National Homebrew Club Ireland

Brewing Discussions => Kit Brewing => Topic started by: DrowningManatee on March 26, 2013, 01:24:42 PM

Title: [Review] Bulldog Brews Pennine Peak Yorkshire Bitter 3.3 Kg kit review
Post by: DrowningManatee on March 26, 2013, 01:24:42 PM
The fine folks at homebrewwest.ie gave me a box o this yesterday as part of the humbleton bard giveaway on saturday, and I assured them i'd write up a review on the site when im done, so I thought I'd stick it up here while im at it...

The beer comes in a plastic sack filled with wort. I've never seen a more straightforward beer. No sugar, no malt, all inclusive in the bag o wort.
I heated the plastic sack in hot water, added it to the fermenter, dissolved with more hot water, brought up to 23L with cold water, and added the yeast....
DONE.

Pretty simple, oh, and it came with a hop pellet t-bag of fuggles/goldings (does this mean its half of one and half the other, or is it saying that fuggles is a goldings type?). The instructions give the option to add the tbag straightaway or to add oince fermentation finishes for more aroma.
I'd read that you should only dry hop after fermentation is finished as the yeasts can take the hop flavour away so im going to wait until secondary (ill transfer to a carboy) to add the hops, then wait 5 days, and bottle.

I have a few vodka tinctures readying so ill try puttin some o them into the bottles:
lemon - rind and fruit
Lime - rind and fruit
Orange - rind and fruit
Grapefruit - fruit only.
I've half a notion now that rind isnt going to be as fruity as I'd intitially thought, more bitter?

Any advice greatly appreciated :)
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on March 26, 2013, 02:15:26 PM
and the OG is 1.043 (exactly as stated on the pack)
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 01, 2013, 01:16:52 AM
ok, 6 days later, gravity's 1.023 (should be lower), temperature changed a bit from night to day where i had the fermenter so I think i cold crashed the yeast. Gonna add another sachet I have leftover from a coopers real ale kit if there's no activity by tomorrow, and change the room I have the fermenter in so it's more consisitant.

Added fuggles/golding hop tbag, and transfered to secondary.
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: LordEoin on April 03, 2013, 09:08:59 PM
what were the temperature highs and lows?
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 04, 2013, 03:21:11 PM
the highs were about 20 and the lows about 11 im thinkin? had my extract hack beside but that was with nottingham ale yeast which is more tolerant and experienced no problems...

re pitched yesterday with coopers yeast from real ale kit, went for a bit but seems to be doin nothin now, will check gravity in two days, take it form there
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: LordEoin on April 04, 2013, 09:42:17 PM
ouch, I hope the new room helps to keep the temperatures up and stable.
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 04, 2013, 09:56:28 PM
im only changing the position/insulating a bit, ill have to invest in a brew belt methinks....
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: LordEoin on April 04, 2013, 10:11:29 PM
aye, they're well worth the investment  :)
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 06, 2013, 09:06:40 PM
its been bubbling, very rarely now, dropped to 1.02, so im gonna wait about a week and see, dropped 3 points since but really slowed down now...
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 07, 2013, 05:23:35 PM
1.02 still, it came out at 1.016 and then raised up to 1.02 with the bubbling. This always happens and im assuming you take the later reading?
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: LordEoin on April 09, 2013, 01:01:38 AM
Remove the gas from your sample by giving it a shake or transferring it between pintglasses for a while.
Remember to spin the hydrometer to stop bubbles messing with the reading.
1.016 seems a bit high, but i've no experience with the Bulldog Kits.
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: HomeBrewWest on April 09, 2013, 11:43:31 AM
Hmmm, I'm not sure about adding a different yeast strain. Anybody got any info on this, and what it might do to the beer?

The instructions say to "leave it to ferment for 10 days at 18°C - 24°C". See: http://www.bulldogbrews.co.uk/assets/docs/23090-bulldog-brews-instruction.pdf

There have been tremendous advances in recent years in yeast technology in terms of fusels / temperature tolerance etc. So we tend to advise brewers to simply follow modern kit instructions these days. We figure the manufacturers know more about their modern yeast strains than we do (for the most part, but there are exceptions).

