I picked this up in Bradleys on North Main st. a few weeks ago - I'd seen a tweet from Hollands about it so when
they came to Cork I decided to try one out. I've been doing kits and been planning to move to small batch all grain so
this is a nice way to dip a toe in the water.
You get basically everything you need, bar 2 decent sized pots - 7 litres+ each and a funnel.
I decided to follow the instructions as precisely as I could. The only thing I changed was to use Starsan instead of the VWP supplied.
This is the porter kit.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7336/12719880235_b7f51166d1_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12719880235/)
True Batch all grain kit, via Bradleys (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12719880235/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
My first problem was the largest pot I had was 5 litre, so I had to source a larger one. Luckily, Heatons had nice large stock pots for a decent price - so now I'm sorted for brewing and (I've been told) the ham for Christmas!
Step 1 - bring 3.3l to 71c and then add the grain.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7335/12720337614_09bdf5bdb5_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720337614/)
Ready to add grain to water (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720337614/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
then keep the temp between 63 and 68 for 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7312/12720336364_65ea4be24b_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720336364/)
The mash (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720336364/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
Temperature control was a bit tricky - it dropped below 63 at one point for a couple of minutes - I misjudged the lag and
let it drop.
At the end of this stage you bring the temp to 77c.
Step 2 is the sparge - they say to get 4l of water ready, strain the pot into a new vessel and then add the 4l to the mix, pouring over the grain. So now I have one nice big pot and the next largest I have is 5l - so I improvised with 2 smaller pots. One of which I had 4l of fresh water in. It was a bit like one of those riddles where you have 3 pots and have to hit a certain amount of water in one :)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7294/12720333794_d9603973c8_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720333794/)
Getting ready to sparge (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720333794/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
So, I got on with it. It took a fair while.
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3703/12719882765_20c342afa4_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12719882765/)
Mid way through sparging (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12719882765/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
Repeat 3 times.
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3775/12720332414_eca9a50560_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720332414/)
Sparging (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720332414/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
After sparging Step 3 - the boil. you boil gently for an hour, adding the bittering hops, irish moss and aroma hops at 15 mins, 45 and 55 respectively.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7375/12720330184_cca11380b1_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720330184/)
Hops and irish moss (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720330184/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
Filter into the sanitised demijohn:
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3797/12719878285_456fc692e7_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12719878285/)
decanting to demijohn from pot (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12719878285/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
Cool to 21c and pitch the yeast. Cooling took a while - I used a water bath in the kitchen sink. I should have put a couple of cool packs into the freezer. Next time maybe.
Once it cools, you pitch the yeast, pop in the solid bung and shake the heck out of it for a couple of minutes.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7371/12720026813_8916e141bd_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720026813/)
Yeast pitched and demijohn shaken (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12720026813/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
Switch to the hollow bung, attach the syphon tube and put the other end into a glass of sanitiser solution.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7372/12719875955_ee04566b1b_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12719875955/)
Fermenting! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12719875955/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
Leave it in a cool dark place for a couple of days and then switch out the hose contraption for a standard airlock.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7360/12729059735_9a2603c1c5_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12729059735/)
Fermenting in the kitchen (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcie/12729059735/) by Brian Clayton (http://www.flickr.com/people/bcie/), on Flickr
Its currently bubbling away on the kitchen table.
It was good fun and a real eye opener. I've only ever done kits, so seeing all grain was fantastic - it's a very different experience.
Way more involved and fun. I'm looking forward to tasting it - I think I can bottle in about 2 weeks.
The kit is €55, I imagine you could save money buying the individual components online, but its great for a beginner - all you need is the pot. (unlike me you might want to check that you do actually have a large enough pot, or even 2. oh, and that you actually have a funnel. You could save yourself two emergency shopping trips :) ).
Brian,
Great write up and excellent photos.
Well done.
As you are a full member and have done a review now, watch out for the raffles of free stuff that needs reviewing.
Great work Brian!
Be sure and post a review of the resulting beer too.
No doubt a bottle will surface at a meet. ;-)
Looking good Brian. Did you get a gravity reading?
nice review - what kind of brew is it?
Thanks all.
It's the porter kit.
