Brewferm Triple

Type: Kit Brew
Sugars: About 600g of Golden Syrup
Yeast: Kit Yeast
Additions:Water de-chlorinated with 1/2 Campden tablet.
Time in Primary: 2 weeks
Secondary method: Bottle
Time in Secondary: 6 weeks plus
O.G. 1064
F.G. 1010


An interesting range of kits, these, mostly comprising of Belgian beers, but with the odd pilsner thrown in. Most of them make up smaller batches than your standard kit, despite the kits themselves being in the usual size cans. The instructions are also more complicated than standard, suggesting the use of Belgian Candi Sugar, and insisting on batch priming (explained below). OK, I know many people will batch prime their brew if bottling as a matter of course, but it's interesting that Brewferm suggest this as a required step (and no bad thing, that).

I couldn't get Candi Sugar easily, and making up the required amount manually (i.e. inverting normal sugar myself) appeared a bit of a faff, so I used golden syrup, which is a partially inverted sugar. Searching online gave me the required quantities (you need to use 20% more Candi sugar than if using simple sugars, and then have to take account of the liquid in the syrup, so 600g appeared about right). I also used a smaller 15L fermentation bid, as I thought the 9L that this kit makes up would look a little lost in a 5 gallon bin!

Have a look at the original and final gravities, and you will notice this is one string brew. Online opinion suggested a good 3 month maturation would be required in the bottle, but mine was smashing after 6 - 8 weeks. But, boy, is this stuff strong. It has a slightly syrupy, spicy taste, but isn't sickly. It also has the effect of preventing your legs from working if you drink too much.

Really impressive stuff, this. One of the best brews I have ever done, and will be trying others in their range. Next time, however, I am going to to set this down in smaller bottles, as a pint of this stuff is just a bit too much.