Gibbo Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Curious to know if anyone else is trying out different types of brews. I have put an el'cheapo can of cider through on my second brew (happy wife, happy life). It turned out well and is close to being 100% ready. Just another week or so and the carbonation will be up to scratch. Also threw in 2L preservative free apple juice, for a little extra body. Near future will see a higher quality cider kit sourced for a proper crack at it. Just put through a tin of Coopers European Lager. Two brews from one tin at half quantities and dextrose for one and Coopers brew enhancer for the second. They also used different yeasts. Will see how they turned out in about a month. Looking at getting the Brewprint of Coopers Dark Ale and comparing that with the tinned version. Anyone tried a ginger beer or adding other flavour profiles like lime, honey etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeks Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I haven't tried anything else yet since I'm just sticking to the BrewPrints. It would be good if BrewArt bought out a ginger beer BrewPrint and a cider BrewPrint in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris & Jane Buckland Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 We've just been sticking to Brewprints so far also, but have just ordered a Mad Millie's cider kit that we're going to try in it. Do you think it would be ok to keg it for use in the BrewFlo or stick to bottling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted January 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I think you will be ok to keg it, but bear in mind they take alot longer to brew and condition. Also kegs really want liquid primer and I am not sure what Millie provides for you. You will end up with one or two kegs that will have to sit for quite a duration before they can be used and when you do go to use them, your timing may not be right which equals frustration. If you are already experienced with the Millie's kits then you probably know more than me My personal choice is to keep beer for the Brewflo as it is not just about the dispensing convenience, but the art of pouring the perfect amount of head. Ciders don't really pour like a beer. Love to hear how it works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffman Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I tried making a lemonade in mine - it did not work out well. Tastes like goon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris & Jane Buckland Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Thanks Stuart, The Millie's kits come with glucose pills - you put 2 per 750 ml bottle when bottling. So we were going to dissolve 13 pills in a little water and pour that into the keg as the primer. We'll see how we go, I'll let you know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeks Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Not sure how well the carbonation drops will desolve in the water since they usually take a while to dissolve when I have used them to bottle in the past. It might be better to dissolve dextrose instead and use that. You could use between 30g to 40g in each keg which is 6g to 8g per litre which is the recommended priming rate for using dextrose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris & Jane Buckland Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Thanks Chris, particularly for the dextrose info. We had a play this morning and tried dissolving a tablet we had left over, and it dissolved fine. So, we'll give it a go, I'll look forward to posting results here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeks Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 On 1/27/2017 at 7:13 PM, Deeks said: Not sure how well the carbonation drops will desolve in the water since they usually take a while to dissolve when I have used them to bottle in the past. It might be better to dissolve dextrose instead and use that. You could use between 30g to 40g in each keg which is 6g to 8g per litre which is the recommended priming rate for using dextrose. Reading another post from the BrewArt Team, 30g to 40g might be too much dextrose and you could risk over-carbonating the keg so it might be safer to only use 20g of dextrose to prime the keg or you could just use the BrewArt liquid primer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted February 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 Just picked up a couple Mangrove Jacks cider kits. Missus chose Raspberry/Mango and Passion/Peach. Looks like these kits use pear and not apple. They look like good kits and the reviews I have seen have been positive. Got a cerveza currently on the go, but once that is tucked away, I will have 4 straight brews with these kits. Will try with and without flavour additives and sweeteners. I have picked up some lactose for a try too. Most likely just bottle the different variations. This should keep 'she who must be obeyed' happy while I tackle a few more beers Got some extra yeast too, so some brewing with straight juice is on the cards. Will keep you all updated on the progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted February 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 First half a can from a Coopers European Lager has started to be consumed. Very high level of carbonation, would probably better if it was 25% less. Half can plus, 500G Dextrose and two carbonation drops in each bottle. If this mix was kegged, it would have been a disaster to pour. Another week or two and I will sample the other half can. This had 500g Coopers brew enhancer2 and two carbonation drops into bottles. This one was fizzier at the time of bottling. Might have gotten away with one carbonation drop, but will know what is going on when I crack the first one. Still waiting for cerveza brewprint to finish, then ciders will be getting pumped out for the next month or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted February 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 The first half of the European lager (can) has settled down a little. Not sure if it is an extra week or if there is some variation in the bottled goods. Quite a good drop. Haven't tried the second half yet, though I am hoping it will be slightly maltier due to the use of the Coopers Brew Enhancer 2. Cerveza finished a couple days ago. Initial taste was surprisingly good. Now using the Mangrove jacks kits. They seem to be a high quality kit and since I get 4 runs out of the two kits, I can experiment a little. The instructions suggest around 6 days fermenting, which to me is pretty quick for a cider. Here's to getting back to beer sooner ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted March 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2017 The Mangrove Jacks Raspberry/Mango cider kit has turned out really well. I did a sweet and an off dry. The sweet is best defined as a raspberry alcopop (The ladies seem to really enjoy it). The other is more on the refreshing side to drink. Also put a can of Coopers Dark Ale through (since I had it lying around) I used 2/3 of the can to the 10L water plus half a kilo of brew enhancer 2. Not ready to drink yet, but I think it will pack a good punch ? . Kegged a Lighthouse pale ale brewprint. Now have the first half of the passion/peach Mangrove Jacks kit brewing and it is looking good. Should the pale ale dispense properly from the keg, I will try kegging a canned recipe. If any are interested, here is how I go about using a non-brewprint. It works out far cheaper than a brewprint and leaves the droid far cleaner when emptied. I use a suitable container to hold the other half of the kit in the fridge, while I brew the first half. I purchase extra yeast from Brewart or the local shop. I dont know how tough the droid is so I dont add boiling water to the droid. I use a large stainless steel bowl where I dissolve the sugars and kit contents in just enough boiling water, then top it up with tap water and pour it into the droid that is already holding atleast 6L of tap water. I then top it up to more like 11L since the kits are designed to service 23L. Gotta say the droid is proving to be a versatile little unit, capable of brewing whatever you throw at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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