Good Beer

Review by Douglas H. on 1/23/2009

Pros: This wasn't too bad to brew using a very over sized pot. I did notice that it tasted much better after aging for over two months. Had a nice hoppy flavor.

Cons: Blew the lid off my fermenter. Foam came out the air lock for over two days. I had to clean it often. Worth the effort.

Great Beer

Review by Michael C. on 8/15/2008

Pros: I've brewed 2 batches and both came out great! Slight flavor differences but very good. The doubters really loved it too.

Cons: Really have to watch the boilover with that much malt in there.

Review Update

Review by Vlad M. on 3/11/2008

Pros: Updating my review from late February. I suspect I was a bit hasty and hard with my conclusions on the yeast suffering from the high alcohol content. The beer finally developed some bubble with two extra weeks in bottle. I expect another month will get it where it needs to be. The promise of heavy malt is there, the hop again on the low side of expected. If I brew this again, I will add some more bittering hop early, some more flavoring hop at the end of boil and keep a sharp eye on the OG. Grading this time to a 7 which results in an overall 5 average on my two reviews for this kit. I wish there were an edit function on reviews.

Give it time!

Review by Andy H. on 3/9/2008

Pros: Easy to brew and lots of flavor! I agree with the other reviewers, the high alcohol content can sneak up on folks.

Cons: Too much "bite." I gave it 5 weeks, and it was still biting, so I gave it another month. It smoothed out considerably, but still more flavorful than any commercial beer I've ever tasted. Age this beer and you will be happy with the results.

Disappointing

Review by Vlad M. on 2/29/2008

Pros: In the description the kit reads like a winner. The brewing was easy even for novice brewers.

Cons: Hop content was limited and the brew is not what I would expect from a 90 IBU claim. By comparison the Triple Hop Ale is far more robust on the pallet as far as hop and bitterness. To make things even worse, my kit produced an OG of 1.100 and FG of 1.023. Way beyond the specifications and with over 10% alcohol, the yeast died before bottling. 5 gallons of flat malty ale with all the priming sugar adding to the "bock" like experience. I have brewed 3 other Williams kits that were outstanding. I hope this was just a packaging fluke with my super high OG.