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Hello,
I have been doing festa brew for about a year now and a co-worker pointed me to this site. Great forum!! I have been tweeking my methodology a little and enjoy the beer making. Originally from CB but now live in Beaver Bank. I'm now bottling in 1 liter bottles and have hopes to move to the keg system this spring.
Cheers,
Chris

Welcome!

Hello!

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Chris, I believe I may know you from my day job working for a land develpment company

Welcome! We have a good number from Sackville\BB area. I think we need a Sackville get together.

Welcome. Nothing wrong with making Festa kits. If I had had those type way back then, who knows, I might never had taken up the craft.

Welcome!

Welcome!!

Welcome aboard!

I am also new and curious if folks have an opinion on the Festa Brew vs. the Brew House kits? I have used the Brew House so far and I am pleased. Thanks.

Mac_Brew wrote:I am also new and curious if folks have an opinion on the Festa Brew vs. the Brew House kits? I have used the Brew House so far and I am pleased. Thanks.

you will be more pleased with the festa brew kits IMO

Festa Brew kits are great. I've made them off and on between all grain batches to keep stocks up and they are every bit as good as many of the all grain beers I've had

LiverDance wrote:

Mac_Brew wrote:I am also new and curious if folks have an opinion on the Festa Brew vs. the Brew House kits? I have used the Brew House so far and I am pleased. Thanks.

you will be more pleased with the festa brew kits IMO

Festa kits use better yeast, but brewhouse kits are easier to hack because they are lower volume... with BH kits try something as simple as adding a little less water than the directions call for, and using a decent yeast appropriate to the style. You won't regret it.

Mac_Brew wrote:I am also new and curious if folks have an opinion on the Festa Brew vs. the Brew House kits? I have used the Brew House so far and I am pleased. Thanks.

Like the guys say Festa Brew kits use a yeast specific for the style where as Brew House use Coopers yeast for everything including a Munich Dark Lager. I've had good luck with both when I did kits but tossing the coopers yeast and getting a better one is a good idea. Not allot of selection for additional yeast in Truro at Water and Wine. They leave them at room temperature on the shelf and don't have allot of options. If you use coopers yeast and top up the Brew House kits with the 8l of water use a blow off tube as it is a work horse yeast.

Fiesta brews got me hooked, then Brew house kits let me hack a bit. While the festas were slightly better tasting I think it was hacking the brew house kits that really got me into brewing IMO

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Some good points here on both wort kit options.
Things to keep in mind with either:

- Freshness is key. I'm not sure if they have an expiry or "born-on" date, but the younger the better.
- Yeast: Nice that the Festa Brews will contain a pack of yeast for that approximate style, but either one can be swapped out for a favourite liquid yeast (which will have a born-on date), as it will have been at room temperature for months.
- Brewhouse are more easily hackable, though you could always dedicate part of the full volume Festa Brew kit to starters (run off two or three 2L bottles worth), and make up the volume with steeped grain wort. And I've heard of folks boiling the Festa Brews and hopping it again for a different experience all together!

Thanks for the insight. Think I will try a festa brew next. For an oatmeal stout, what yeast should I use?

Mac_Brew wrote:Thanks for the insight. Think I will try a festa brew next. For an oatmeal stout, what yeast should I use?

American style: US-05 (Safale dry), 1056 (Wyeast liquid), WLP001 (White labs liquid).

English style: S-04, 1318, WLP005 or WLP013.

Everwood carries the Safale and White labs, NG the Wyeast.

Welcome aboard Chris and your welcome for the referral!