# First go at using hops how much do i use?



## heshtek (15/5/14)

Hello brew brothers and sisters,

Well I bought a 25g pack of Amarillo hops and want to try them in my next kit based brew. Ingredients are as follows

1 x 1.7kg tin of kit Ale
1 packet us05 yeast 11g
1kg of brew enhancer 2
500g of LDME
Amarillo hops

I spoke to the guy in the shop and he mentioned a few ways of using them. I think the method I'm going to use is to simmer the hops in with the kit tin, fermentable powders and 2 litres of water for about 5 minutes. He told me that in doing that I should both bitterness and aromas into the brew. Also I'm just going to chuck them in as is without bagging them as he told me that they should all settle at the bottom of the fermenter and it should be a problem in terms of getting hop chunks into the finished product.

My question is do I use the whole 25g when I do this?


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## Trickymac (15/5/14)

hi heshtek, im a fairly new brewer myself, but from what i know so far...do not boil the contents of the tin..ever, ill leave other to tell you about boiling the other bits but for a couple of my first brews i steeped my hops in around 500ml of water, let them soak for 10 mins then tossed in to the fermentor, i made some nice early brews this way


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## Ducatiboy stu (15/5/14)

1. It is ok to do a short boil of the tin

2. Hops need to be boiled, not steeped.

3. Hops extraction is much better when boiled in malt liqour ( or your kit )


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## Damn (15/5/14)

I'd just use 1/2 (12.5g) of your hops for starters simmering for 5 minutes as you said. Make notes of the taste and add more or less on next brew. Have a look at the recipe tab on this site and have a look a various recipes to give you an idea of timing of hop additions.


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## Trickymac (15/5/14)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> 1. It is ok to do a short boil of the tin
> 
> 2. Hops need to be boiled, not steeped.
> 
> 3. Hops extraction is much better when boiled in malt liqour ( or your kit )


agree with no3
but
if you buy a "teabag" of already packaged hops they cant be boiled they are steeped...so says my lhbs
and if you dryhop they arent boiled first
not trying to be difficult just saying the guy has options with the hops


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## MattC (15/5/14)

What do you want from the hops? If you want that fresh hops smell, that you get when you open the bag of hops, in your beer, then dry hopping is the way to go. Having not brewed extract for a few years now, it seems like the ingredients you listed will make an ale that is already bitter enough to balance the other ingredients. Simmering for 5 minutes wont add much (if anything noticeable) in the way of bitterness, but simmering will drive off some of the aromas you want. I would be dry hopping the entire 25g in the batch when it is about 3/4 way through primary fermentation.

By adding it later, you wont lose as many aromas that will escape along with CO2 produced by the yeast. If dry hopping, I would do it in a bag and leave it in the fermenter when you bottle or transfer to keg. It would be best to weigh it down with some heavy sanitised chunks of stainless steel if you have them or perhaps marbles or something similar. When I dry hop, I tie a piece if sanitised fishing line to the weighted hop bag and pull the bag up and let it drop back down a few times a day, during the dry hopping phase (about 7 days), this just allows the hop compounds to spread around the beer a bit more.

Are you trying to make your own version of James Squire Chancer (Golden Ale)?

Good luck


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## heshtek (15/5/14)

MattC said:


> What do you want from the hops? If you want that fresh hops smell, that you get when you open the bag of hops, in your beer, then dry hopping is the way to go. Having not brewed extract for a few years now, it seems like the ingredients you listed will make an ale that is already bitter enough to balance the other ingredients. Simmering for 5 minutes wont add much (if anything noticeable) in the way of bitterness, but simmering will drive off some of the aromas you want. I would be dry hopping the entire 25g in the batch when it is about 3/4 way through primary fermentation.
> 
> By adding it later, you wont lose as many aromas that will escape along with CO2 produced by the yeast. If dry hopping, I would do it in a bag and leave it in the fermenter when you bottle or transfer to keg. It would be best to weigh it down with some heavy sanitised chunks of stainless steel if you have them or perhaps marbles or something similar. When I dry hop, I tie a piece if sanitised fishing line to the weighted hop bag and pull the bag up and let it drop back down a few times a day, during the dry hopping phase (about 7 days), this just allows the hop compounds to spread around the beer a bit more.
> 
> ...


Ok then you've talked me into it. The dude in the shop did actually mention that the kits are bitter enough as is and recommended just dry hopping. I think I've read here somewhere you can just throw the hops in the fermenter wrapped in a chux that's tied up to keep it all together. I'm really just experimenting and not trying copy any beer but I've read that those Amarillo hops give a taste / aroma that's similar to little creatures pale ale so that's why I bought them.


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## MattC (15/5/14)

heshtek said:


> Ok then you've talked me into it. The dude in the shop did actually mention that the kits are bitter enough as is and recommended just dry hopping. I think I've read here somewhere you can just throw the hops in the fermenter wrapped in a chux that's tied up to keep it all together. I'm really just experimenting and not trying copy any beer but I've read that those Amarillo hops give a taste / aroma that's similar to little creatures pale ale so that's why I bought them.


Yeah I use Chux wipes that my wife sewed into a bag with some draw cord through it. I get a few uses out of them before I check them out. Amarillo is akin to stone fruit and is the hops used in Golden Ale, thats why I asked the question. Quite a few brewers (myself included) started off in home brew trying to replicate the awesome flavour that the early JS Golden Ale had, until Chuck decided that he would cut back on the hops in a big way. Good luck with your beer mate.

Cheers


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## heshtek (15/5/14)

MattC said:


> What do you want from the hops? If you want that fresh hops smell, that you get when you open the bag of hops, in your beer, then dry hopping is the way to go. Having not brewed extract for a few years now, it seems like the ingredients you listed will make an ale that is already bitter enough to balance the other ingredients. Simmering for 5 minutes wont add much (if anything noticeable) in the way of bitterness, but simmering will drive off some of the aromas you want. I would be dry hopping the entire 25g in the batch when it is about 3/4 way through primary fermentation.
> 
> By adding it later, you wont lose as many aromas that will escape along with CO2 produced by the yeast. If dry hopping, I would do it in a bag and leave it in the fermenter when you bottle or transfer to keg. It would be best to weigh it down with some heavy sanitised chunks of stainless steel if you have them or perhaps marbles or something similar. When I dry hop, I tie a piece if sanitised fishing line to the weighted hop bag and pull the bag up and let it drop back down a few times a day, during the dry hopping phase (about 7 days), this just allows the hop compounds to spread around the beer a bit more.
> 
> ...


Sorry one more thing. I usually have my brews in the fermenter for 2 weeks. Does this mean I would throw the hops in around day 10?


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## rehab (15/5/14)

I would keep them in longer than 2 weeks personally. You can throw them in at day 10 though.


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## slcmorro (15/5/14)

Is 'as much as possible' an ok answer?


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## Florian (15/5/14)

slcmorro said:


> Is 'as much as possible' an ok answer?


yes and no.


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## CrookedFingers (15/5/14)

If it were me, I'd throw half in @ 5 mins left of boil and the other half @ 10-11 days dude.

Should be nice anywhoo. Amarillo is great.

CF


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## yum beer (15/5/14)

Boil 2 litres of water with 200gm of your LDM, add half your hops for 5 miutes, then use this as your boiling water to add your other ingredients to. Just throw it all in, no need to strain.
Add the remaining hops to the fermenter 5 days into the ferment and leave them till you bottle.
This way you will get some extra hop flavour and a nice hit of aroma.

Reality is for a good aroma you need 20 - 40 gms of hops.
Start a bit lower and work up from there to find your preffered levels.


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