mix into the bucket leaving as much of the liquid in the jug as possible.

Lid replaced and the airlock is bubbling away quite fast at the moment. Smells nice to :)

 

[Dave 666]

Testing temp looks to be 24, fairly high, but within the threshold for this brew which I recall can go up to 28 without any concerns.

 

[Dave 666]

Well, 2 days later and nothing to note from the airlock after it settled back down to 90-100 second bubbling 24 hours after adding the hops. Looks like it might have stopped altogether or minutes in between.

Speaking of the hops, it still strikes me as odd in why, when the brew was already cloudy, would the instructions pretty much have me make a "sludge" with the hop pellets using hot water and spoon it into (trying to leave as much liquid behind as possible) the bucket that would I assume be made much more cloudy again?.

Am I missing the point and this "sludge" of hops mix will also aid the settling and clearing of the brew?. Either way, I'm going to take a gravity reading either tomorrow (3rd day after hops) or Monday (4 days after) to see what the reading is and try again the day after. Though if the same as the 1000 gravity reading I got prior to adding the hops then I fail to see the point in taking a third reading as I'd already have 2 identical readings.

In which case, is it then more a matter of how long its OK to leave it before bottling?. The instructions suggest 5 days after adding the hops, but maybe that doesn't account for fermentation finishing a few days earlier than expected?.