Review of William Warn's 'Bohemian' Pilsner beer kit

I decided to try the Williams Warn Bohemian Pilsner at the suggestion of a keen home brewer.

Williams Warn’s version of a traditional Bohemian Pilsner is touted as having “a rich, complex maltiness and a crisp finish”.

So that’s the challenge for this home brewer, can I produce this beer as described?

What is a bohemian pilsner?

There are basically two kinds of pilsners, the German and Bohemian. The difference between the two is often the  geographicsource of their ingredients.

Bohemian brews are said to have a more malty character that the German version and so I guess that's why WilliamsWarn is mentioning it in their product description.

Let’s talk about the actual kit

The kit includes a 3.75 pound can of pre-hopped Premium Bohemian Pilsner liquid malt extract, designed by Ian Williams and crafted at Lion Brewery in New Zealand. 

Lion Nathan is of course famous for producing it’s own world conquering beer, Steinlager.

I combined the beer kit with WilliamsWarn’s own DME pack which I think from memory was 1250 grams or about 3 pounds.

The yeast was the Fermentis Saflager W34/70 lager yeast which is a popular brewing yeast for lagers that originated from where else but Germany.  

Brewing the Warns William kit

The brewing was a pretty standard affair following the usual beer brewing practices, the only thing of note was I added some cascade hops. I should more properly use a noble hops such as sazz but the cascade was all I had!

I suspect this combination may give me a potentially fruity taste which could contradict the intended crisp taste that’s sought but we’ll see.

Let’s talk about the yeast

The first thing I noticed about the yeast packet was that it had approximately twice the amount of yeast of any other beer kit that I’ve ever used.

So I was not surprised when less than two hours after pitching the yeast I walked back into the man shed and heard the barrel happily bubbling away quite strongly.

I looked into the yeast a bit further and learned that the Williams Warn claims 'When you pitch these yeasts into your wort, you’ll see activity within hours.'

So their claims were true and that totally gives me confidence that this beer kit comes from a brewer who actually knows what they are talking about.

Good stuff.

The brew carried on bubbling very strongly  for three full days at a pretty good rate and then it slowly wound down.

Into the bottle goes the brown liquid

Bottling day came 6 days later.

The beer smelt and tasted good. 

I bottled into a variety of 750 and 500 mls bottles.  

I also tried to use as little sugar as possible as I’m quite conscious that I’ve had a few too many gushers of late.

That’s just a waste of beer and money eh?

So what's the verdict on the beer?

I conditioned for two weeks and hand a wee taste test. The pilsner proved to be quite a tasty drop. It had a nicely balanced body and left a great after taste.

Despite the addition of cascade hops, their effect was quite minimal. I perhaps should added more?

Being a pilsner it was drunk nice and cold, which is just what you need for some summer drinking. 

It also gave good head, which is always pleasing... 

How did the beer compare to Williams Warn's description? Did it have “a rich, complex maltiness and a crisp finish” as touted by the brand?

Kind of!

The beer certainly did have a malt taste that I would not expect of a pilsner but that could be the effect of too many years drinking mass produced pilsners.

As for a crisp finish, I would not describe my brew as having one, none-the-less it was a very drinkable beer. 

And what of the beer's look?

Indeed, I made a fine, deep golden beer.

I would happily brew this beer again! It's probably quite a good kit to boil and then do a hops boil with.

If you want more than my word for this beer kit, check out the reviews for it on Amazon.

The use of 'Palaeo Water' in Stoke beer

A few years ago I happened upon the McCashin's Brewery in Nelson, the home of Stoke beer. I did the tour and drank plenty of their fine beers. A very pleasant way to spend an afternoon with friends.

I recently spied the Stoke IPA at the supermarket so I grabbed some. It's a great tasting beer, and one I'd happily drink again.

And when drinking one, that's when I noted something strange, the back of the label referred to 'Palaeo Water' and what's more, it was apparently trademarked.

This intrigued me as, what on Earth is so-called 'palaeo water', as water is just water.

Right?

I wondered if the beer was trying to market itself as part of some questionable paleo diet. 

Regardless of the spelling, the association was amusing and smacks of marketing which I would have thought ordinary beer drinkers would be too smart to buy into as a reason for buying what is an excellent IPA beer.

I see another New Zealand beer blogger has wondered about this before.

Turns out McCashin's 'Palaeo Water' is simply water that is sourced from an ice age era water reservoir in the Nelson region of the South Island of New Zealand. The water is said to be 14 thousand years old. Luckily the well was found underneath the brewery.

So it makes sense for the McCashin's to promote their Stoke beer as having excellent quality water because good, clean water makes for excellent beer brewing results (for example unwanted 'beerstone' in equipment can form for example when water has too much calcium).

My second thought was was this another case of a beer company trade marking something 'common' to their own advantage? My mind immediately went to the moment when Dominion Breweries trademarked the term 'radler' which irked many beer drinkers and brewers in New Zealand.

