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Brewing Discussions => Kit Brewing => Topic started by: fishjam45 (Colin) on May 30, 2014, 11:32:30 PM

Title: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on May 30, 2014, 11:32:30 PM
Evening all, I'm delighted to do my first review which is The Craft Range IPA.
Many thanks to http://www.homebrewwest.ie/ (http://www.homebrewwest.ie/) for putting these kits up for raffle and LordEoin for organising it.

The box is nice and tidy and well presented, its nice to get everything in the one box.  I personally like the branding used here, nice touch too adding the 4 Craft Range Beers and 4 Craft Range Ciders to the ends of the box to encourage future buys from this range.  The cider ingredients listed have gotten me interested in a  future purchase - job well done by the advertising section!

Whats in the Box?

3kg IPA Malt Extract Pouch
650g Brewing Sugar
100g Priming Sugar
10g Beer Yeast (IPA)
Muslin Bag
75g Pouch Hop Pellets (IPA)
A4 Page of Instructions (Both Sides)

DAY 1 GETTING STARTED

1 - Thoroughly clean and sterilise all equipment with cleaner and sanitizer.
2 - Stand the pouches in warm water for 15 minutes to soften the extract.
3 - Carefully cut the pouches open and pour the malt extract into your bucket.  Rinse out any remains by rolling and squeezing the pouch remains into the bucket.
4 - Boil 3 Litres of water, add to bucket and stir ensuring the malt and water are well mixed.
5 - Top up to 23 litres using tap water and agains tir well.
6 - Check that the temperature is below 24 oC then add the contents of The Beer Yeast sachet and stir.
7 - Fit an airlock and grommet to the fermentor lid then secure the lid to the fermentor, ensuring that the seal is air-tight.  One third fill the airlock 'U' with water to protect the beer during fermentation.

So all in all there is nothing strange or unusual in the instructions - straightforward.  There was a gorgeous smell coming from my kitchen as I was putting it together, it was even remarked on from the sitting room by herself. We both agreed its the best and freshest smelling kit I've done so far, already looking forward to tasting it.  There's not much more I can say about it yet as its literally only in the bucket.

In review of my experience of getting it all into fermentor there are a few points I'd like to make, I hope I'm not being too picky here:
* In point 2 of the instructions it says "Stand the Pouches in warm water" - there is only one pouch for the IPA.  Maybe the instructions could be amended for the IPA?
* On the box under the ingredients list it says "Malt Extract, Dextrose Monohydrate, Hops, Hop Extract, Dried Brewing Yeast."  There was a 75gr of Hop Pellets only included.  Maybe saying Hops and Hop Extract was a little confusing?
* It'd be nice to know what hop(s) are in the pellets? Maybe its kept secret on purpose  :)
* In the instructions there is no advise to take an Original Gravity reading.
* There is no mention of what to do with the 650g bag of brewing sugar in the instructions.  Maybe some people might find that confusing and not use it at all?  I added it in with the 3kg Extract.
* There is a "Best Before" printed as part of the branding in 2 places on the box but no actual best before date stamped on them.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: LordEoin on May 31, 2014, 01:12:42 AM
Thanks Fishjam! I found that very informative and interesting.
After brewing the Stout version it is good to see the differences in other kits.

It indicates that there is good thought put into the ingredients, but the instructions might all be the same for the different styles.
It will be interesting to see how Chris's Blonde Lager  goes on brewday because i notice on the stout kit instructions mentions temperatures for other kit, but no lager temps.

It's odd that this kit comes with priming sugar, when the stout does not. Maybe it was just an oversight. This is the range's virgin run, so there are bound to be a few hiccups.

A striking similarity between the stout and this IPA (pretty much opposite in beer terms) is that we both noticed that the smell of the wort was much fresher than other kits.

