Brew Tips: Pre-made Wort Kits
Currently making my first Festa Brew kit. Not sure where this product is available. But, it basically takes your typical pre-hopped worts a step further. In this case, it isn't even concentrated, it is just a massive 6 gallon bladder of wort with a cap on top and some yeast in the box. You dump wort into a fermenter, pitch the yeast and you're done. Aside from it being quite heavy to lift the kits, making it a slight challenge to get it into the fermenter, it is the easiest brew day ever.
I'm not going to pretend I'm "making beer". But then, it isn't really much worse than Cooper's kits. It simply eliminates your water and sanitation in the brewing process as potentially ruiners of your beer.
So why do it? Well, I live in Canada, brew in my garage and it is the middle of winter. I can't leave the taps outside open or they might burst. And I don't really want to be brewing beer in the freezing cold anyway. This allows me to make something reliable without worrying about exploding plumbing or becoming mildly inconvenienced. Also, like a Cooper's kit, I could modify it if I felt the need to. As this is my first one, I won't be doing that.
But, those aren't the only reasons one might choose this approach. Sure, it is more expensive than all grain. But then, that can be said for anything really. You also have little to no control over the grain bill, but then that is true of extract recipes and people don't really harp on that all that much (some people do). The point is, it is quick, easy and reliable and reduces the amount of equipment you need. And, if you happen to like the beer they produce... who cares what other people think. Right?
Other reasons include, it is still cheaper than buying beer from a store. It is easy. It requires the barest minimum of equipment. It is a great way to experiment. And I could go on.
I don't know yet if this will be a common thing for me, or just a winter thing. It'll depend on how much I like the beer it produces. If it is spot on or even close enough to modify then I might even do the odd one of these in the summer.
I also picked up a Cooper's kit, the winter really has made me lazy. But, it is a good time for experimentation if you're in the same boat as me. Just as the Festa Brew is an experiment, I'm trying a new style in the form of the Cooper's ESB. I've never done (or even tried) a bitter before. And, in this weather I can basically find rooms in my house with any ambient temperature I could possibly need, so I don't even need a second fermentation chiller to do multiple batches.
In the warmer months I'll probably switch back to all grain. But maybe with new styles or ingredients I dabbled with in the winter months. Don't listen to the elitists, especially if you're just getting started or even if you never plan to advance beyond pre-hopped kits. If it works for you, go ahead. Personally, the single biggest advantage to me, especially for the Festa Brew, is to provide a more reliable baseline to compare my other beers against.
I'm not going to pretend I'm "making beer". But then, it isn't really much worse than Cooper's kits. It simply eliminates your water and sanitation in the brewing process as potentially ruiners of your beer.
So why do it? Well, I live in Canada, brew in my garage and it is the middle of winter. I can't leave the taps outside open or they might burst. And I don't really want to be brewing beer in the freezing cold anyway. This allows me to make something reliable without worrying about exploding plumbing or becoming mildly inconvenienced. Also, like a Cooper's kit, I could modify it if I felt the need to. As this is my first one, I won't be doing that.
But, those aren't the only reasons one might choose this approach. Sure, it is more expensive than all grain. But then, that can be said for anything really. You also have little to no control over the grain bill, but then that is true of extract recipes and people don't really harp on that all that much (some people do). The point is, it is quick, easy and reliable and reduces the amount of equipment you need. And, if you happen to like the beer they produce... who cares what other people think. Right?
Other reasons include, it is still cheaper than buying beer from a store. It is easy. It requires the barest minimum of equipment. It is a great way to experiment. And I could go on.
I don't know yet if this will be a common thing for me, or just a winter thing. It'll depend on how much I like the beer it produces. If it is spot on or even close enough to modify then I might even do the odd one of these in the summer.
I also picked up a Cooper's kit, the winter really has made me lazy. But, it is a good time for experimentation if you're in the same boat as me. Just as the Festa Brew is an experiment, I'm trying a new style in the form of the Cooper's ESB. I've never done (or even tried) a bitter before. And, in this weather I can basically find rooms in my house with any ambient temperature I could possibly need, so I don't even need a second fermentation chiller to do multiple batches.
In the warmer months I'll probably switch back to all grain. But maybe with new styles or ingredients I dabbled with in the winter months. Don't listen to the elitists, especially if you're just getting started or even if you never plan to advance beyond pre-hopped kits. If it works for you, go ahead. Personally, the single biggest advantage to me, especially for the Festa Brew, is to provide a more reliable baseline to compare my other beers against.
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