Description

A Tribute to Holdens Black Country Special – Part Grain Kit

Dark Rock Tribute to Holdens Black Country Special, an amber beer, presents robust malty overtones and a bitter sweet full-bodied taste. Brewed using the Finest English Maris Otter Malt and Fuggles hops this big, beautiful malty monster is an industrial strength beer at it’s best. Dark Rock Tribute to Holdens Black Country Special makes 40 pints of 4.2% ABV Black Country style Ale.

TRIBUTE SERIES

These kits allow you to produce beers which mirror the classic commercial favourites. Quality hops, malts and yeast have been carefully selected and matched to give you the closest possible result. They are not designed to be clones since factors such as water source and yeast type will be individual to each brewery. We recommend you have fun comparing the commercial beer against your own to see how close you can get.

THE COMMERCIAL BREWERY:

The Holden family are proud to have been brewing traditional Black Country real ales at the Hopden Brewery site for the last 106 years, producing some of, what some would say, are the finest ales that the area has seen. Holdens have maintained their brewing process over the years, using their unique strain of yeast. This yeast, cared for and protected, forms the unique blueprint for their award-winning ales.

Holdens still use the finest Maris Otter Malts along with both Fuggles and Goldings Hops for their core cask beers and a myriad of new and daring hops in the Monthly Seasonal Beers and of course not forgetting the biggest ingredient of all, our purest Black Country water. Traditional is the word for Holdens Brewery, with a Gravity Mill, open fermentation vessels and a Copper Copper. Holden’s Brewery brews 10,368 pints each time in its original 36-barrel copper capacity.

WHAT MAKES DARK ROCK PART GRAIN KITS SO SPECIAL?

Part-grain beer kits are an excellent way to take your brewing to the next level. Brewing takes a little longer using this method, but the results are well worth it. With our friendly expert guidance, these kits are suitable for beginners as well as more experienced brewers. All you need extra is a pan and a thermometer. By adding a ‘mini-mash’ to the malt extract brewing technique, using different varieties of malt and hops, you can create more complex flavoursome beers according to your taste.

Dark Rock provides the ultimate range of part-grain kits. Our expert knowledge of brewing combined with sourcing only the finest quality ingredients means Dark Rock part grain kits will enable you to brew exceptional beer that will rival any you can buy in pubs and shops.

Dark Rock kits combine a whopping 3kg of the finest quality malt extract with a blend of premium malt grains and hops sourced by us from around the world. We believe our kits are the best on the market and feedback from our many satisfied customers backs this up.

All ingredients are bought and stored fresh and weighed into individual bags. Our hops are vacuum-packed in nitrogen-flushed foil bags to produce the maximum flavour and aromas.

Whatever your brewing experience, a part grain kit is a great choice and requires minimal investment in equipment. With such a wide range of beer styles to choose from, there is sure to be a beer for you, whether it is a tropical pale ale, a rich stout, or a refreshing pilsner.

KIT CONTENT 

• 3kg Brewery Quality Liquid Malt Extract
• Premium Brewing Yeast
• Malt Grains
• Hop Pellets
• Pure Brew (water treatment and nutrient)
• Britewort clarifier
• Muslin straining bag
• Starbrite Beer Finings (Vegan-Friendly)
• Fermenter / keg ID sticker
• Full instructions

Allergy Advice: Includes barley and other Cereals, containing gluten

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

Basic beer making equipment:

• 25 Litre Fermenter
• Airlock
• Syphon Kit
• Hydrometer
• Thermometer
• Sanitiser
• Mixing Paddle
• Bottles or Barrel

You will also need a boiling pan (at least 15-litre capacity)

SPECIFICATIONS

• Makes: 40 pints / 5 gallons
• ABV Approx: 4.2%
• Target Finishing Gravity: 1.011 (approx)
• Fermentation time: 7-14 days approx
• Conditioning time: 2 weeks minimum (it will mature further if left longer)

TIPS

This kit includes a sachet of Pure Brew to ensure a commercial-quality outcome. Pure Brew is a professional beer enhancer. It feeds the yeast with essential nutrients, which supercharge the fermentation and support yeast development (even in limited oxygen conditions). Pure Brew also treats brewing water to eliminate problems caused by Chlorine and Chloramine (which can create a medicinal or as it is sometimes referred to, a “homebrew” taste) The condition of brewing water is critical to achieving optimum results but this important area is often overlooked. By using Pure Brew, you can effectively and easily condition brewing water, and maximise effective fermentation. We strongly recommend using Pure Brew with all of your beers to improve their quality.

The addition of beer finings will improve the final quality of your beers. This kit includes Starbright finings. They will help your beer to clear quickly and the sediment will be more likely to stay at the bottom of bottles or barrels. If you are using Corny Kegs then it is important to clear the beer as much as possible before kegging. Beer Finings will promote a faster and more efficient fall out of sediment and haze particles before kegging. Harris Starbrite is a highly effective vegan-friendly beer fining, which is rapidly becoming a firm favourite with craft brewers. It is suitable for all beers.

This kit includes a muslin bag. You could consider investing in a metal hop spider to upgrade your equipment. The hop spider would sit inside your boiling pan and allow you to drop hops into the pan in a controlled way. Hop Spiders allow hops to boil with more free-flow space around them. They are easily cleaned and can be reused repeatedly.