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Can you Purchase a $13 beer kit from Amazon and actually make good beer?

You never know what you are going to find on Amazon. Not that long ago, I came across a sale on beer kits. MoreBeer was clearing out their entire selection of kits from their Amazon store.


I looked through the selection of kits and chose the cheapest one I could find. The UK Jester Single Hop Experiment. The total came to $13.84 with tax.

Unfortunately the final product was not very good. This has everything to do with the age of the ingredients in the kit. This had definitely been sitting around in an Amazon warehouse for a very long time.

I did try to correct the flavor issue by dry hopping this in the keg with Nugget, Sterling and Magnum hops. That worked for a short period of time before the flavor faded and I was left with a flat tasting product that was fine if you are just in to drinking beer. But nothing special if you are looking for good beer.

If you would like to try this kit for yourself you can purchase it directly from MoreBeer here. The full recipe for this is available directly from MoreBeer on the same page.

*MoreBeer operates under the name Homebrewers Outpost on Amazon.

Music By:
Epidemic Sound
https://www.epidemicsound.com/

 

Sierra Nevada Resilience IPA Brew Day + Recipe

When Sierra Nevada released the recipe for Resilience IPA back in November I immediately knew I wanted to brew it. They wanted everyone to brew this at the end of the month. Which I knew I would not be able to do. I already had 2 brews kegged for the holiday season. So I put in on the schedule and I waited.


It took almost 2 months to clear the holiday brews. That’s what happens when you brew two 8+% beers at the same time. I ordered the ingredients in mid January. By early February I was ready to brew.

The original 5 gallon recipe is available over at the Homebrewers Association. The recipe listed below is for 6 gallons.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 80 min 73.1 IBUs 12.5 SRM 1.065 1.014 6.8 %
Actuals 1.069 1.02 6.5 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pale Malt (2 Row) US 13.75 lbs 88.71
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L 1.75 lbs 11.29

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Centennial 1.2 oz 80 min Boil Pellet 10
Cascade 1.2 oz 15 min Boil Pellet 5.5
Centennial 1.2 oz 15 min Boil Pellet 10
Cascade 0.6 oz 20 min Aroma Pellet 5.5
Centennial 0.6 oz 20 min Aroma Pellet 10
Cascade 0.6 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 5.5
Centennial 0.6 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 10

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Baking Soda 2.00 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.50 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 6.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Dry Hop (A24) Imperial Yeast 76% 64°F - 74°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 14 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

Notes

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/sierra-nevada-resilience-ipa/

Download

Download this recipe's BeerXML file

Music By:
Epidemic Sound
https://www.epidemicsound.com/

Chinook Session IPA – All the Flavor with half the ABV

Session IPA’s are an interesting subset of the beer market. Your typical IPA would be at least 7% ABV and be hopped to reach 60+ IBU’s. Session IPA’s fall in the 4% to 6% range with an IBU range of around 40 to 50. I set out to create a recipe that was light but still had enough body to stand up against 40 IBU’s. I started with pilsner base malt and added enough crystal to reach an SRM of around 6.5.


Despite the issues I had with the mash reaching 160 F, this IPA turned out great. The higher mash temperature created body and head retention I had not expected. Certainly next time I will mash at the correct temperature. But I’m very happy with the end result here.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 60 min 44.0 IBUs 6.6 SRM 1.056 1.012 5.9 %
Actuals 1.053 1.01 5.7 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pilsner (2 Row) Bel 11 lbs 88
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L 1.5 lbs 12

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Chinook 0.75 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 13
Chinook 0.5 oz 10 min Boil Pellet 13
Chinook 0.5 oz 1 min Boil Pellet 13
Chinook 0.5 oz 30 min Aroma Pellet 13
Chinook 0.5 oz 15 min Aroma Pellet 13
Chinook 1 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 13
Chinook 1 oz 2 days Dry Hop Pellet 13

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.50 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Baking Soda 1.00 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 5.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other
Gelatin 1.00 tsp 5 days Primary Fining

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
California Ale (WLP001) White Labs 77% 68°F - 73°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 14 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

Download

Download this recipe's BeerXML file

Music By:
Bensound
Epic
https://www.bensound.com/

Chain-of-Command – Gun Hill Brewing Co.

Being from the East Coast you would think I would know more about East Coast IPAs. Many of the IPAs I encounter here are done in the Wet Coast style. I personally prefer the pine heavy aroma and flavors of the West Coast style. These strange tropical and juicy IPAs just do not work for me.


Gun Hill Brewing Co. has some how managed to bridge East and West with Chain-of-Command. It rides the line between pine and citrus. I was unable to locate any information about this beer on the Gun Hill website. They really have minimal information there at all. At list of beers with prices for their tap room. It’s a little strange.

ABV: 7.5% IBU: N/A SRM: N/A

Malts: N/A
Hops: N/A
Yeast: Unknown
Other Ingredients: N/A

Availability: N/A

Tasting Notes

  • Color and Appearance
    • Straw
    • Clear
    • Low head retention
    • Medium carbonation
  • Aroma
    • Citrus, Pine
    • Low malt aroma
    • Low to no esters
  • Flavor
    • Medium alcohol
    • Citrus, Tropical
    • Medium hop bitterness
    • Low to no malt
  • Mouth Feel
    • Low astringency
    • Light body
    • Medium carbonation
    • Medium finish.

Help out by signing up with Tavour. Save $10 on your next beer purchase.
https://www.tavour.com/?invitedby=276243

Find my check-in to this beer on Untappd:
https://untappd.com/user/Bitterresentful/checkin/622411628

Music:
Hawaiian Winter
Nicolai Heidlas
https://soundcloud.com/nicolai-heidlas/

Fresh off the Farm IPA – Bale Breaker Brewing Company

I previously reviewed Bottomcutter Imperial IPA from Bale Breaker Brewing Company. I gave that beer a 4.75 out of 5. Fresh off the Farm isn’t quite as good but it still rates high. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up anything from Bale Breaker if I saw it on the shelf.


From Bale Breaker Brewing Company website:

Fresh off the Farm IPA was brewed in the center of hop field 41, just minutes from downtown Yakima, by Bale Breaker Brewing Company. A big hop aroma on a clean Pilsner malt base perfectly showcases a few of the newest and most exciting hop varieties off their family’s hop farm. Whirlpool additions of Loral™ and Mosaic® add depth to the nose generated from a post-fermentation charge of Mosaic® and the experimental HBC 630. Originally brewed as the official beer of Seattle Beer Week 2017, this brew is being re-released to celebrate Bale Breaker’s Fifth Anniversary. Get it while you can!

ABV: 7% IBU: 60 SRM: N/A

Malts: Pilsner
Hops: Lora, Mosaic, HBC 630
Yeast: Unknown
Other Ingredients: N/A

Availability: April 2018

Tasting Notes

  • Color and Appearance
    • Straw
    • Clear
    • Low head retention
    • Medium carbonation
  • Aroma
    • Pine
    • No malt aroma
    • Low to no esters
  • Flavor
    • Low alcohol
    • Pine, Citrus
    • Medium hop bitterness
    • Low to no malt
  • Mouth Feel
    • Low astringency
    • Light body
    • Medium carbonation
    • Light finish.

Help out by signing up with Tavour. Save $10 on your next beer purchase.
https://www.tavour.com/?invitedby=276243

Find my check-in to this beer on Untappd:
https://untappd.com/user/Bitterresentful/checkin/620651576

Music:
Golden Ocean
Nicolai Heidlas
https://soundcloud.com/nicolai-heidlas/