Designing Your Own Beer Kits, No Boiling Required

[HomeBrewWest]

Here's an idea, mad perhaps, but it must be possible. Based on the following:
1. We are importing new LME in 1.5 Kg cans at great prices, could retail at 12.95 for 3.0 Kg (2 cans); that's very cheap compared to any other 3 kg kits.
2. Check out: http://www.brouwland.com/shop/catproducts.asp?cfid=4&id=341&pid=338.
3. We stock all these items too.

According to Brouwland:
Isomerised hop extract: to adjust the bitterness of beer without boiling.
Hop aroma: to be added just before bottling to increase the hop flavour, but not the bitterness!
The aromas we stock are: "Citrussy",  "Flower", "Herbal", "Hoppy" and "Woody". These are added just before bottling, so the aroma is preserved. In fact, this should give much better results than other kits because the aroma is not lost during fermentation. In theory, at least.

No Boiling Required: so just a basic fermenter etc is all that's required in terms of equipment.

Now for the challenge: how the heck do we come up with good recipes?

Any experts out there who can help with this?

[Garry]

That sounds interesting alright. The website doesn't appear to give an indicative dose for the isomerised hop extract? Would it be the same as the aroma hops; 5ml per 50 litres? It doesn't indicate when the isomerised extract should be added either, I assume you would add it to the FV at the start?

That works out at only 2.3ml per 23 litre batch which might be difficult to measure? You would need a small syringe or something?

Here's my recipe:

Cheat's PA:

3kg LME
2.0ml hop extract isomerised 6%
top up FV to 20L
Danstar Windsor Beer Yeast

Before bottling add:
2.0ml hop aroma BREWFERM "Citrussy"
3.0ml hop aroma BREWFERM "Hoppy"

I'd like to add some steeping grains too but maybe you want to keep as simple as possible (would steeped grains be classed as "no boiling")?

Maybe you could send on the ingredients for your favorite recipe and the brewer could do it for you??

[LordEoin]

I was looking at these products recently but ran away because of the lack of information about them.
It's all very vague...

But anyway, here's what I was thinking..

Water + LME:
The first thing would be to forget about the standard 23L brew and make it 20L or 25L for simplicity.
3kg LME in 25L water = OG 1.037 (3.64% + priming)
3kg LME in 20L water = OG 1.046 (4.52% + priming) <-- this looks better

Bittering: source This will be the hardest to figure out properly.
'Isomerized Hop Extract (ISO) is normally used after fermentation and before final filtration... close to a region of turbulent beer flow'. - So the best time to add it would be on a transfer to secondary/bulk prime.
There's a calculator here for the amount, but it's based on the 30% extract, and for 31 gallon barrel (doesn't say if it's UK or US gallons though)
You also sell Ritchie's Hop Extract Sachet for 40 pints and Ritchie's Isomerised Hop Extract 57 ml for 90Liters, but they don't give an expected IBU...
I've emailed Brewferm and Ritchie's to find out. Lets see what they say

Aroma:
I'd divide the wort into 5 batches and try a different aroma in each.
So, I'd probably go with a 25L brew so that I could divide easily to 0.5ml per 5L batch.
To make up for the loss in ABV, i'd add 300g brew sugar to the mix.

Yeast:
No yeast included, so that's an extra cost. I'd probably just go for US05 or Danstar Notingham

So.... my method:

• Disolve 3kg LME and 300g brewing sugar in 25L water
• Pitch 1 sachet of US05 at 20C
• Ferment at 18C
• Once fermentation is done and it has sufficiently cleared, transfer to secondary
• Bulk prime and add [TBA]ml of isomerised hop extract
• Split into five 5liter water bottles
• Using a syringe, add 0.5ml of HopAroma to each (a different one in each batch)
• Transfer to smaller bottles for carbonation
• Mark each bottle with the aroma it contains
• Once carbonated, taste each one individually then mix and match to come up with recipes and ratios
• In future batches, add grain steeps to match style

