What styles of beer don't translate well to kits?

[admin]

I would imagine some of the stronger ones, like imperial stouts or dubbels wouldn't?

[brenmurph]

lagers, if one follows the instructions on the kit

[Bubbles]

Anything with any kind of hop flavour and aroma. In short, any of the american ales.


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[Damofto]

lagers, if one follows the instructions on the kit

how would you suggest improving a lager kit Bredan, I have a better brew export lager kit that I bought a while ago before I started the all-grain?

[brenmurph]

Anything with any kind of hop flavour and aroma. In short, any of the american ales.


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I agree, I feel that modding with a few hops seem to replace the lack of fresh-hopness in kits so a t-ball of aroma hop in keg is common with my kits

[brenmurph]

lagers, if one follows the instructions on the kit

how would you suggest improving a lager kit Bredan, I have a better brew export lager kit that I bought a while ago before I started the all-grain?

well I suppose my point is that when you read the instructions on a lager kit I have yet to find an instruction to ferment at a temp  11 or 12c.
and few people seem to let it lager at very cold temperatures like a lager should do, so my feeling is that a lager kit is aimed at kit brewers and new-to-brewers that would not be in a position to keep a steady 12c ferment and a 4 or 5c lagering them for a couple months.
The yeast is debatable in kits to start with and the only Kit I have actually been able to ferment at 11 or 12c is Finlandia kits ( no longer available it seems) so I thing this had a genuine lager yeast. I could be wrong. so my tips for making a lager kit would be.

1   Check out the manufacturers / ring them or google and try find out do they use a genuine lager yeast and if its any good
2.  if not use a good lager yeast
3.   Try ferment as cool as possible ideally lager I think is about 12ish but over 15ish it makes flavours that may not be suitable.
4.    Whether bottling or kegging try get them in  cold fridge for at least a week up to a month or more.
5.   use some hops because as Isaid in the post above I thing its hard for manufacturers to make a kit that has that freshness you get from adding late hops or dry hops.

Hope this helps, hopefuly others can give u tips on lager as well

[brenmurph]

@damofto
good overview here http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers
everything u need to know

enjoy

[LordEoin]

Ginger beer doesn't translate well to kit, sweetener ruins it.
Otherwise with the right hops, yeast and temperature the rest seem fine.

[Damofto]

@damofto
good overview here http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers
everything u need to know

enjoy

everything I need to know is right!, that's brilliant. Thanks very much.

[brenmurph]

@damofto
good overview here http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers
everything u need to know

enjoy

everything I need to know is right!, that's brilliant. Thanks very much.

hi dampofto, just interested in your opinions on success of lager kits now having read the piece? Is it really possible for a kit maker to make a good lager kit and for a homebrewer to successfully make a true german lager? Or how do-able is it?

[Damofto]

Hi Brendan, well it very interesting and yes I'm sure a homebrewer could make a true German lager.
I think that a kit brewer could make a great lager from a kit, prticularly if enhanced with hops and malt extracts  but I'm not sure how practical it would be. You'd have to be prepared to make a yeast starter a couple of days before, ferment for maybe 3 weeks at low controlled temps and mature/lager for probably another 4 weeks at even lower temps. 
For me the effort involved would outweigh the benefits of using a kit which is designed to give a decent brew with maybe an hour or two's work.
If I was going to attempt it, I would go all grain, I think it would be worth spending the 5 or 6 hours considering the long process to follow. The main obstacle I would see to making it a true German lager is that it has to be naturally carbonated, I'm not sure how difficult that is in a keg, bottle conditioned would be fine though.
It seems to me that lagers are for the more experienced brewers, I won't be attempting one soon but hopefully over the next few months I'll sort out a fermenting chamber and give one a go.

[Damofto]

I get it now. Damo, do you have a Mitsubishi FTO?

I used to buddy about 5 or 6 years ago, I kept the username ever since it's always available

[Damofto]

mine was a manual GX, I loved it.

[onesoma]

@damofto
good overview here http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers
everything u need to know

enjoy

That's an amazing site right there. Nerded out for a while...

[LordEoin]

oh no! you've discovered braukaiser? say goodbye to your weekend and evenings! 
It's an awesome site, with way more information than you'll ever need.
So addictive..