Northern Brewer Cream Ale Extract Kit.

2010-10-02T11:49:00.000-04:00

This week I brewed my first Northern Brewer extract kit. I usually go to the local brew store and buy their kits of put together my own but a friend of my has had great results with these kits so I thought I'd give it a try. It was actually cheaper including their $7.99 shipping then shopping at the local store. They offer an ice pack which they put in an insulated envelope with the Wyeast for $0.99 which is a nice feature. The kit comes with grains(0.75 lbs Gambrinus Honey Malt, 0.25 lbs Dingemans Biscuit) which are crushed already. The kit came with only one mesh bag for the grain. I like to put my hops in a mesh bag too. This kit only had one 60 min hop addition of 1oz of Cluster. The extract, 6 lbs Pilsen malt syrup, came in a half gallon jug which I found to be easier to pour then the Briss jars. Although getting the rest of the extract out was a pain. I used a small metal pitcher to pour some hot wart back into the jug and shook it up to release the rest of the extract.

The Brew
I steeped the grain for 20min in just over 2 gallons of water at 165-170 degrees. After bringing the wort to a boil I added the extract. There was no boil over so I started my 60 min boil and added my 60 min Cluster hop addition. During the boil the wort did come up a few times so I cut the heat for a moment to avoid the boil over. I chilled the kettle in an ice bath in the laundry sink to 115 degrees and transferred the wort to the fermenter. I topped off the fermenter to 5 gallons with filtered water which I kept in the fridge. The wort temperature came out at around 70 degrees so I pitched the yeast. Fermentation started about six hours after pitching the yeast.

Overall this is a very easy kit to brew. If you like using mesh bags for your hops I recommend ordering a ten pack form Northern Brewers for $4.99 with your kit.

Here is a link to the Cream Ale

I will post an update when I transfer to secondary, keg it and taste it.

My Brew Setup

2010-10-01T11:58:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Loki Brewing

2010-10-01T11:56:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone. On Loki brewing I will be featuring my youtube videos and adding additional cometary about them. Since I don't have time to make a new video every few days I will be keeping in touch using blogger. My videos will include everything from brewing demonstration to product reviews and general brewing information. Check me out on youtube.com/user/loki4711tbp