Once a recipe is in place, the cost per batch based on HBW prices, assumed extract amounts, and no previous ingredients:
2 * 1.5kg LME - 12.95 (discounted price)
1 * 1kg brewing sugar - 2.45
1 * sachet US05 - 2.70
1 * isomerised hop extract 30ml - 2.75
1 * Hoparoma 5ml - 3.59 (leaving it as 1 because you'll probably use a mix of 2, but have half bottle left over in each)
Total cost: €24.44 (+any grain you want to add)

Extra equipment : syringe

Overall, it would be a good experiment to test these products and get some information about them, but I'm not entirely convinced that the resulting beer with be cheaper or better.
But feel free to send me all the stuff and we can trade my time for your materials, send them to Garry too and we can meet up in the well, take notes, brainstorm and synergize FTW!!... 

[nigel_c]

Some more info on the hop oils would be great. Have been looking into them for a big ipa but the lack of info put me off. I know some of the bigger brewery's in the us use it to achieve the massive bittering required. Pliney being one.

[Ciderhead]

Some more info on the hop oils would be great. Have been looking into them for a big ipa but the lack of info put me off. I know some of the bigger brewery's in the us use it to achieve the massive bittering required. Pliney being one.

Nigel have you ever done a Pliney clone, I am looking for one as we had some at the last meet in Wicklow, and genuinely I wouldn't have said it was overly bitter.

[Garry]

LordEoin is probably right to suggest splitting it into smaller batches. That way you can do a proper comparison of the different hop extracts.

Would it be better to do a 20 L batch split into 4 and leave out the sugar?

@LordEoin, how did you calculate the abv of 3kg LME in 20L batch? Don't tell me you can do that shit off the top of your head 

[Ciderhead]

Legend has it that LE has done so many kits can predict ABV by dipping his finger in LME and sniffing the Yeast

[nigel_c]

Haven't had a clone but have something based on it and hardcore recipes on at the moment.

For me its more of a something new to try idea not just going for high bittering which can be easily gotten from a dirty big 60 min addition of magnum. I like the idea of being able to fine tune a brew after its done if i want it slightly more bitter also.

[LordEoin]

@ ciderhead: "Smell my finger" 

@Garry : in 23L, 1.5kg LME = 20 gravity points (same as 1.2kg DME)
splitting into 4 would mean that you leave one flavor out.
If you wanted to keep it all malt, the 300g sugar could be replaced with 300g DME (or 500g to avoid having 200g left over)

[Ciderhead]

@ ciderhead: "Smell my finger" 

Did I ever tell you with my poor eyesight and a drink on me your avatar looks kinda hot and I know a few girls with more bumfluff than that

[LordEoin]

aww. you know all the right things to say to a forum profile pic Tgirl! <3

I just banged it all into brewmate, and :
20L +3kg LME = 1.046 OG
23L +3kg LME = 1.040 OG
25L +3kg LME + 500g DME = 1.045 OG <-i'd go with this one, and try all 5 flavors.

[johnrm]

@Brian, HBW, put up a few bottles of hop extract and collect names here for a draw.

[nigel_c]

I think they could be very interesting to play around with. I'd be interested in playing around and doing some feedback if needs be 

Could be a great asset for kit brewers as well. Basic kit plus hop extract could really add a lot for little work.

Would love some info on these.

[nigel_c]

Plus. It's all well and good calling a beer a clone but seeing how scares pliney is I would almost assume the clone brewer has not had the original and is following one of the online recipes. I'm not having a go but I've had cloned beers that have been brilliant but not quite as they should be. This may be down to freshness of ingredients or using whole leaf hops where the actual brewery uses extract. I just think it could be another tool in brew tool box.

[Garry]

Did I ever tell you with my poor eyesight and a drink on me your avatar looks kinda hot

That's the beer cider goggles CH! Although he she it does have fantastic tits 

@Garry : in 23L, 1.5kg LME = 20 gravity points (same as 1.2kg DME)

Good to know, cheers!

splitting into 4 would mean that you leave one flavor out.

Good thinking batman, 5 batches would be better then.

If you wanted to keep it all malt, the 300g sugar could be replaced with 300g DME (or 500g to avoid having 200g left over)

The remaining 200g of DME could be used for batch priming? Although the 1.045 OG looks better, maybe 500g DME is the way to go.