Roll on drinking day!
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on May 31, 2014, 12:49:41 PM
There's the beginnings of a Krausen forming this morning and the airlock has popped a few times too.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on June 01, 2014, 08:18:55 PM
A good Krausen has formed and the airlock is happily popping away now.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on June 08, 2014, 10:38:24 PM
So as per instructions I dry hopped today with the supplied hop pellets.
I boiled the supplied muslin bag for 5 minutes, added the pellets, tied a knot in the muslin bag then popped the bag into my FV.
Easy peasy.

I would really like to know what hops are in those pellets, especially after smelling the bag that they came in - Savage!!!

Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: LordEoin on June 09, 2014, 12:32:27 AM
Have a game of 'guess the aroma hops' at a brewer's meet. I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it.
Reading the initial review again, I notice that your yeast is specifically marked IPA.
That's 3 craft range beer kits reviewed so far and 3 different yeasts. Nice change from other ranges supplying the same yeast for most of their styles :)
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on June 11, 2014, 05:58:51 PM
After ten days, and when it's reading less than 1.005 I can proceed onto the bottling stage.
I took a reading tonight and it's 1.006, so I'll try again on Thursday or Friday.

It smells really good - fresh (again), with a sweet, warm and citrus nose is the best way of describing it. She's quite cloudy too.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: ronnieb on June 12, 2014, 08:19:00 PM
I have this 5 days in the fermenter.  It has kept an impressive bubbly krausen thus far. 
It smells great..
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on June 12, 2014, 09:56:47 PM
It was the same with mine, especially the smell - gorgeous!!!
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on June 16, 2014, 11:19:51 PM
She dropped down to 1.005 on Thursday so I bottled it on Friday.
The kit gives you the instructions and sugar to 1)batch prime in a second bucket or 2) add sugar to each bottle prior to bottling.
I liked this because any other kit I've bought didn't supply sugar to prime with, it needed to bought separately or with a bundled option.

Now I've got to play the waiting game until it's carbed and ready to sample.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on July 03, 2014, 09:28:00 PM
Sampled a bottle tonight and I'm very happy with the result. It's been bottled since 13th June (3 weeks tomorrow) and the first thing I noticed when I opened the bottle was the smell. There was a lovely aroma to it that I took a long moment to enjoy before pouring.
I used a few coopers ox bar pet bottles when bottling this batch as they are great indicators of when it's carbed or not. Just give the bottle a squeeze and you'll know!
I was interested to see how the yeast had settled at the bottom of the bottle since I read a recent post by HomeBrewWest saying that it forms a nice compact cake at the bottom.  See for yourselves from the picture below, what they said was true. I poured the whole bottle into my glass and was impressed with what was left behind in the bottle - definitely a first compared to other kits I've done.
Already this IPA is very drinkable.  The level of bitterness is bang on and it mellows out to a smooth aftertaste. 
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: ronanp on July 15, 2014, 11:33:31 PM
Hoping to make this kit as my second homebrew very soon. The kit comes with 650grams of brewing sugar. Someone suggested switching to LME instead. The craft range LME on homebrewwest website is 1.5 kg.

How much do I use? and if I dont use it all is there any way to keep it fresh for the next brew?

The kit instructions are still a bit vague on fermentation temp, the kit says 20 to 24 degrees and some people seam to be doing it below that. should i be aiming at the 20 end or the 24 end of the scale.

Thanks
ronan
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: LordEoin on July 16, 2014, 01:03:40 AM
The brewing sugar in this one is probably to make the body a bit 'lighter/thinner' to balance with the supplied LME and the hop additions.
There seems to be a good bit of thought put into the craft range, and i'd just trust them and go with the supplied ingredients :)

For fermentation temps, i'd generally go on the lower end of the recommended temperature, in this case 20C.
The lower end of an ale yeast usually ferments out cleaner.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: ronanp on July 16, 2014, 08:10:59 AM
Thanks again lordeoin, will try and get this on today so.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on July 16, 2014, 09:40:13 PM
Quote from: LordEoin on July 16, 2014, 01:03:40 AM
The brewing sugar in this one is probably to make the body a bit 'lighter/thinner' to balance with the supplied LME and the hop additions.
There seems to be a good bit of thought put into the craft range, and i'd just trust them and go with the supplied ingredients :)

For fermentation temps, i'd generally go on the lower end of the recommended temperature, in this case 20C.
The lower end of an ale yeast usually ferments out cleaner.

