Flash Brewing - Is It Worth It?

Good morning. Enjoy one more week of relative peace before you get completely inundated with Black Friday deals in your inbox from companies you didn’t even know existed. Bask in it.

Next week we will cover homebrewing deals that we see coming up, so don’t buy anything in the meantime!

-Brandon Copeland

Flash Brewing - Is It Worth It?

Recently I received a flash brewing kit from MoreBeer in the mail for a Citra Session Pale Ale - I did not pay for it, so I’m assuming they sent it to me to review it, however I never received any sort of note. Either way, it’s a free 5 gallons of beer, and I figured I would give it a shot and report my honest feedback on flash brewing kits.

The idea behind flash brewing is that a boil is not required - you simply add all the ingredients in the kit straight into water in your fermenter, and then immediately fermentation begins. This is accomplished by using “Flash Malt”, which is essentially dry malt extract post boil in the brewing process.

I like to ferment in a corny keg so that I can regulate fermentation temperature in my kegerator, so I adjusted all the ingredients to be 4/5 so that I could ferment 4 gallons of the beer and give sufficient head space for fermentation. I started by adding 3 gallons followed by all of the ingredients, ending with yeast.

After this, I added the final gallon of water, threw a lid on so I could shake it up (even though the instructions said it wasn’t necessary) and then threw it in the kegerator to ferment.

It’s that easy! It’s currently fermenting, so I don’t know how it tastes, but the speed of “brewing” was insane - in 30 minutes I went from ingredients to a fermenting keg of beer. I will be very curious to taste the beer, and will provide an update in next weeks newsletter.

In conclusion, I can see a case for flash brewing kits as a supplement to your normal brewing schedule. For instance, if you’re throwing a party and want 2 kegs of beer but don’t have the proper setup to brew a double batch, you could brew one and use a flash kit for the other. Or if you’re feeling lazy but still want beer on tap, this makes for a really easy brew day. Either way, it’s an interesting innovation and makes fresh beer at home even more accessible.

Beer Trivia Question

🍺 What US based brewery transformed Black Friday into a day well known for iconic limited-release beer drops?

Read to the end to find out if you're right!

Brewgr Recipe of the Week

Vienna Cascade Citra

I must have been inspired by throwing together the ingredients in my flash brewing kit, which was for a Citra Session Pale Ale, so this recipe immediately stuck out to me. The aroma on Citra hops is just lovely, and it often translates to a delicious beer. In this case, it is mixed with cascade, which is a winning combination.

Credit: Pasqueto

Poll Results: Would You Buy a Pinter?

The majority of homebrewers voted a resounding no on purchasing a Pinter. As a homebrewer for 13 years, I can attest I was never planning to purchase a Pinter either. The only thing that convinced me was a $49 deal for the Pinter, 2 beer kits, and a free glass, which was a no brainer of a deal. Having tried it, I stand by the fact that it’s a cool bit of engineering, and a great gift to someone who is not already a homebrewer.

Pinter Taste Update

After letting it condition for the recommended 5 days, I have to say that it tastes much, much better. The recipe was Pumpkin Spice Stout, and while I still believe it’s not fully a stout, I could detect very clearly the pumpkin spice in this glass. It had a solid head and was perfectly carbonated, and had a nice smooth finish. All in all, a solid glass of beer and one I’m happy to be able to pull right out of the fridge. On that note, might just pour another one for myself…

And the Answer Is...

🍺 The Chicago based Goose Island, now owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, started releasing their Bourbon County Stout on Black Friday to great success. Other breweries have followed suit, getting into the action on an already frenzied day of sales to boost revenue.