Adding hops to beer kits

[justo102]

Hey guys new to home brewing, missus bought me a coopers kit for Christmas and after a few brews I want to experiment with adding flavours to the kits so my question is how to you add hops to my kits and what are some different methods

 

[Kiwimike]

Welcome aboard mate prepare yourself for years of experimenting and great beer. There are a number of ways, I use a simple method and steep 2g per litre for at least 10 minutes while mixing the rest of the brew then add. You can also dry hop - usually about 1g per litre - which is adding the hops to the fermenter either at the start or during the fermentation process. Also you can boil a bit of the goo and water for varying lengths of time and adding hops at various times to achieve flavours and aromas.

enjoy!

 

[justo102]

Thanks for commenting might try the steeping method first

 

[menoetes]

Hi Just0102, and welcome.

Steeping is a fine method though you tend to use a little more hops and if you're just steeping in hot water you may get the harsher and grassy flavors of the hops coming through. Having said that it's a fine place to start your entry into brewing.

The more popular alternative is boiling them in a simple wort. The wort is typically made from dry malt dissolved in boiling water at a ratio of 100g of dry malt per 1lt of water. This method utilizes your hop oils most effectively which means your getting the most flavor and aroma out of them with the added bonus off adding that wort to your beer giving it extra malt flavor and body to it.

This may sound complicated but it really isn't. Just throw 5 litres of water in a pot and bring it to the boil, add 500g of your malt to it, stir and bring it to the boil for 5 minutes. throw in about 30g of your favorite hop (choice of hops depends on your style beer brewing) and boil for ten more minutes. Once it's finished take it off the heat (I add another 20g of hops here too for an extra flavor hit), dissolve in your tin of goop and any extras (ie sugar, malt, brew enhancers etc) then into your fermenter hops and all. Top up to your desired volume with cold water and pitch yeast when the temp comes down your desired temperature and you are done. Easy as pie, easier actually; do you know how much work goes into cooking a pie?!

Probably the hardest thing here is getting your malt, but I assume you can probably get it the same place as you get your hops. Otherwise I know my Big W carries coopers light dry malt or in the worst case scenario Woolworths has a petty clean liquid rice malt in the macro foods aisle. I might cop some heat for suggesting that last option, but I reckon it's still a better option than plain ol' dextrose.

I hope this has been helpful and not just confusing...

 

[heshtek]

I'm glad somebody started this forum thread as I was going to ask the same thing myself as I want to throw some hops into the next brew I make. I would be leaning towards the dry hopping method as it seems the most simple and a good starting point for using hops. Can you just throw the hops in with the rest of the brew at the start or do you really need one of those muslin bags?

 

[justo102]

Thanks mate very informative I'll give that a go. Do I just boil the hops with the malt for longer to get more bitterness

 

[Three Sheets]

If your looking to start off as simple as possible then steeping it in a coffee plunger makes for a clean easy intro to playing with hops. I'd steer clear of the hop tea bags though and grab a packet of pellets and throw in 20 to 25 grams. Steep for 10 or 15 mins then tip it into the fermenter.

If you like the results then you will be experimenting with hops for years.

 

[menoetes]

Three Sheets is right, hot water in a coffee plunger is an easy place to start your experimenting with hops. If you are just wanting to get a feel for them, you can't go wrong with that simple method.

Heshtek: Dry hopping won't give you too much flavor but it will give your beer a nice hoppy nose. You can throw the hops right into the brew (usually on day 6 or 7 of fermentation) without using the hop sock, though this means you might get a little hop material in your beer. It doesn't worry me to much but then, I give mine at least a week to settle after adding them. I have heard of people using a pantyhose or a new unused chux cloth (both having been soaked in sanitizer first) to wrap up hops before adding them to the brew. There's n reason it shouldn't work if your quantities aren't too big eg >25g.

Justo102: Yeah the longer you boil hops the more bitterness you will add to your beer. Hops should all have an alpha acid percentage somewhere on the packaging, it'll look something like 'Cascade Hops AA 6.8%' . The higher the Alpha Acids (AA) the more bitterness the hops will impart as you boil them. Also the longer you boil them the more bitterness they'll release. As a general rule, Boiling for 45+ minutes adds bitterness, boiling for around 15 - 20 minutes will impart flavor, 0 - 5 minutes will give aroma (as will dry hopping).