+1 on the supplied ingredients.

@ ronanp - Even though it will only be your 2nd brew you will be waiting a while until you brew a better kit.  I'm delighted with this one and even though I've started all grain brewing I will be looking at another kit from this range sometime soon.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Padraich on July 18, 2014, 09:56:02 AM
Hi guys,

I mentioned in another thread that this review inspired me to put on the Craft IPA.

I've had it in primary (under the stairs... that's where the brewery is...) since about 2pm Saturday.  As mentioned by many others before; it smells lovely. The current weather is brilliant too - it's sitting between 20 and 22o

But a first for me is that on the 7th day, the bubbler is still bubbling regularly, and strongly.  I'm talking about every 5 to 10 seconds.  I can't wait to hop it on Saturday (and have an early sample)

Cheers!
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on July 18, 2014, 11:15:24 AM
Have you taken any gravity readings?
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Padraich on July 18, 2014, 11:28:29 AM
OG was 1054.  Haven't opened the FV since, but I'll take a sample when I'm hopping tomorrow.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: bantamflush on July 18, 2014, 02:38:02 PM
I've had this bottled for a week - impatience got the better of me and I cracked one open.

OG was 1.056 and FG was 1.008

It obviously needs more time in the bottle but I'm very happy with the flavours already. Very fruity.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: LordEoin on July 18, 2014, 03:36:35 PM
Welcome bantamflush!
now the hard part... waiting a few weeks with a taste for it  ;D
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Padraich on July 20, 2014, 11:08:21 AM
Quote from: fishjam45 on July 18, 2014, 11:15:24 AM
Have you taken any gravity readings?


Hi all,

I hopped the Craft IPA batch yesterday. Those hop pellets smell amazing. Talk about the essence of American IPA!

Took the sg too. Now down to 1013. Had a look this morning and the bubbler is still tipping along albeit more slowly.

Can't wait for the finished product

:)
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on July 23, 2014, 08:47:24 PM
As I write this post I'm sitting in the garden enjoying the evening and sipping on my Craft Range IPA, sunny evenings and lovely IPA'S are made for each other.

I think its proably time to finish up this review as its been in the bottle for nearly six weeks and it is very, very drinkable now.  If anything the aroma from the dry hopping may be fading a little.
I brought some of it to the Garden County Brewers meet last week and we all sampled it there too.  Everybody was pleased with it and I was very happy with that.
We all agreed though that the instructions could be made a little clearer for future batches.  For example, write a specific set of instructions for each beer available in the range especially with regards to the mention of "pouches" in the IPA instructions considering there is only one pouch supplied.

In summary, did I like this kit? Yes.  Do I enjoy drinking it? Yes. Did everyone else that tasted it like it? Yes.  Will I be buying other kits from this range in the future? Yes.
Big thumbs on the yeast used in this kit, definitely a fan of the compact yeast cake it forms at the bottom of the bottle.  It would be nice to be able to buy the yeast by itself too, if it were ever made available?

Slightly off point, but I got to sample the Wheat Beer from the Craft Range last week and I really liked it.  The was a gorgeous clove taste from it, really good.

Once again big thanks to LordEoin and HBW for allowing and selecting me to do this review.  Cheers!!!





Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: AJ_Rowley on July 24, 2014, 07:49:30 AM
Do you have those glasses imported from Sweden ;)
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: bantamflush on July 24, 2014, 12:07:40 PM
Quote from: LordEoin on July 18, 2014, 03:36:35 PM
Welcome bantamflush!
now the hard part... waiting a few weeks with a taste for it  ;D

Cheers! Yes its tough...last night especially. Hard day in work + sweaty weather = beer craving.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on July 24, 2014, 09:07:53 PM
Quote from: AJ_Rowley on July 24, 2014, 07:49:30 AM
Do you have those glasses imported from Sweden ;)

Yeah I did, I can hook you up with my supplier if you want?  :D :D :D
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on July 24, 2014, 09:08:21 PM
Quote from: bantamflush on July 24, 2014, 12:07:40 PM
Quote from: LordEoin on July 18, 2014, 03:36:35 PM
Welcome bantamflush!
now the hard part... waiting a few weeks with a taste for it  ;D

Cheers! Yes its tough...last night especially. Hard day in work + sweaty weather = beer craving.

It'll be worth it Bantam!!!
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: ronanp on July 31, 2014, 05:40:13 PM
Just finished bottling this. Smelled amazing. Now to wait.........
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Boabiegringo on August 31, 2014, 04:11:17 PM
Great review, definitely going to give this a bash next- Aroma,Head compact yeast all sounds like a winner to me especially when it includes everything ^-^
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: _dj_ on September 10, 2014, 07:59:15 PM
Picked this kit up a few months ago but only got around to starting it yesterday. One of the nicer smeling kits to make. It's bubbling gently now after 24 hours.

I have a question about the priming sugar. There was a 100g pack supplied with it but the instructions say to add 120g for the IPA kit. What have people who have made it used?
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Garry on September 10, 2014, 08:16:18 PM
Welcome to the NHC undersore dj underscore  :P

Brewing sugar is what's recommended but ordinary table sugar works fine for priming.

How many liters have you to bottle? For an IPA I'd expect it to be fizzy; around 2.5 vols. That would be more like 150g of sugar in a 23L batch.

Have a look at this calculator (http://kotmf.com/tools/prime.php) for more info.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: LordEoin on September 10, 2014, 08:59:06 PM
weird that only 100g was supplied
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: _dj_ on September 10, 2014, 09:14:28 PM
Just looked at the first post again. In the pictures he has the same. 100g written on the bag of priming sugar and 120g written on the instructions.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: HomeBrewWest on September 10, 2014, 09:24:55 PM
Well spotted, we need to update the instructions. The 120 g is calculated from a "rounded" grams per litre recommendation, but the included pack of 100g is what we think gives the best result for both the Craft Range IPA and the Craft Range Citra American Pale Ale.

Bear on mind that the "grams per litre" is a guideline for the other kits that don't come with the extra 100g sachet, and that it is just a recommendation for batch priming. Different people tend to like different levels of carbonation.

I hope this clears up any confusion.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: _dj_ on September 10, 2014, 09:32:36 PM
Thanks for that. I was really just unsure about what was being recommended.

Now the long wait until I get to taste it.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Tigger on October 05, 2014, 07:01:35 PM
tastes nice smells great
mine will be drank at chrimbo
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on October 06, 2014, 08:04:55 PM
I've only one bottle of this left!  >:( >:( >:(

I really should have entered it into the Galway IPA competition to see what that judges make of it.

Maybe somebody else out there has it bottled and might enter it?
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: gearoid on November 07, 2014, 06:10:12 PM
I brewed this as my first brew after a hiatus of 25+ yrs.
It's 6 weeks in the bottles and I'm bowled over by how easy it is to create a fine beer.
Next time around I'd like to dial back the ABV a bit, maybe add less of the brewing sugar, so I can enjoy a few more in a row   ;D

Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on November 07, 2014, 06:54:47 PM
It does taste like more alright 😃
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: googoomuck on November 07, 2014, 07:53:10 PM
Have a few bottles of this in the fridge chilling for later, two weeks in the bottle so I'm looking forward to it (after the youthclub disco), well deserved  id imagine!! Tasted lovely from the fermenter. Took ages to ferment though.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: ronanp on November 07, 2014, 07:55:51 PM
This was my second every brew this summer, its all gone now. And I'm seriously thinking of brewing it again. Part of me thinks I should try somthing else. But its just so lovely.

