Fresh Wort

[Peter Smith]

Fresh wort packs, price varies from $50 to $99 depending on brew hops etc,   there is a small brewery on Waiheke that is doing this so well......        its a no brainer to me since I moved from kit to AG that its better so why has this not really taken off?

On Waiheke you drop off your fermenter and they fill it up with wort add the yeast and you pick it up later that afternoon, sure not as rewarding as the brewing itself BUT its an easy way to make great beer and at $60 for 20L is IMHO a bargin.

[Paul Fraser]

It's not brewing though. And it is not all grain. That's like saying using LME is all grain as it was produced from grains. If you just want a decent beer then fine but if you want to brew your own beer then it is not going to give you any of that satisfaction from creating something yourself. I can brew all grain for way way cheaper than $60 too.

[Peter Smith]

Its all grain straight from the kettle after chilling....    is extract brewing by your definition "brewing"?

Yes having your own equipment is "cheaper" but for many its about the journey not the cost,  since going AG I have been paying $20 for wyeast vs US05....     and AG brewing is more time consuming.    Its like going out to a restaurant vs home cooking.

I just watch the number of people buying cans and think that this is also a great pathway into AG brewing...

I have tasted the Waiheke brews   THEY ARE GOOD

[Paul Fraser]

By saying its not all grain brewing I mean the brewery is doing the AG brewing for you. I don't judge my beers by how much they cost and through doing the brewing yourself I personally think the journey is more rewarding. It is really easy to make beer that is of a high quality other than kit and kilo. If someone just wants to ferment and bottle and have a tasty beer at the end of it then it would be good for them.

[mattd2]

My question is - is it legal to actually do that? Technically once the yeast is pitched isn't it labelled beer and not wort (I know it will take a few hours to days to actually get going and start producing any alcohol but that is what seems to get stated most of the time). And for a "Brew-on-premise" I thought the owner of the premise was not allowed to actually brew the wort/beer and could only assist with instructions. Now if they filled it and gave you a packet of yeast to pitch once you got home then that might be ok (as long as they meet all the food standard regs they are required to, which shouldn't be too hard since they should have to anyway since they are a brewery already).

However it does seems like a reasonable deal though given the risk/benefit. Yes you could brew an AG batch for much cheaper but you also need to put in a bit of investment in equipment and time. On the other end of the scale, someone (well a lot of people actually) would say that that is still way to much work and would rather just pay to open a bottle and pour their beer.

One catch I see is anyone not from Waiheke would be paying an extra $35 for the ferry round trip.

Golden bay (I think) are doing some fresh wort kits, and there's another one going round some of the other craft brewer/brewpubs. I think with craft beer taking off these types of kits may start taking off more as the entry level kits compared to the Kit&Kilo types that most of our Uncle/Fathers homebrewed with.

Side note: I saw a write up on a Waiheke brewery that sounded pretty interesting - as most Waiheke inhabitants they were very hot on sustainability/reducing waste.

[Peter Smith]

Its a licensed brewery , they seem to be doing a great job.      The beer is so good compared with kit and kilo

[mattd2]

I just looked up their website and realised it was there that I was reading about how they set up the brewery to deal with it's unique situation of being on the island, interesting read. The attitude from the website gives you good vibes about the brewery as well.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is a good path for new brewers to take (ones that care about the taste that is and not about getting 23 litres of "beer" for a cheap as they can). And if anyone was looking into brewing seriously I would be pointing them down these fresh wort kits road - Easy to justify too: See that beer you just paid $10 for a pint, for the price of 6 pints you could make yourself 40 pints with not too much effort.

My question was really only about looking at the regulations and what they are actually selling - if they are selling wort can they actually do that if it could be fermenting and "technically" have alcohol in it by the time you pick it up? or if they are selling it as beer (which I doubt) are they paying excise on it. Seems like a bit of a grey area that could be avoided by letting the yeast be added by the customer once they get home.

[Peter Smith]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hogworts-Home-Brewing-Academy/485071...

so as to not confuse things as I think there is a brewery called Waiheke brewing this is the small brewery I was meaning

[mattd2]

Ah, looks like a nice setup. And yes they are selling wort to be taken home to be fermented by the customer (first post on their FB page says this). Can't get much fresher wort than straight from the kettle to your fermenter!

Sorry that I got the wrong brewery. Is this the same one you are talking about? http://alebrewingchaps.com/about/

[mattd2]

Mangrove Jack's seems to have start to try get something like this up and running http://www.freshwortpacks.com/

Also Golden Bear Brewing Co. http://www.goldenbearbrewing.com/content/brewery-fresh-wort-packs

At least one of those I think you could get from Brewers Coop in Auckland

For  about 2-3 times the price of a coopers can and a kilo of sugar, you would end up with a beer 20+ times better I would think.

[Peter Smith]

Yes the ale chaps is the brewery name, on Facebook they say they have just got a tap at o.connels in CBD might head down local for pint..... Re mangrove jack ones good idea but way to long between brews you have to do this every weekend to get a loyal following, And I love how they use facebook to tell people what's up..

I have tried their dog bolster and an ipa via a guy at work who lives on island and gets there wort, dam they where both great beers, re a comment above I love having something to aim for and these guys set the bar high they also are happy to share recipes.

[Chris Banks]

Yeah I reckon its horses for courses in a big way.

A few years back I would have baulked at the thought of paying to buy fresh wort when I could make almost any amount I desired in a day.

Now day's however the idea is extremely appealing even though I have the odd bit of brewing gear around the place ;-) and a stack of ingredients I just cant find the time in the day to dedicate 5-6hr's to doing a brew - not to say I dont want to - actually I really miss it its just been knocked down the priority list a few - well a lot of pegs.

A fresh wort kit would keep me working on my fermentation and packaging techniques whilst keeping the time invested to an hour here or there which I could possibly manage.

So I reckon Andrew at Mangrove Jacks , Aidan at Baylands Brewery and Golden Bear etc get the thumbs up for keeping an option available at a reasonable price to those of us who love brewing but dont quite have the time to do the whole process from start to finish all of the time.

Last time I spoke to Aidan he said they just needed a few more people to sign up to lock in a date for the fresh wort brew.

I am till waiting for an email from Mangrove Jacks saying they are doing a Hallertau Maximus or Minimus fresh wort kit ;-) hint hint hint hint......

[G S]

I'd be in for a hallertau wort kit, make that 2 !
Beast wars please?