rpt
Brewing without a hat
The BrewUK Tettnang Tiger Lager extract kit is supplied with spraymalt and vacuum packed hops. As it's an extract kit, it has to be boiled for an hour - you can't just put the malt straight into the FV. I followed the instructions but changed the fermentation method as I wanted to be sure that the fermentation had finished before the lagering stage. I've given some details below but you really just want to know what it tastes like. Well, it's fantastic. :clap: I first tasted it after it had only had a week in the fridge as a bottle. Most of my brews (all ales) have needed many weeks to get to a really drinkable point, but this is wonderful really quickly. I'm not a lager drinker normally (I made this to keep SWMBO happy) but I have been back to the fridge several times since. :drunk: SWMBO likes it too. It has a nice clean flavour and a little sweetness. The fizz is just right for me - perhaps not as fizzy as some would like their lager, but I think this may be one of the reasons I don't normally like lager. In fact, this is the first lager I have ever drunk that I have enjoyed.
So the quality is miles better than the kits I have done showing it was worth the effort (and nearly making SWMBO sick from the smell). Unfortunately it is a similar price to a kit. I did this as a step towards AG and I shall be trying to do a grain version of this.
Here are some details on how the brew went. I used a 15L stock pot. After 6 days I transferred the wort to a secondary FV as the instructions say but the gravity was at 1.018 so I kept my fermentation fridge at 12C. After a total of 15 days the gravity had fallen to 1.011 and was stable so I reduced the temperature to 2C. It had 15 days lagering (in an FV without airlock) and I then bottled with 120g of sucrose. The bottles were left for 2 weeks in the warm before going back in the fridge. After only 1 week I tasted it.
The instructions give an OG of 1.043 and FG of 1.014 with an ABV of 4.2%. Mine were 1.046 and 1.011. I make that 4.8% allowing for priming.
So the quality is miles better than the kits I have done showing it was worth the effort (and nearly making SWMBO sick from the smell). Unfortunately it is a similar price to a kit. I did this as a step towards AG and I shall be trying to do a grain version of this.
Here are some details on how the brew went. I used a 15L stock pot. After 6 days I transferred the wort to a secondary FV as the instructions say but the gravity was at 1.018 so I kept my fermentation fridge at 12C. After a total of 15 days the gravity had fallen to 1.011 and was stable so I reduced the temperature to 2C. It had 15 days lagering (in an FV without airlock) and I then bottled with 120g of sucrose. The bottles were left for 2 weeks in the warm before going back in the fridge. After only 1 week I tasted it.
The instructions give an OG of 1.043 and FG of 1.014 with an ABV of 4.2%. Mine were 1.046 and 1.011. I make that 4.8% allowing for priming.
