Dark Rock UK Cascade SMASH – All Grain

Description

What is it?

UK Cascade has intense but rounded citrus, lychee and floral characteristics and delivers a smoothly integrated bitterness. It delivers the same aroma notes as US Cascade but is slightly less intense. This kit produces 40 pints of delicious pale ale at 5% ABV.

This top of the range kit will produce a beer that you can be proud of. No compromise has been made on quality and only the freshest hops and malts have been selected. The kit also includes a sachet of Pure Brew water conditioner and yeast enhancer to ensure a pure commercial taste is achieved. Starbrite finings are also included. The kit is suitable for vegans as it contains no animal-based products. The Single Hop kit produces 40 pints of beer with a target alcohol content of 5% ABV (approx)

SMASH Series

The Dark Rock SMASH (single malt and single hop) Series kits are designed to produce a common neutral malt base, and the flavour of one individual hop, which is added at various stages of the brewing process, The aim is to develop your skills in discerning the contribution and characteristics which specific hops give to beers. This will allow you to master your craft and to develop your taste for the finest hops sourced from around the world.

What makes the Dark Rock All-Grain range so special?

Dark Rock Brewing’s All-Grain Beer Kits provide everything you need to make a superb ale.  All-grain brewing is a rewarding process, which puts you in full control of your brewing. It takes a little longer than making a standard beer kit or partial mash but the results are absolutely stunning. All-grain mash brewing is great fun and really allows you to develop the necessary skills to master your craft. Commercial quality malt and hops are used in each kit and the emphasis is on freshness. Dark Rock’s all-Grain Mash Kits represent fantastic value too. Every recipe has been thoroughly researched and perfected to deliver the best taste possible. You only buy the exact amount of ingredients you need so there is no waste. Unlike making up your own recipe you will not have leftover quantities. With all grain brewing, it is important not to keep stocks of grains and particularly hops at home for long periods. The quality deteriorates quickly. Therefore, it does not make sense to buy larger quantities of grains and hops than you actually need. Dark Rock All-Grain Kits are weighed to the precise quantities you need for each brew, so you can be assured of the freshest ingredients and superb value. Hops are stored in temperature controlled rooms and vacuum packed immediately upon opening. This ensures the optimum quality of your brew.

What is IPA?

Pale Ale technically covers several styles of beer, including IPA’s. Bottles labelled as pale ales usually air towards the lighter, brighter end of the spectrum. The term “India Pale Ale,” however, was first used in an advertisement printed in Australia’s first newspaper in 1829.  Historically in the UK, ales that were pale in colour were often called “pale ale” or “bitter” interchangeably. More recently, a distinction has been made between pale ale and bitter, Some consider the method of dispensing the beer to be the decisive factor: If the beer is served on draught from a cask, it would be called a bitter; if in a bottle or carbonated keg, then it is deemed to be pale ale. Nevertheless, whether they are called bitters or pale ales, these are the traditional beers of the English pub.

“IPA” stands for India Pale Ale, a hoppy style of beer that falls under the pale ale category. Modern IPA’s tend to be amber-gold beer with fruity, fresh citrus aromas.  However, there are many variations on the style, including a black IPA. Double IPA’s, (DIPA’s) also called Imperial IPA’s, are a much hoppier style of IPA’s with an alcohol content above 7.5% ABV.  Pale ale is a sociable beer, easy to drink with food or over the course of an evening. This easy-going style remains one of the most popular among craft beers.

Different countries make different styles of pale ale. The American pale ale was developed around 1980 and tends to be cleaner and hoppier, while British versions are more malty, buttery, aromatic, and balanced. American IPA’s are normally brewed with characteristically American hops, like Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Columbus, Chinook, Simcoe, Amarillo, Warrior, and Nugget. The recent explosion of craft beer styles has been as a result of experimenting with pale ales. American brewers (who tend to dislike the name “bitter”)—make pale ales that are much more powerful and served cold. The English and American methods of brewing pale ale make an interesting contrast in basic brewing ingredients. British malt is nutty and robust, American malt is softer and crisper. Classic English hops are refined, earthy and floral; whereas American hops are juicy and powerful, bursting with citrus and pine profiles. English pale ales tend to be well balanced but Americans prefer a full hop character, with a strong aroma. And American yeast tends to be more neutral, while classic English ale yeast leaves a note of fruitiness and a faint hint of butterscotch.

The Single Hop IPA is an American style IPA which focuses on one of the powerful hop varieties. It produces a delicious beer with a great aroma and is suitable for keg or bottles.

What’s Included?

• 4.9Kg Malt Grains
• Hop Pellets
• Pure Brew (water treatment and nutrient)
• Britewort clarifier
• Starbrite Beer Finings (Vegan-Friendly)
• Fermenter / keg ID sticker
• Full instructions

Allergy Advice: May include barley and other cereals, containing gluten

Specifications

• Makes: 40 pints / 5 gallons
• ABV Approx: 5%
• Target Original Gravity: 1050 (approx)
• Target Finishing Gravity: 1012 (approx)
• Fermentation time: 10-14 days approx
• Conditioning time: 4 weeks minimum (it will mature further if left longer)

Ingredients

Malts: Pale Malt, Carapils
Hops: UK Cascade
Yeast: Choice of Yeast
Extras: Britewort, Beer Finings, Pure Brew

What Equipment Do You Need?

Basic beer making equipment (5g fermenter, airlock, syphon tube with sediment trap, hydrometer, Suresan sanitiser, bottles or barrel). These are available under the starter kit section on this website. You will also need specialist equipment to make all grain beers. The process involves three stages. The first stage is mashing. Your mash equipment will need to maintain the grains and water at a constant temperature for an hour (usually 66C). This is important as only slight variations in temperature can affect the taste of the final beer. The second part of the process is sparging. This involves rinsing the grains with water slightly hotter than the mash (77C). Finally, the wort will need to be boiled for around 70 minutes and then cooled to fermentation temperature as fast as possible. From this point, the fermentation process is similar to standard kits.  There are numerous techniques equipment styles that can be used to make full mash beers. In the past, the most basic method used was a floating mash tun and insulated ice box. Alternatively, a Pico style Electrim Bin was used. Whilst these are still available, there are now easy to use all-grain brewing systems available. The initial cost is higher but these systems are superb and allow you to achieve bang on results every time. They also cut down the time that you have to be present during the process. All grain systems are so effective that most commercial breweries use them for testing experimental recipes prior to full-blown scale-ups. The Grainfather brewing system is highly recommended. The system can be expanded as your skills develop, to include conical temperature controlled fermenters, sparge water heaters, and even an integrated Glycol Chiller to ensure precise temperatures down to 4 degrees centigrade (useful for lager production and summer brewing). A wide range of all-grain brewing equipment is available on our website and we are always available to offer advice.

Tips

A sachet of Pure Brew is included with this kit in order to achieve a commercial quality. 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. Starbrite finings are included with this kit. 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 prior to kegging (crash chilling your beer with a Glycol Chiller will also help to eliminate sediment). Harris Starbrite is a highly effective vegan-friendly beer fining, which is rapidly becoming a firm favourite with home brewers. It is suitable for all beers.

You could consider investing in a metal hop spider to effectively manage hop additions into the boiling process. The hop spider would sit inside your boiler and allow you to drop hops into the boil in a controlled way. Hop Spiders allow hops to boil with more free flow space around them. They are easily cleaned and can be re-used over and over again. They also prevent hop sediment (known as trub) from clogging up pumping systems when using all in one brewing equipment.