Brewferm Framboise (Raspberry No Boil Kit)

I received a Brewferm Framboise no-boil kit for my birthday a few months ago but never got a chance to make it back then. I finally had an opportunity to make it in between other recipes a couple of weeks ago, while my carboys were all tied up with other, longer secondary, projects.

Rather than using sugar as the recipe calls for, I followed conventional wisdom and substituted light DME. I had wanted to replace the yeast as well but I didn't have any on hand, so I had to use the pack that came with the kit.

The supplied yeast isn't very good. It imparted an almost chalky taste that seems to be subsiding over time. I think I would have preferred to use a California Ale to let the raspberry flavor come through a bit better.

Despite the fact that this kit was no-boil, I chose to boil it for about 15 minutes. This was for two reasons. First, it made the DME easier to dissolve. Second, when I looked at the can, which had been in my possession for 6 months (so it was likely much older than that), the ends of the can were visibly bulging. That indicates that the contents could have the start of an infection. When I opened the can, there was no bad smell or look but I chose to boil it to sanitize just to be sure. The alternative on a no-boil kit is to just throw it in the fermenter, which is dangerous if you suspect an infection, lest an infection run rampant. However, the trade off is that when boiling fruit the pectin will set, leaving a haze that will not clear. This is a purely visual issue and doesn't affect flavor at all. Needless to say, this beer is cloudy, but it's better safe than sorry.

The kit makes about 3 gallons in total. I bottled 6 to give to my sister, who bought it for me, and kegged the rest. I force carbed and upon pouring from the tap this beer has a red tinted, creamy, foamy head. There is definitely a raspberry taste present as well.

Overall, this isn't bad for a no-boil kit and would be a great choice for a beginning brewer. I highly recommend using DME instead of sugar and replacing the yeast (try a packet of Safale US-05).

Here you can see the creamy head, red color, and cloudiness of the beer.