that combined with the deal that HBW have at the moment where I could get a good deal on a secondary fermentor  for bulk priming.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: auralabuse on November 16, 2014, 02:31:44 PM
Made this American apa and am due to bottle it but it's tasting funny to me,  not quite sure how to describe the taste but a liquorice overriding flavour,  also a bit chemically,  not sure what went wrong.  I'm very careful with sanitation and followed the instructions to a tee.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: ronanp on December 14, 2014, 04:33:57 PM
I put the hops in three days ago and was going to bottle today. When I looked there was a thin dry powder covering the suface of the beer in the FV . It almost looks like sawdust.

it was fine before I put in the hops. I Sterilised the muslin bag, the outside of the hop sachet and the scissors and the big spoon.

But to my untrained eye it looks like an infection. No bad smells and the temp has been a solid 20 degrees all this time.

have attached a picture. Any idea whats going on?
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: HomeBrewWest on December 14, 2014, 06:22:50 PM
Very odd! First time we've seen anything like this at dry hopping stage.

PM me your order number and I'll get the lads to ship you out another one as soon as they arrive on Wedns.

Also, if you solemnly swear to destroy the bucket, lid, airlock etc. we will replace them  too (infected buckets are very hard to rescue).
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on December 14, 2014, 07:24:56 PM
Fair play HBW
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Chris on December 14, 2014, 07:43:04 PM
HBW have been infected by the Christmas spirit. Good stuff
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Boycott on December 14, 2014, 10:14:45 PM
ive had that happen to a few brews and only ever when dry hopping with a muslin bag, i do think they can harbour some spores etc even with sanitising them, Ive recently been boiling them for 10min minimum and this has stopped the infection!
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: ronanp on December 14, 2014, 11:38:31 PM
wow wasn't expecting that kind of a response HBW. Thank you very much, will take you up on your very kind offer. Have PM you

Have bottled a few bottles to see if any was salvageable. At the time mainly because i was thinking how tasty it is and i have nothing to lose.  But now with hindsight I am wondering if it is the healthiest approach to take. Should have kept some of the growth to have a look at under the microscope at work tomorrow to see if I could ID the culprit

ronan
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: LordEoin on December 15, 2014, 09:54:32 PM
You should always boil the shite out of a muslin bag. It's the only way. Soaking them in sanitizer is like trying to wash a sponge.
And give your hands a good scrub/soak with sanitizer too.

just curious about your oddly angular FV ronan, what is it?
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: ronanp on December 16, 2014, 08:50:07 PM
Lord Eoin I had boiled bag for 3 minutes as per instructions will up that for the next time. The FV is the coopers one with the removable ring.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: LordEoin on December 16, 2014, 10:26:54 PM
oh yeah, i know the ones. I have one in the shed actually. with the krausen collar and the straight sided truncated circle shaped top :)
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: ronanp on December 31, 2014, 02:17:54 PM
Got the delivery on christmas eve morning, Thanks again HBW.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: soc1 on January 18, 2015, 07:47:17 PM
Bottled this one about 10 days ago.

Patience got the better of me yesterday so opened a couple. First one was drinkable. Definitely not ready but enjoyable. Second one seemed very flat and not really drinkable.

Would this be down to under carbonating or have I made a balls of something else?

Or is it just a case of it needs more time?

P.S. Great review on this.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on January 18, 2015, 07:49:36 PM
Did allow it to carb at the same temperature that it fermented at?
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: soc1 on January 18, 2015, 10:33:50 PM
Quote from: fishjam45 on January 18, 2015, 07:49:36 PM
Did allow it to carb at the same temperature that it fermented at?

Half of them were put into a box and placed in a cupboard so probably a bit colder.

The other half were in a box but in the living room so would have been exposed to more heat.

Now that I think about it it's the ones in the Living room that tasted ok. Probably explains why.

