TOPIC:

We have invested a lot of time and effort into providing the best beer kit solutions that we can. We started out with Coopers bundles, but sometimes the advice here is different from Coopers recommended solutions; here, its usually all malt solutions that are promoted. With Coopers, it depends on the kit.

Since we became Muntons agents here, we have started to invest in trying to provide the best Muntons solutions too. Muntons are coming here on Saturday to promote new products and meet any customers that turn up in the shop; we will be getting as much info as we can from them. We have already met them in the UK. In a nutshell, their advice is that ALL beer kits should be 100% malt extract.

Please take a look at out bundle options here:
[url:3ew318od]http://www.homebrewwest.ie/17-kg-coopers-40-pint-beer-kits-worlds-most-popular-at-less-than-uk-prices-56-c.asp[/url:3ew318od]

and here:
[url:3ew318od]http://www.homebrewwest.ie/muntons-connoisseur-18-kg-40-pint-beer-kits-78-c.asp[/url:3ew318od]

As always, your comments are invaluable. Extra light spraymalt seems to be the preferred adjunct, does everybody agree that this is preferrable to light?

Other questions that arise are:
- wheat beer kit bundles: wheat spraymalt or extra light?
- dark ales and stout bundles: extra light, or dark spraymalt?
- is there a role for medium (amber) spraymalt in bundles, and if so, where?
- all the other things that we have missed!!!!

HB have just launched a new range of finishing hops; is there a role for these in bundles?

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

Just on the matter of hops...

I think there is definitely room for a small 'Hops in a Bag*' type add-on for basic beer kits for dry hopping purposes.

To keep costs down and for simplicity a 20-30g bag is probably loads, though I don't know if that's a pain for ye guys if your hops come pre-packaged in 100g bags?

My first kit was a Muntons 3kg IPA which I dry hopped with fantastic results

* Bag = muslin cloth

It's funny, I just posted in the Extract Brewing section about something similar -

I like the look of the Northern Brewer extract 'kits' (bundles really) - all of the steeping grains and hops are measured out for the particular recipe, and the recipe / instruction sheets that come with them are really comprehensive.

I have had a look at assembling the ingredients for one of their recipes but by the time you buy 500g of 3 different steeping grains and 100g of 4 different hops (when you're only going to use a fraction of them) it ends up bloody expensive. So if some supplier was willing to hold my hand and do some of the work for me, that's a bundle I'd be happy to pay for!

To try to answer the OP though:

I don't like and haven't yet brewed a Wheat beer so can't answer that bit.
As an ale lover I absolutely think that there's a place for Amber malt extract in a bundle - maybe 1kg Pale + 500g Amber? Something like that. And obviously depending on the colour of the base kit can.
Yes, I'd be all in favour of appropriate hops (ideally in the correct quantities) being included in bundles, and the last thing I think you're missing is steeping grains.

I know everything is subjective and everyone has their own opinion, but I think the idea of buying a recipe (rather than simply a kit+kilo) is a good one. This might mean NOT starting with a kit can, and instead basing the recipes around plain malt extract?

I don't know, I'm confusing myself at this stage! <!-- s:roll: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="" title="Rolling Eyes" /><!-- s:roll: -->

&amp;quot;SOS_OPA&amp;quot;:3dmltjcs wrote: I have had a look at assembling the ingredients for one of their recipes but by the time you buy 500g of 3 different steeping grains and 100g of 4 different hops (when you're only going to use a fraction of them) it ends up bloody expensive. So if some supplier was willing to hold my hand and do some of the work for me, that's a bundle I'd be happy to pay for![/quote:3dmltjcs]A bit off topic (sorry!), but personally speaking I'm the complete opposite. I tend to buy ingredients infrequently and in bulk to save on postage, and choose them along vague stylistic lines rather than with specific recipes in mind. Turning my ingredient stocks into a recipe and then into a beer is one of the main things I enjoy about brewing. Having that done for me would suck a lot of the pleasure out of it.

&amp;quot;TheBeerNut&amp;quot;:3ib3vdcx wrote:

&amp;quot;SOS_OPA&amp;quot;:3ib3vdcx wrote: I have had a look at assembling the ingredients for one of their recipes but by the time you buy 500g of 3 different steeping grains and 100g of 4 different hops (when you're only going to use a fraction of them) it ends up bloody expensive. So if some supplier was willing to hold my hand and do some of the work for me, that's a bundle I'd be happy to pay for![/quote:3ib3vdcx]A bit off topic (sorry!), but personally speaking I'm the complete opposite. I tend to buy ingredients infrequently and in bulk to save on postage, and choose them along vague stylistic lines rather than with specific recipes in mind. Turning my ingredient stocks into a recipe and then into a beer is one of the main things I enjoy about brewing. Having that done for me would suck a lot of the pleasure out of it.[/quote:3ib3vdcx]

To be fair beernut, your skill levels and knowledge are far above the type of customer these would be aimed at I'd imagine