This week I brewed my first Northern Brewer extract kit. I usually go to the local brew store and buy their kits of put together my own but a friend of my has had great results with these kits so I thought I'd give it a try. It was actually cheaper including their $7.99 shipping then shopping at the local store. They offer an ice pack which they put in an insulated envelope with the Wyeast for $0.99 which is a nice feature. The kit comes with grains(0.75 lbs Gambrinus Honey Malt, 0.25 lbs Dingemans Biscuit) which are crushed already. The kit came with only one mesh bag for the grain. I like to put my hops in a mesh bag too. This kit only had one 60 min hop addition of 1oz of Cluster. The extract, 6 lbs Pilsen malt syrup, came in a half gallon jug which I found to be easier to pour then the Briss jars. Although getting the rest of the extract out was a pain. I used a small metal pitcher to pour some hot wart back into the jug and shook it up to release the rest of the extract.
The Brew
I steeped the grain for 20min in just over 2 gallons of water at 165-170 degrees. After bringing the wort to a boil I added the extract. There was no boil over so I started my 60 min boil and added my 60 min Cluster hop addition. During the boil the wort did come up a few times so I cut the heat for a moment to avoid the boil over. I chilled the kettle in an ice bath in the laundry sink to 115 degrees and transferred the wort to the fermenter. I topped off the fermenter to 5 gallons with filtered water which I kept in the fridge. The wort temperature came out at around 70 degrees so I pitched the yeast. Fermentation started about six hours after pitching the yeast.
Overall this is a very easy kit to brew. If you like using mesh bags for your hops I recommend ordering a ten pack form Northern Brewers for $4.99 with your kit.
Here is a link to the Cream Ale
I will post an update when I transfer to secondary, keg it and taste it.
Loki Brewing
Home brewing talk and product reviews.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Welcome to Loki Brewing
Hi everyone. On Loki brewing I will be featuring my youtube videos and adding additional cometary about them. Since I don't have time to make a new video every few days I will be keeping in touch using blogger. My videos will include everything from brewing demonstration to product reviews and general brewing information. Check me out on youtube.com/user/loki4711tbp
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