Will the other one be OK as long as I put it in a warmer environment?
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: fishjam45 (Colin) on January 19, 2015, 09:07:32 PM
It should help but I'm not 100% - maybe a more experienced member could say?
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: LordEoin on January 20, 2015, 01:01:44 AM
They should be fine.
Probably unnecessary but i'd invert them and give them a swirl to get the yeast back into suspension. It'll settle out again afterwards.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: shweeney on January 20, 2015, 09:54:23 AM
Quote from: LordEoin on January 20, 2015, 01:01:44 AM
They should be fine.
Probably unnecessary but i'd invert them and give them a swirl to get the yeast back into suspension. It'll settle out again afterwards.

I've had 2 flat brews recently and have found inverting the bottles for a few days definitely helped matters (to an extent, part of the problem was I'd underprimed them).  Followed this method: http://jaysbrewingblog.com/2012/11/29/under-carbonated-beer-quick-fix/
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: johnrm on January 20, 2015, 09:51:55 PM
What this does is agitate your yeast cake and introduce a larger surface area. I'm not convinced that out will add carbonation more than inverting, give it a shake, and back to right way up.
That said, I have a slightly undercarbed beer in bottles at the mo, so I'll give it a go!
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Ideo on February 10, 2015, 08:10:27 PM
Evening all, wondering if you could help me.

I brewed this kit on Sunday night, it went relatively smoothly. Temp of the 23l wort was about 24 degrees so I left the lid on the fv, allowed it to cool to 22/23 and added the yeast and gave it a gentle stir.

I left the fv in a wardrobe that I stored my last two homebrews, checked it on Monday night and the temp was only 10/12 degrees. I have a brewbelt so I stuck that in last night and have had it on since, it's about 20 degrees at the moment. I read that the brewbelt raises the temp by about 10degrees so that seems fairly consistent with the temps im getting.

I'm a bit worried that because the temp dropped between the time of adding the yeast to the wort and the temp getting back up to the 20 degrees that this might have allowed bacteria to take over? Will the fact that the brew didn't start for maybe a day and half affect the brew?

Also, is the jury still out on whether to stir the wort after adding the yeast or just add to to the top of the wort and leave it to settle itself?


EDIT: Just came across another thread with more or less the same issue as mine: http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,8813.0.html

I wrapped the FV up in a blanket last night and checked this morning and it was bubbling away nicely. Temp was about 24 and i could see some nice krausen around the top of the wort - hoping its all ok
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: mervynskidmore on May 02, 2015, 06:31:50 PM
Just stuck this on this afternoon. I didn't add the 650g dextrose as I'm looking for something a bit more sessionable. Anybody have any idea what abv I might get? With the 650g it says 5.7% but I'm hoping for something like 4.5-5.0%. Couldn't find the hydrometer this afternoon, gf tidied it away somewhere.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: HomeBrewWest on May 02, 2015, 08:10:23 PM
Hi Merv, should come in about 4.5% ABV without the dextrose. The Craft Range IPA kits were developed by the UK's most respected craft beer brewer (as in international recognition) so I don't know what will happen if you veer away from the original design. The dextrose is there to make the beer "lighter", so your version may be a bit maltier. Should still be a great beer though.

Keep us posted.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: mervynskidmore on May 02, 2015, 09:39:02 PM
Cheers, will update in around a months time when I take the first sample. Any idea what hops are in the package? They're just labelled "IPA Hops". Would be nice to know for future experiments as to what hops or combinations I like. I've done the Craft Range Citra Pale Ale and I'm expecting the IPA will be every bit as good.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: gearoid on May 04, 2015, 09:37:32 AM
I did exactly the same just the other day - left out the dextrose to get the abv down.  OG was 1042, in about 23.5L.
I have brewed it before with all and again with 1/2 the dextrose, FGs were 1007 and 1006  - both are good.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: mervynskidmore on May 05, 2015, 11:53:48 PM
Quote from: gearoid on May 04, 2015, 09:37:32 AM
I did exactly the same just the other day - left out the dextrose to get the abv down.  OG was 1042, in about 23.5L.
I have brewed it before with all and again with 1/2 the dextrose, FGs were 1007 and 1006  - both are good.

