Roadkill Brewery Co. (THE BEER THREAD)

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Cunning Plan

http://geekologie.com/2013/10/tabletop-beer-brewing-machine-the-size-o.php

That's pretty cool, but I get the impression that most home-brewers not only like to make their own beer, but also like to make their own equipment, too.

You'd have to make a few thousand pints to get your money back on that !

[art b]

looks clever ...but at that price...

and as rk says;
making stuff and thinking about techniques is a great part of the hobby...

[art b]

Quoting: Cunning Plan

http://geekologie.com/2013/10/tabletop-beer-brewing-machine-the-size-o.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://geekologie.com/2013/10/tabletop-beer-brewing-machine-the-size-o.php

ha...  its very misleading as it only does the mash and boil  

you still need to add yeast and ferment it yourself.

So essentially it takes 4 or 5 hours which is more than it takes me to do my all grain beers ,
It's also very small and makes it look like it puts it in a ''keg'' for you ready to drink - it doesn't!

you can do all that yourself for less that £60....

[Roadkill]

Started the "St. Peter's Ruby Red" last night . . . It came with a sachet of Hop Powder -

Damn that stuff is strong . . I gave it a quick sniff (out of curiosity) and nearly fell over !!!



The kitchen smells great this morning, though.

This one, so far, is the "realest" smelling kit . . . It reminds me of the smells I smelt when I visited the Greene King brewery.

Here's hoping for an awesome Beer !

[art b]

much like cooking ...the better the ingredients the better the beer

[Incursus]

Quoting: Roadkill

Here's hoping for an awesome Beer !

My Hops arrived from the malt miller yesterday and the aquarium heater last week.

Just need to pickup a big bucket today to start the next brew.

[art b]

welcome to the darkside ...

i feel like i have converted you both ..

[Incursus]

Quoting: art b

welcome to the darkside ...

i feel like i have converted you both

Started the next batch on Saturday with an aquarium heater set-up.  This lot will get a Hop tea infusion at bottling

The last lot bottled 2 weeks ago is still slightly cloudy but has good carbonation and taste.

only 28 bottles remain for the firework party...My sister in law drank it all at yesterday..

[art b]

the hop tea will improve the taste ...

ya sis inlaw sounds like a winner

[Incursus]

Quoting: art b

the hop tea will improve the taste ..

Indeed I haven't decided whether to open both vac-pack bags and do a blend or just one of them...either way I think you said they freeze well?

Quoting: art b

ya sis inlaw sounds like a Wineo

To be fair she only had two, my brother and Dad had a bottle each as well.

[art b]

Quoting: Incursus

Quoting: art b
ya sis inlaw sounds like a Wineo

i usually just use one ,
do one brew with one type then the next with another and you will get a taste of each type
it may be hard to tell a difference ..

[Incursus]

Fair enough I'll start with the Fuggles....cos I like the name

[Roadkill]

I came home to transfer batch #4 (St. Peter's Ruby Red) into the barrel on Friday only to find another kit waiting for me !!!

So batch #5 (St. Peter's I.P.A @ 5.5%) is in the bucket !!!

This only makes about 34 pints but has exactly the same amount of ingredients so's shaping up to be awesome !

When I barreled the Ruby Red the smells where epic.  I've not tasted the St. Peter's ones yet, but I'm really hopeful.  They certainly seem to the the high-end of the 2-can kits.

BTW - I finished drinking batch #3 last night . . . It was the 1-can kit Sammy bought for me.  The last pint was moody and the one before didn't taste right (but I still drank it).

It wasn't terrible, and it did grow on me but I'd never consider a 1-can kit again.

FYI - With batch #5, that makes 194 pints of homebrew.  All the kits have been free or a present . . . I've only spent out on the kegs and lids . . . even my bottles, capper and steriliser, sugar has been FOC from Lakelands . . . my new favourite shop that I've never shopped at !!!

[art b]

that sammys worth keeping then....

[Roadkill]

Yeah, apparently she brought the IPA home by mistake - she was supposed to be picking up another St. Peter's . . . . . . So I'll be getting that one as soon as my bucket's ready to be emptied !!!



pity Lakeland don't do King Kegs . . .

[art b]

these s/s mini kegs look interesting for taking beer away in .....


http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/easy-keg.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/easy-keg.html

[art b]

Quoting: Roadkill

pity Lakeland don't do King Kegs . .

you should be suggesting it ,

as a chief product tester ...

[Roadkill]

Good idea ......

[art b]

something else to try from lakeland...
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/44118/Moonshine-Four-Candles-Bitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.lakeland.co.uk/44118/Moonshine-Four-Candles-Bitter

i'd not buy it ,

but as we have a [free] product tester here......

[Roadkill]

Apparently Sammy's boss tried this one (or one of the in-bag ones) when I did my first 2-canner.

He said it didn't compare to the one I did.  

It strikes me as way too simple to make anything good.

[art b]

i would have thought as much...
although they get good reviews...

[Roadkill]

Yeah, I double checked and it was that one he did.  It was his first attempt so may've cocked it up somehow but I struggle to see what you could do wrong with one of those ?

[Roadkill]

I got my 5th batch (St. Peter's IPA) in the keg last night and put batch 6 in the bucket (a St. Peter's Golden Ale).



By the LAN I should have 2 kegs nicely matured and another very close to mature.

[art b]

hmmmm ...the st peters beer are a bit special..

LAN ...

[art b]

the ipa takes a while to mature....[no feckin chance then...]

heres part of a review...

This was the first kit I tried. I like IPA and bought it because it was a 2 can kit and the box looked nice (poor reason I know!) I did it as per the instructions but left it in the FV for 2 weeks which is a bit longer than it recommended. I bulk primed in a secondary FV before bottling.

When I came to test the gravity I realised I'd thrown the box away after making it up, forgetting that the instructions were on it so I don't know how close the finishing gravity was to the target.

After 2 weeks the flavour was fairly good but it had a really overpowering bitter aftertaste. I left it another few weeks and it improved a lot so I got stuck in.

Having not tried the bottled version before, I bought a few from Ocado and found that the kit version was much smoother after about 2 months. The bottled one was much more bitter but lacked the depth or any of the floral taste I got from the kit.

I saved the last five bottles for another three months and cracked one open this weekend and it was superb, miles better than the bottled version. I was gutted I'd drank it all. I'll definitely get this one on again. I'm also keen to have a go at the ruby red kit they do as well.