Hey yall,
I’m about to brew up this kit. Does this brew have an aggressive fermentation? The recipe calls for adding priming sugar at burnout. Should I set up a blowoff tube? I just want to be prepared. Any other pointers for those who’ve brewed this kit before? Keep in mind, this is only a 1 gallon kit.
I had to look up the kit instructions about adding the priming sugar at the end of the boil. Something seemed wrong. Priming sugar is added to the bottling bucket for natural carbonation.
Instructions should say, “add five ounces of corn sugar, or add the included packet of sugar”.
I would start any one gallon brew in a one gallon fermentor with the blow off tube installed. The fermentor lacks the headspace for the krausen of any style beer.
Control the fermentation temperature. The warmer the fermentation the more active the yeast will be and the yeast produces more heat as activity increases. A swamp cooler is very easy to set up and effective to control the fermentation temperature in a small batch brew.
I just bottled mine. I ferment 1 gallon batches in a 2 gallon bucket so I did not need a blowoff tube.
Where I ferment at is around 68 degrees.
Some of the newer NB 1 gallon starter kits come with a 5 qt “little big mouth bubbler” for fermenting instead of a 1 gallon carboy.
If you have the bubbler, start with a blowoff hose - but over time, you may find that you dont need it. Consider adding a stick on thermometer ($4) to help with temp control.
I thought that strange too. But was wondering if that would up the ABV%? The instructions also say to use the fizz drops when bottling, so I don’t think the intent of the corn sugar is for carbonation?
5oz corn sugar is enough to (over) carbonate a 5-gallon batch; it can’t be meant for priming in this kit. Adding 5oz to a 1-gallon batch at the end of the boil does sound like a good gravity boast though. Scaled-up it’s equivalent to 1.5 lbs in 5 gallons; maybe a bit much, but NB has 5ounce sacks of corn sugar out the wazoo since they are “recommended” for priming the 5-gallon kits. That’s also why it might be labeled “priming sugar”
I brewed the one gallon Black IPA kit a while back. It also uses the 5 oz bag of priming sugar to boost ABV and uses fizz drops for carbonation. If you haven’t started brewing this kit yet, take a look a this thread (link).
I just attempted to bottle this recipie. Got six bottles before I gave up. Filler kept getting clogged with what I am assuming is the hops from the large end of boil hop addition. I had to take the filler apart and resanitize almost every bottle. This was only my second brew ever but until I figure out a way to keep the filler from getting clogged I won’t be making it again. Also use a blowoff hose. I had to clean up a very sticky mess.
I would recommend using a bottling bucket when you bottle. I put a muslin bag on one or both ends of the syphon so it keeps the hop/trug out of the bucket. Plus much easier to bottle using a bottling bucket rather than a syphon.
I also have a question about this kit. I have made it twice since January, and both times, it comes out really syrupy and sweet. Its carbonated, and tastes like beer, but it seems like all that sugar added at the end of the boil just ends up making it to sweet. What is your experience with the final product?
I fermented in a 1 gallon bottle at about 68 degrees. Left it in the jug for 2-3 weeks before bottling. Its been in the bottles at the same temp for a month now.
Syrupy and sweet sounds like the yeast under attenuated. The sugar added will ferment completely leaving no flavor. The sugar will dry and thin the body of the beer rather than sweeten it.
Which yeast did you use and what was the final gravity? How much yeast did you pitch? Are you specific gravity readings with a hydrometer?
I did not take any gravity readings, as we have not gotten that scientific with it. I used the recommended Safale US-05 yeast, and pitched about half the packet. We have not tried it in a few weeks, and am hoping that it just needed more time in the bottle.
