Cascade Home Brew - Frequently Asked Questions

THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN BREW KIT

What is the shelf life of my Master Craftsman brew kit?
What is special about Cascade Bohemian yeast?
How long will my Master Craftsman yeast last ?
Just how much of the Master Craftsman brew is Cascade?
How are the Master Craftsman beer kits made?

Q. What is the shelf life of my Master Craftsman brew kit?

I have put a best before date on the kits of 2.5 years from the date of manufacture which is clearly displayed on the can.

Malt extracts change over time. This is a natural process. The colour gradually darkens and stronger crystal malt flavours develop.

Such changes are not highly significant within the recommended shelf life. However storage at high temperatures, say above 25°C, will accelerate the process.

I recommend you store your home brew kit in the kitchen as you do other foods. Don't store it in a shed out the back.

The yeast is also good for at least 2.5 years provided the sachet is not opened and it is not stored at high temperatures. It is packaged in a nitrogen atmosphere to substantially reduce deterioration.

Q. What is special about Cascade Bohemian yeast?

I am very protective about the source of this special yeast but I can say a few things about it.

It has its origins long ago in Bohemia, an area of Europe with a long tradition of fine, clean beers.

It is this style that I have sought to create with my Master Craftsman home brew range. Why? I wanted to avoid producing a home brew that relied on fast fermentations yielding a range of unpredictable flavours.

With my Cascade Bohemian Yeast, the fermentation is a little slower, more measured, and predictable and produces the clean-tasting beers that many home brewers seek.

These clean-tasting beers are beautiful to drink in their own right. Because my kits produce clean and consistent brewing outcomes they also serve as a base for the experimentally inclined home brewers who wish to develop other beers to their personal tastes.

Q. How long will my Master Craftsman yeast last?

The yeast has been spray dried and has very little moisture. It has been packaged into the sachets in a nitrogen atmosphere to reduce the rate of oxidation. We store it at moderate temperatures (20°C maximum). These precautions ensure that the yeast is full of activity until at least the 2.5 years best before date on the brewing kit.

A major proviso is that the sachet must not be opened or subjected to constant high temperatures (e.g. in excess of 25°C).

At my home I always keep yeast in the refrigerator to avoid any problems.

Q. Just how much of the Master Craftsman brew is Cascade?

Just about all of it!

The barley, malt, hops and water are the same as used in Cascade beers.

The brewery on the Cascades at the base of Mt. Wellington is also where the Cascade beers are brewed.

Most importantly, the people who developed the Master Craftsman range are the same people who produce Cascade beers.

Q. How are the Master Craftsman beer kits made?

We start in exactly the same way that beer has been brewed at Cascade since 1824.

Grains of pale malted barley are milled to form a dry grist.

Depending on the style of beer, crystal malt and roasted barley may also be milled and mixed in the grist. These contribute colour and flavour.

The grist is mixed into a mash tun along with hot water to make a slurry (mash). The mash is stirred while the temperature is adjusted to control the breakdown of the starchy content of the grain into fermentable sugars.

The mash is transferred to a lauter tun where the sugar solution (wort) is filtered through the spent grain husks. Hot water is sprayed onto the spent grain bed to wash through the remaining extract into the kettle.

In the kettle the wort is boiled and hop pellets are added. The boiling creates flavour, colour and converts hop components to bittering contributors.

The hot wort flows into a whirlpool where unwanted solids (proteins, hop fines) are separated out leaving a malt extract solution of 15% concentration.

In the normal brewing process the wort is cooled to about room temperature, yeast is added and fermentation commences.

However in the production of Cascade Master Craftsman malt extracts the hot wort is passed into an evaporation plant where most of the water is removed. The process is conducted at low temperature under vacuum to preserve the qualities of the wort. We are left with a thick hopped malt extract of 80% concentration.

At this strength the malt extract is highly stable.

Hop extract may then be added to complement the kettle hopping. The hop extract provides exceptionally clean and controlled bitterness and provides an extra dimension of flavour complexity.

The hopped malt extract is packaged into cans which have been specially designed to be easily opened. The instructions and the yeast sachet are placed on top of the can lid which is then topped off with the characteristic black Cascade lid.

The product is warehoused until final quality assurance checks have been completed. (These complement an extensive quality assurance and process control regime through the Cascade brewery.)

Naturally we also brew the products ourselves as a final confirmation of quality and to keep our hand in. Some of this is done formally but also a number of our people are keen home brewers and they test the product in the ideal environment - at home!