Product Review: Bulldog Triple Tykes Special Export Ale 4kg Kit

This is a review by NHC member Garry of this kit which is compliments of National Homebrew Club affiliate HomeBrewWest.

The kit comes with a 4kg bag of extract and a finishing hop tea bag so there is no need for any additional ingredients. The bag is very easy to use. Most other kits I’ve used come in a tin so you need a can opener and getting all the concentrated extract from the tin can be difficult. With this kit you just open the cap and tip the extract into the FV. Then fill the bag with hot water, put the cap on and give it a little shake. Then tip this into the FV. You will get all the concentrate out of the bag very easily without burning your hands or cutting your fingers!

After that it’s just a matter of topping up the FV with water, pitch the yeast and let it ferment for a week or two. If all your gear is clean to begin with you could easily brew this kit in 15 to 20 minutes. OG = 1.050, FG = 1.014, ABV = 4.6%.

The finishing hops can be added to the FV at the start or end of fermentation. I added mine 1 week into fermentation.

The beer needs some time to condition. It’s very strong banana at week 4 but this mellows out by week 6. I think it needs at least 3 months to condition properly. At this stage it is a nice fruity flavor. It’s lightly carbonated like a cask pulled ale and has a clear dark red colour.

I took 20 or so bottles to the home brew expo in the Franciscan Well on 22nd June (13 weeks after brewing) and it went down very well. I came home with a box of empties! One comment that sticks in my head is, “that’s a f***n’ beer!” Everyone I spoke to was surprised that this was a basic kit with no hacks.

Verdict: Great quality kit that is super easy to brew. You just need a bit of patience to let it condition.

You can get this kit here for €26.95 for non NHC members or €25.60 for members.

– Garry