The whole process took about 4 hours, which was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. It's currently bubbling away very enthusiastically on the kitchen table,
I've just had a message from herself that it's very loud and annoying :)
OG was 1.058, which surprised me, seems quite high.
I should be able to bring a bottle to the next meetup in Midleton.
Weird... I had a dream about these kits last night and this review answered all the questions I had!
Great job Brian Clayton, on Flickr
Yeah but Brian had no clothes on in that dream.
Well.. who's to say that he had any on while brewing?
Look closer and you'll see he's wearing nothing but an apron.
Look at those hairy bare legs poking out :
Ah Jesus I can see a belt around his knees, Brian what are you stirring with :o
Hold tough lads, they might be Mrs Claytononflickr's legs? I can't see any hair on them myself but A+ for observation Eoin :P
Jeez you have to careful posting photos here ???
Auld eagle eyes (aqnd there are many) will spot the most modest infraction!
They did something like that in Blade Runner with the bathroom.
TBB have a website now as well, and ever better are based in Bray ;D
http://truebatchbrew.com/
Just to confirm, those are my legs. You nutters :)
Pity! I thought we had the first entry in the brewer's wives series :(
Quote from: Will_D on February 24, 2014, 08:02:13 PM
Jeez you have to careful posting photos here ???
Auld eagle eyes (aqnd there are many) will spot the most modest infraction!
True Will but i seem to remember a pic on here last year where a certain person was showing his brew gear on a sunny day in his back garden, including the lump of dog shit in the corner of the pic :o
Quote from: Greg2013 on February 24, 2014, 10:32:47 PM
Quote from: Will_D on February 24, 2014, 08:02:13 PM
Jeez you have to careful posting photos here ???
Auld eagle eyes (aqnd there are many) will spot the most modest infraction!
True Will but i seem to remember a pic on here last year where a certain person was showing his brew gear on a sunny day in his back garden, including the lump of dog shit in the corner of the pic :o
That was an adjunct, an elephant never forgets :P
I thought it would be the Kong that got the mention.
had to do it m8 sorry :'(
NHC members not get a 10% discount on http://truebatchbrew.com/ (http://truebatchbrew.com/)
Currently they have Porter and Pale Ale, but they'll be launching a 'Hoppy Amber Ale' at the end of March.
Nice job LE
Definitely a great present.
Bought one of the ale top up kits as I have all the rest of the gear from doing coopers kits and the bottles are 11 euro in Tesco.
Comes to 22.50 with shipping.
What I dont understand about the review is why do you need to use a pint glass and syphon tube as an air lock and then move to a standard airlock.
Why not just bung a standard airlock in from the start?
Quote from: Motorbikeman on March 21, 2014, 12:40:16 PM
What I dont understand about the review is why do you need to use a pint glass and syphon tube as an air lock and then move to a standard airlock.
Why not just bung a standard airlock in from the start?
If you get a very vigorous fermentation it could foam out through the air lock and potentially infect your brew. The blow-off tube is a belt and braces air-lock for the first few days of the ferment. The standard airlock would probably be fine if there is enough head space in the FV.
the fermentation is indeed very vigorous, and if you use the supplied carboy you'll run into problems with the standard airlock as Garry said.
I'm looking forward to trying the new amber kit.
There is a chance to taste the new stuff this Sat in Dublin.
https://www.facebook.com/events/233313036861591/?source=3&source_newsfeed_story_type=regular
Thank you Brian for such a detailed and informative review, it's great to see folks enjoying the Kit.
re. The Airlock. Just to be clear, the Demi John / Carboy supplied works fine with airlock supplied. Once you do as Gary said use Syphon to Pint glass/Jug for first few days of fermentation, as per our instructions.
Hope to see any Dublin based brewers this Saturday at 57 The Headline. 1-5. Geoff is putting on some specials at the bar, we'll have the New Kits and Top ups, loose grain, hops and other brewing equipment available on the day. Plus a few tasters of course!
Cheers!
will you be selling grain and hops on your site soon?
Got a question . Maybe Brian or true batch can help.
I went to Heatons and Woodies to get a funnel and sieve. They had around five different type on sale between them
I got one. It is the biggest I could find. It nearly 8" wide. Only 4euro in Heatons.
I poured the contents of the Pale Ale grain bag into it. It only took 2/3 of the bag before it started to over flow into the bowl.
