Noble Grape Kits

[bluenose]

I was wondering what equipment is needed for the Noble Grape kits (not Festabrew)

I was also wondering if you might post your favourite one.

Thanks

[Hopaddict]

I've also been wondering if anyone has any favorites. When I make it over to the Nobel grape to stock up I want to pickup a couple.

[mr x]

Not much help here. I went from a couple festas to my own all grain.

[Graham.C]

I've never done one but my guess is a 3 gallon pot. You probably boil the grains, add hops based on the schedule then add some extract at the end, transfer to a fermenter and top up to 5 gallons with cold water. You could soak the grains for an hour at ~150-153F to get a few more points of gravity out of the beer (before boiling), just suspend a grain bag in the pot but not on the bottom if you are going to keep the burner on to maintain your temp.

[CorneliusAlphonse]

need a 4 gallon pot (16 qt). they give you instructions wit h your first brew. in my opinion, stick to their darker brews. their bock is pretty good, and the smoked porter is decent but would be better with more smoked grain. tried their IPA and ESB but they didn't have nearly enough hoppiness. that's be my main complaint with them, they are hop shy.

I still use my 4 gallon pot when I do a stove top all grain batch, I split it between two pots.

[mr x]

tried their IPA and ESB but they didn't have nearly enough hoppiness. that's be my main complaint with them, they are hop shy.

Yeah, that's going to be issue with NG.

[sleepyjamie]

tried their IPA and ESB but they didn't have nearly enough hoppiness. that's be my main complaint with them, they are hop shy.

Yeah, that's going to be issue with NG.

I've done a bunch of exract kits from NG and they are lacking hop flavour. Nevertheless you can always purchase more hops if needed.
The West Coast IPA was probably my fav extract kit, not sure if it's on the menu anymore though.

I have also done extract recipies online with a lot of success. Favs were quaffable irish red, amarillo ipa and haus pale ale

Note: I've always had better results using people's online recipies or my own.

[chalmers]

If you can, visit Steve at the Quinpool location. He definitely knows his stuff, and can make some suggestions on kits and gear to focus on (and which hops are fresh). He works every day but Tues and Sun, I believe. Also great are the guys in Burnside. Tell 'em you're a Brewnoser.
I did the Noble White recipe a few years back and was pretty pleased with it.

[LiverDance]

I'd recommend doing the custom recipes (extract and steeping grains) they have at noble grape. I've made mostly all of them and they are all good so It really depends on what type of beer you want to make.

[mckay75]

I've had a fair bit of experience with the extract kits from Noble Grape...so far I have and have helped brew with friends:

Picadilly Porter
Cascade Pale Ale
Puller's ESB
California Steam Beer
1820 Authentic IPA
Rory's Red
Bee Man's Honey Brown
King's Royal Red Bitter

My favorite by far has been the Puller's ESB and the Cascade Pale Ale. I'm actually bottling a batch of the ESB tonight...which I tried my first attempt at a full boil with. My 1820 Authentic IPA turned out ok...but I had some issues with the smack pack ringwood yeast they gave me with it and got a little anxious and pitched a dry yeast on it after 24 hrs of inactivity. Lesson learned...patience is a virtue! I'm not sure if that is the reason for the off taste...but that's the best I can come up with.

Before brewing these extract kits I was doing the Festa kits and the odd canned extract kit. Moving to these with the liquid yeast was a HUGE difference!

[mr x]

What was the off taste...butter?

[mckay75]

I don't think so...but that said I never really tried to describe the taste! I have one left in the fridge...I'll drink it tonight and see.

[Eagleray]

I'm on my third Belgian Dubbel in a a row from NG and I love it. I think they call it Large Dubbel or something like that. For me it's a great beer. Good luck.