Thoughts on Dave's Stove Top Brewery kits?

[tarkasteve]

Hi,

I'm a total newbie to serious brewing (having only brewed a basic Coopers kit recently), but want to start progressing along the learning curve to extract brewing (and beyond). While I could roll my own recipe from the web does anyone have any experience with Dave's Stove Top Brewery kits? I was thinking of the APA or IPA kit, but I'd be interested in hearing other's opinions.

Cheers,
Steve

[Chris]

GEEZ!!! That ain't cheap! $40 for an English ale kit?

I'd get my own ME, crystal, hops and yeast and save a bit of money!

[gregb]

They look similar in concept to the Country Brewer 'Wet Pack' kits, which turn out a fine beer.

Cheers,
Greg

[Chris]

Yeah they do.

By the way, I wasn't knocking the kits steve, just the price.

The kits look like a pretty good starting point.

[tarkasteve]

Thanks for the help, I'll have a look around at other options. As a guide, what would be a reasonable price for an extract kit?

[Rod]

I have an amber ale and an IPA that I have just racked

on the cost point for the amber ale @ $38.00

2 Can of malt extract @ $12.75
600 gr grain @ $5.00 say
100 gr hops @ $4.00 say
yeast @ $ 4.90

Total $39.40

Looks OK to me

[tarkasteve]

Assuming these are 3Kg kits they're a bit more expensive than some (e.g. ESB) but not appalling so.

On a related note, has anyone tried the ESB kits?

[ryan]

I have an amber ale and an IPA that I have just racked

on the cost point for the amber ale @ $38.00

2 Can of malt extract @ $12.75
600 gr grain @ $5.00 say
100 gr hops @ $4.00 say
yeast @ $ 4.90

Total $39.40

Looks OK to me

$4 for 100g. hops?
I`m paying $7.50 for 90g.
Are you buying by the kg?

[Rod]

I used a per kg price

[tarkasteve]

I ended up going with one of these kits and thought I'd post a quick review.

I got the APA kit. It contained steeping malt, DME, multiple pre-measured packs of Cascade hops (including a brewcraft teabag-style pack for dry-hopping), Safale-05 yeast and an instruction sheet. This was my first go at extract brewing but I hit few problems as the instructions were clear and to the point. Unfortunately the temperature in Sydney dropped that weekend and fermentation didn't start; I had to go out an buy a heat pad to get things kicked off.

I left the beer in primary for 3 weeks but even towards the end the samples were extremely cloudy. In the future I would consider racking and maybe cold-crashing it before bottling. In the end I got 48 bottles, each primed with a 1/4 tsp of white sugar. The bottles were kept on the heat pad for a few days to kick off conditioning then stored at ambient temperature (~16c) for 3 weeks.

I've just cracked open the first of these bottles after placing it in the fridge for 24 hours and I have to say I am absolutely bloody stoked with the result. The beer is still cloudy but that just adds to the mouthfeel and head retention, and it is full of crisp Cascade aroma and good balance of bitterness; very drinkable. All in all I'm really pleased with this kit; I want to move on to rolling my own recipes but if I wanted to knock out another beer with minimal shopping fuss I'd definately get this again.

[Bizier]

I am a noob and got Dave's amber kit to adjust to using the extra ingredients... I have just bottled it, so can't say, but I am sure it will be great based on the smells so far... I racked it at 1 week. Very cloudy so far - but I am assuming that this will settle in a few weeks of conditioning.

[bigturkey]

I'm a relative beginner, 5 brews to my name; I've tried two of these kits, the APA and the Heffeweisen.

The APA turned out much like you describe yours. I left it in the fermenter at 18 degrees for two weeks, then bottled it and started drinking it after three more. It's been in the bottle for three months now, and it still hasn't cleared... but it tastes bloody marvelous, and was my best beer to date... that is, until I made the Heffeweisen!

I gave the HW two weeks at 18 degrees, then an extra week at 8 degrees (the coldest my wine cooler come brew fridge will go).

I bottled the beer and tasted after three weeks. This is now the best beer I ever made. It's cleared perfectly (already) and tastes like a classic Heffeweisen, except for the subtle flavors from my tap water - but that's a subject for another post.

I've got a Dave's stove top brewery Pilsener kit in the cupboard, which I'm looking forward to putting down in the next few days.

All in all, I give them a thumbs up for newcomers like me. It gives you a real confidence boost to know that you can make superior beer easily at home.