So it appears McCashin's have simply branded water from the Nelson region (i.e. from their water well in their brewery) as Palaeo to give themselves some kind of marketing edge in the bottled water market:

Which to be fair, is simply some sharp marketing of New Zealand water.

I looked up the trademark for Palaeo on the Iponz site, and sure enough, the mark is owned by Roc Mac Ltd, of which many members of the McCashin family are shareholders.

And unlike DB's questionable success in trademarking 'radler', palaeo water is a simply clever marketing innovation by a family of great beer makers which doesn't prevent any other local brewers from finding ways to extol the virtue of the water used in their beers.

The irony of all this is perhaps that if you are actually following a paleo diet, you can't drink beer, even that with Palaeo water, as beer didn't exist during the paleolithic era...

11 best brewing tips for beer kits

Beer is beer, and the principles behind making it will never change. No matter the year, you still want the best quality beer you can make from a kit.

These cards lay out the essentials, clear and simple.

Kit brewing is not the lesser cousin of all grain, you can brew great beer with kits. First timers will find this useful. Seasoned brewers may still find a nugget of wisdom.

Tip 1

Run a lean, clean machine

You have chosen your beer kit. Start with cleaning and sanitising, every time. Fermenter, tap, spoon, hydrometer, hands. Vikings brewed in oak barrels. You have sodium percarbonate, use it. Clean first to remove soil, then sanitise to reduce microbes. Give your sanitiser proper contact time, then drain. Do not rinse a no rinse sanitiser with tap water that can reintroduce chlorine or bugs.

• Sodium percarbonate is in common laundry soaks, see the primer: how to clean and sterilize. Mix fresh, warm water boosts activity. Rinse thoroughly before sanitising.
• Infections are expensive and avoidable. Do not stress over every speck, do the basics well, more on that here: accidental contamination. If something slips, finish the batch and learn from notes.
• Disassemble the small parts. Spigots, gaskets, airlocks, bottling wands. Biofilm hides under o rings and threads. A small nylon brush is worth its keep.
• Keep cold side oxygen low. Sanitize the receiving vessel, keep lids on, move with purpose. Splashy transfers invite both air and dust.
• Make cleanup automatic. While the kettle cools, soak the sticky tools. Dry gear after sanitising so mold never finds a home between brew days.

Tip 2

Temperature control changes everything

Fermentation needs the right temperature and time. Rough guide, lagers at 10 to 14 °C, ales at 18 to 21 °C. Keep it steady. Yeast reacts poorly to wild swings. Beer runs warmer than the room during peak activity, plan for a two to three degree rise in the core.

• Pick a spot that holds temperature. Insulate with blankets if needed. A simple water bath buffers day and night swings. Frozen bottles in hot weather are cheap control.
• The correct level of headspace helps the fermenter do its job. Use a blow off tube for vigorous strains.
• Ramp with intention. Ales often benefit from a gentle rise near the end to help finish dry. Lagers prefer a short diacetyl rest at 16 to 18 °C once gravity is close.
• Use the right thermometer. Tape a probe to the fermenter under insulation. The room thermostat is only a hint of what the yeast feels.
• Consistency beats perfection. A flat 19 °C can taste better than chasing 18 one day and 22 the next. Yeast likes calm water, not chop.

Tip 3

Be patient

Primary fermentation takes about a week. Confirm with your hydrometer. When you get two or three days of the same reading, it is likely done. Do not bottle yet. Wait another week and let the yeast polish rough edges. That quiet time clears haze, reduces green flavors, and drops more sediment before you ever touch a bottle.

• Yeast cleans up byproducts if you give it time. Clarity improves as yeast drops out, see cloudy beer. Patience saves you a month of cold storage later.
• Hydrometer basics: how to use it correctly. Sanitize the thief, spin bubbles off the stem for a clean read, correct for temperature if needed.
• Let taste guide you. Pull a small sample. If you smell apples or butter, give it more time. If it tastes crisp and finished, proceed to your fining or cold crash plan.

Tip 4

Use hops well

Malt, sugar, and yeast will make beer. Hops turn it into something you crave. Choose varieties that fit the style. Start here: guide to using hops. Balance is the point, not brute force. Late additions and dry hops bring aroma that feels fresh while bittering charges give backbone.

• For kits, treat the can as your base and paint with late hops. A small 10 minute addition boosts flavor without harshness. A short whirlpool at 75 to 80 °C adds saturated aroma.
• Weigh what you add. One ounce can sing, four ounces can stomp. Split the dose across late boil and dry hop for layered character.
• Mind oxygen during dry hop. Purge the headspace if you can, keep the lid tight, and package soon after peak aroma is reached.

Tip 5

Want clearer beer

Try gelatin as a fining agent. It binds haze, then drops it to the bottom. Clear beer starts with good process, proper boil, quick chill, and gentle transfers. Gelatin is the closer that brings it all together.