Also says:
"check that your hydrometer shows a reading of 1008 or below before proceeding to bottling/kegging. If your reading is a little higher (up to 1015), leave for a few more days and then proceed if gravity no longer drops (even if gravity is still a little high)."

The starting gravity seems to have been OK at 1043, and the kit is 4.7% ABV so it should be possible to figure out the FG (don't forget to account for carbonating sugars). I don't have a calculator to hand but I'm sure somebody can work it out.
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 09, 2013, 10:45:26 PM
ill be pretty happy to get a beer out of it at this stage... bubbling a small bit though, down to 1.019 now, its like a really big rocket ship the way its taking off here :)
taught me a lesson about gettin the brewbelt, next thing im savin up for now, and about using yeast strains to suit yer environment... still delighted gettin the kit though, cheers homebrewwest again :)
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 11, 2013, 04:50:03 PM
any ideas what you could use this beer for? would it be suitable for cooking as i used to use alot o me homebrews in stews/sauces/marinades etc? just hoping to get something out of it, sorry brewwest, dont think id be of use to ye stickin up a review now :(
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: LordEoin on April 13, 2013, 04:30:48 AM
stews/sauces/marinades would be fine, but have you considered drinking it?    :D
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: johnrm on April 13, 2013, 09:35:37 AM
23 litres of barbeque sauce?  I suppose the summer is coming. ::)
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: Garry on April 13, 2013, 10:09:32 AM
Quote23 litres of barbeque sauce?  I suppose the summer is coming. ::)

You could marinade a blue whale with that much sauce :o

I was looking at their website, it looks like a very good quality kit. Leave it for another week I'd say, it's a lot warmer now than it was in March  :)
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 13, 2013, 11:05:48 AM
nice one dudes, all adice taken on board, still deciding...
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: johnrm on April 13, 2013, 12:26:21 PM
Mmmmmmm, Barbeque...
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 14, 2013, 01:12:04 PM
yup, barbeque marinades, blue whales, and beer to drink so i dont drink up my good stuff :)

bottling today, gonna add some tinctures etc, should come out at 3.33% so its something anyway...
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: eanna on April 14, 2013, 02:46:51 PM
There's probably still a lot of fermentables in the beer, eventually the yeast should get through them and you might get a overcarbonation or bombs in a few more weeks.
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 14, 2013, 04:16:32 PM
was worried about that alright, but it hasnt moved from 1.018 for ages, i pitched a second yeast when the other stopped about 2 weeks ago, and it dropped 2 points since, though it still bubbles rarely...

I have some campden tablets there for wines, could i use them to ensure the fermentation has stopped with the beer or would it impart dodgyness to the brew? Haven't bottled yet, but just got the place cleaned there and about to....

shite, im assuming  no yeast means the bottles won't carbonate as well, any ideas?

Does that mean that if i bottled as is, it would carbonate of its own accord? and way too much?

Sorry, still forgetting about the amateur problems a bit...
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: Kevco5 on April 14, 2013, 04:33:52 PM
The bubbler is not a true indicator of fermentation, if your gravity hasn't changed then your good to bottle, should be plenty of yeast left in suspension for it to carbonate. I'd prime on the lower end of the scale to be safe though.
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: DrowningManatee on April 14, 2013, 04:36:22 PM
ok, nice one kev, do ye reckon i could just leave priming altogether? (still want fizz, just as in are there enough fermentables there)
Title: Re: Bulldog Brewery's 3.3kg Yorkshire Bitter
Post by: LordEoin on April 15, 2013, 04:00:55 AM
QuoteSorry, still forgetting about the amateur problems a bit...
The biggest obstacle is patience  ;)

before you do anything, make sure your hydrometer is right.
put it in water at about 20C and it should read 1.000

as per homebrewwest's post and the instructions, if the brew it below 1.015 you're good to bottle.