I take it you like this kit then Gearoid?  8)
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: HalfCutClub on May 18, 2015, 06:50:25 PM
Put this in the FV two weeks ago.  Took a sample yesterday.  OG was 1.060, sample was 1.000 so north of 6.5% according to the online ABV calculator.  Added the hops and plan to bottle either Tuesday or Wednesday depending on work.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: oinkely on May 19, 2015, 03:04:29 PM
This is a super kit, I have only about 4 bottles left from when I brewed it in March.  Everyone who has tried it has agreed that it is excellent.  Even though some of them did not carbonate up very well the flavour and aroma was still great.  I'd like to see a little more head retention but I will definitley brew this again at some stage.

Enjoy.

Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: HalfCutClub on May 19, 2015, 09:49:26 PM
Just bottled, smells good, will report back in a few weeks.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: mervynskidmore on May 19, 2015, 09:58:48 PM
I just bottled this yesterday. I have a sneaky suspicion that the malt in this kit is exactly the same as the malt in the Young's American Ipa kit. I dry hopped for 3 days, although it says this in the instructions it just feels a bit short. Anyway the taste I had yesterday from the fermenter was very nice. Will probably do a Craft Range Stout next.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: Padraich on June 17, 2015, 03:45:32 PM
I brewed this kit and Youngs AIPA back to back last year.  They were fairly different colours and I only used the ingredients provided, so malts may be similar, but not the same. There was a noticable difference in colour; but I can't remember which was darker...
How are the recent bottlings working out?
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: djanto on February 25, 2016, 11:05:25 PM
I have made this kit and it is a nice one, took forever it seemed to ferment out (3 weeks maybe total), i left the supplied hops in for about 8 days as i like a hoppy beer anyway.
ABV about 6.5% and very drinkable after a week or so in the bottle, very little head retention though. Whole lot was gone within a month so can't comment much on bottle conditioning lol
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: thechevron on February 26, 2016, 12:25:02 PM
Hi Djanto,

Did you see much action in the bucket? I am currently brewing it and it will be 2 weeks tomorrow since I started. The gravity hasn't dropped in over 8 days, stuck around 1.020 from an SG of 1.040.

I have seen no activity and no bubbles in the FV or airlock.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: djanto on February 28, 2016, 01:09:35 AM
yes the airlock was still bubbling away every 30 seconds or so, it had slowed down from the initial 2 to 3 seconds but was still bubbling away so i just left it and turned out grand
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: thechevron on March 03, 2016, 03:37:34 PM
Quote from: djanto on February 28, 2016, 01:09:35 AM
yes the airlock was still bubbling away every 30 seconds or so, it had slowed down from the initial 2 to 3 seconds but was still bubbling away so i just left it and turned out grand
I have never seen 1 bubble from my airlock in nearly 3 weeks :(

Im wondering if fermentation ever started.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: LordEoin on March 03, 2016, 06:15:35 PM
seeing as its gone from 1.040 to 1.020 it was fermenting. You probably just messed it up somewhere along the way, I'm guessing that the temperature was not stable or too low.
Smell it, taste it. if its ok bottle it and watch out for bottle bombs.
Everyone's brewed a bad one at some stage, learn and move on.
Title: Re: [Review] Craft Range IPA
Post by: thechevron on March 04, 2016, 12:28:12 PM
Quote from: LordEoin on March 03, 2016, 06:15:35 PM
seeing as its gone from 1.040 to 1.020 it was fermenting. You probably just messed it up somewhere along the way, I'm guessing that the temperature was not stable or too low.
Smell it, taste it. if its ok bottle it and watch out for bottle bombs.
Everyone's brewed a bad one at some stage, learn and move on.
Yeah you're probably right. Just gutted as it was my first brew. Everyone is expecting beer :)