• Add after fermentation. It works best when the beer is cool. Many add it a couple of days before bottling. Dissolve carefully per instructions so you avoid clumps.
• Note, gelatin is not vegan friendly. If you need an alternative, try cold crash, time, and careful racking.
• For very hazy batches, rack off the first sediment, then fine. Less muck in suspension means less to settle later.

Tip 6

Consider a better yeast for lagers

Lagers are unforgiving. The kit yeast can work, but you may get better results with a proven lager strain. Many brewers order WL833. Pitch cool and pitch enough. Under pitching at low temperatures is a common reason for sulfur, diacetyl, and sluggish finishes.

• Rehydrate or make a starter when appropriate. Healthy yeast shortens lag, protects against infection, and makes cleaner beer.
• Hold the first three days steady. Once gravity is close, lift for a diacetyl rest, then step down slowly for conditioning.
• If your space runs warm, brew a hybrid style that tolerates the middle ground, a clean ale strain at 18 °C can give a lager like profile with the right recipe.

Tip 7

Prime with the right amount of sugar

Over priming leads to beer gushers. Use the correct dose. Under priming leaves beer flat and tired. The goal is carbonation that fits the style and the glass, not fireworks.

• Chill bottles before opening if a batch is lively, it helps. Cold beer holds CO₂ better and foams less on opening.
• Carbonation drops make portioning easy. More detail on getting the right amount of sugar. If you batch prime, dissolve the sugar in boiled water, cool, then rack beer gently on top for even mixing.
• Account for temperature. Warmer beer holds less CO₂, which changes how much priming you need. Aim for the middle of the style range unless you have a specific reason to push higher.

Tip 8

Limit oxygen at bottling

Too much oxygen can dull flavor and invite trouble. Use a beer bottling wand to fill from the bottom with minimal splashing. Stale flavors show up fast in hop forward beers and light lagers. Protect the bright edges you worked to build.

• Seat the wand firmly. A loose fit wastes beer. Learned the hard way. Keep a spare spring and tip around so bottling day never stalls.
• No wand, then tilt the bottle and pour down the side to reduce agitation. Fill to a consistent level so carbonation feels uniform across the batch.
• Cap on foam if you can. A little CO₂ blanket under the crown pushes air out as you seal the deal.

Tip 9

Use a beer enhancer

There is no easier upgrade. A beer enhancer blends fermentables like dextrose with unfermentables like maltodextrin for better body and head. Kits get a lift in mouth feel and foam without complicated steps.

• Some enhancers include hops tailored to style. Check that the match suits your kit. A pale ale base can carry citrus hops. A stout wants restraint.
• For a creamier mouth feel, pick options higher in malt or DME. More unfermentables equals richer texture. Too much can taste cloying, aim for balance.
• If you are chasing dryness, lean toward simple sugars in moderation. They ferment clean and leave a crisp finish when the recipe is already heavy.

Tip 10

Store smart after bottling

Bottle conditioning likes warmth first, then cool storage. Aim for about 18 to 25 °C for 5 to 7 days to kick off secondary. Then move to 8 to 12 °C. Warmth wakes yeast. Cool time tightens flavors and drops haze. The result is bubbles that feel natural and a profile that reads clean.

• Wait at least three weeks from bottling before judging the batch. Many styles hit their stride at four to six weeks. Big beers may need longer.
• Store dark and steady. Light and heat fade hops and stress yeast. A closed box in a closet works better than a sunny shelf in the kitchen.
• Rotate a tester into the fridge two days before you plan to sample. Patience rewards you with tight foam and steady legs on the glass.

Tip 11

Write it down

Keeping a record locks in what worked, what did not, and what you prefer. Notes turn random luck into repeatable results. Good brewers remember. Great brewers write it down.

• Track gravity, temperature, yeast, water volume, timing, and any tweaks. Add how the beer tasted at two weeks, four weeks, and eight weeks.
• Mark your mistakes without shame. Next time you will have a map of what to avoid and what to repeat.
• When a batch sings, clone it. Same process, same ingredients, same temperatures. Consistency is a skill you build on paper first.

Bonus

Dial in pH as you level up

If you are pushing for tighter control, use a pH meter for accurate readings. Proper pH improves conversion, flavor stability, and clarity. Mash in the sweet spot and tannins stay quiet. Fermentation proceeds like a well planned tour, steady and on time.

• Mash pH around 5.2 to 5.4 measured at room temperature is a common target. Steer with calcium salts or a small dose of lactic acid if needed.
• Rinse and store your probe per the manual. A sad probe gives noisy numbers. Fresh calibration fluid is a small price for solid data.
• Do not chase decimals for kit brewing. Hit the middle, taste, and adjust on the next run. The goal is reliable improvement, not lab theater.