It does say a large sieve has to be used in the instrucions. But how much bigger than this do they get? Does the contents shrink or get smaller when boiled?
Do you think this one will do?
(http://s15.postimg.org/pdp737ad7/20140326_134234.jpg)
Get yourself a colander. I do 5 litre batches and its what I use. Then when transfer back to boil kettle use a sieve to to catch the finer malt particles.
The book says step 2.
After I heat the lot with water I have to cook for 60mins.
Then strain the grain over another pot or container a few times.
If it all gets a bit smaller than the dry grain then it might fit .
(http://s28.postimg.org/od8abvrf1/20140326_140051.jpg)
I could, if im stuck cut the mesh from the sieve and place it in the bottom of a pot steamer .
I got one of these (http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/20027536/) in Ikea. It's like a colander/strainer hybrid type of thing!
I'd say it will still struggle with all that grain? I'd suggest getting some paint strainers (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-GALLON-PAINT-STRAINER-BAGS-6-PACK-HOMEBREW-BEER-TEA-JAM-PAINT-COMPOST-MILK-/330800192699?hash=item4d053a5cbb) and putting the grain into them before mashing.
i use a collander lined with some muslin
Dont have a collander . But I did find this in the attic.
(http://s8.postimg.org/yh7b07rtx/collender1.jpg)
About 50 more holes drilled and 3 allen bolts later.
(http://s15.postimg.org/7s9tbm8fv/collender2.jpg)
Tesco does muslin sheets in the baby section.
Sorted. Going to do this tomorrow .
Just wait til the missus comes home and tells ye that pot you just drilled holes in was a treasured family heirloom. :P
I started my brewing career with similar 1 gallon brew kit. It is great way to start and also a good gift for someone who might be interested in home brewing. After first batch I suggest to buy voile fabric on guinneys etc. and make a brew bag. It improved my beer quality pretty much. Maybe kit seller could sell small brew bags as extra in online shop? :)
I bottled this at the weekend - it finished out at 1.014, making it a nice beefy beer. It tastes alright so far, I'll see how long I can restrain myself before I open a bottle.
A couple of notes - the instructions say to rack to secondary before bottling - this is a very good idea. There's a lot of sediment in the demijohn.
Someone asked me to point out that I cooled the wort before transferring to the demijohn - this is clearly mentioned in the instructions, I forgot to mention it above.
I'll bring a bottle to the next meet up in Midleton for anyone curious about the results.
Bring on the Amber kit :)
How many bottles did you get out of it?
2 criticisms of true-batch brew are...
The time required to do a batch is more-or-less the same as a larger batch.
Owing to the smaller volume, temp will fluctuate more if not managed.
2 likes...
I like it for the trial-batch size.
Great for getting people up and running with all grain.
It's not about size john.. it's about how you use it... ;D ;D
Quote from: LordEoin on April 02, 2014, 10:07:46 AM
How many bottles did you get out of it?
7. I am a clumsy man, so there was some loss.
I have to say that this kit gave me a huge appreciation for all grain. It's way more fun than kits.
Quote from: johnrm on April 02, 2014, 10:44:11 AM
2 criticisms of true-batch brew are...
The time required to do a batch is more-or-less the same as a larger batch.
Owing to the smaller volume, temp will fluctuate more if not managed.
2 likes...
I like it for the trial-batch size.
Great for getting people up and running with all grain.
I have to say John. I personally would have never have made the large step to big batch grain anytime soon. I would also like to add, if it was not for brians thread here, I would not have seen how achievable it is at home with the household cooking pot.
I im going to do another small one with the kits and im also trying to source a couple of old kegs for the step up to 5 gallon full on grain.
So as a newbie with little knowledge and dipping my toe in, I think these kits are wonderful.
Where would one get a couple of free or cheap beer kegs in Naas area
I have to agree. the scale is what makes them so accessible to folks without any allgrain kit like mash tuns, keggles, etc :)
Seems very pricey for me though for 5 litres of beer, could I buy one of these kits https://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/all-grain-mash-kits-c-194.html and just 1/4 the ingredients for each brew. BTW I haven't tried all grain yet
You could, and it would be great to learn the process, but do you value your time?