Someone posted this graph on AHB a while ago (I'm sorry but I can't remember who originally posted it to give them credit) that gives you an idea of when to add hops to your boil to give you whatever effect you desire. The best beers have a good balance of all three but remember if you are using a kit (can of goop) they are already pre-bittered.

 

[Rosscomatic]

I'm glad somebody started this forum thread as I was going to ask the same thing myself as I want to throw some hops into the next brew I make. I would be leaning towards the dry hopping method as it seems the most simple and a good starting point for using hops. Can you just throw the hops in with the rest of the brew at the start or do you really need one of those muslin bags?

For dry hopping, I've heard that if you throw it in at the start of fermentation then a lot of the flavours and aromas are carried away by the fermentation process. It's best to dry hop once the most ferocious fermentation is done. So chuck the hops in around day 6ish...

 

[gsouth82]

When I was starting to play with hops, I made the Fruit Salad recipe on the coopers site which uses the steeping method.
Its very easy and makes a for a very nice (and easy) beer.
http://coopers.com.au/#/diy-beer/beer-recipes/ale/detail/fruit-salad-ale/

 

[clarkinbunnos]

i put 6 ounces of Hallertau in a muslin bag) (i grew myself) into the pot of Coopers Canadian Blonde and No2 coopers enhance box, boiled it all for 5 minutes and let sit for 10 minutes, then chucked the whole lot into the fermenter (hops in muslin bag) next day added the yeast and let it ferment. i took out the hops bag after 4 days and let the fermentation finish. bottled it 5 days later.
the result was really amazing. clear crisp beer, with a wonderful citrus taste and aroma. good head, good after feel on the palate to. not bitter at all. first time i have used hops (especially rewarding after growing them for the first time and being the first crop too).
i have some POR to use too so will try them in with the Canadian.

 

[andy081969]

I hop my kit beers extensively and through trial and tribulation have settled on what IMHO is the best for results,
get a 19-20l stock pot, fill with 3-5 litres of water, add 1/2 your kit malt and all dry ingredients to the mix, bring to the boil and add your hops,
now I usually do 3-4 hop additions at 10 mins apart with the last hop addition for 5 mins then off the heat for 10 mins
then on day 4 of the ferment I dry hop
my current brew is
coopers pale ale
30gm cascade @25
25gm cascade @ 15
25gm cascade @ 5
coopers brew converter #2
coopers brewing sugar
SaFale yeast US-05
dry hopped with 25g cascade on day 4

cannot wait to keg this one

 

[menoetes]

Looks good Happy Kegger, coopers pale with some decent cascade additions does make a damn fine brew. Though try replacing that Cooper Brew converter 2 (same as brew enhancer?) with a kilo of Light Malt and I think you might like it even more...

 

[peterlonz]

i put 6 ounces of Hallertau in a muslin bag) (i grew myself) into the pot of Coopers Canadian Blonde and No2 coopers enhance box, boiled it all for 5 minutes and let sit for 10 minutes, then chucked the whole lot into the fermenter (hops in muslin bag) next day added the yeast and let it ferment. i took out the hops bag after 4 days and let the fermentation finish. bottled it 5 days later.
the result was really amazing. clear crisp beer, with a wonderful citrus taste and aroma. good head, good after feel on the palate to. not bitter at all. first time i have used hops (especially rewarding after growing them for the first time and being the first crop too).
i have some POR to use too so will try them in with the Canadian.

What is an ounce, for Gods sake stick to metric measures; Australia converted in 1972 !!

 

[peterlonz]

I hop my kit beers extensively and through trial and tribulation have settled on what IMHO is the best for results,
get a 19-20l stock pot, fill with 3-5 litres of water, add 1/2 your kit malt and all dry ingredients to the mix, bring to the boil and add your hops,
now I usually do 3-4 hop additions at 10 mins apart with the last hop addition for 5 mins then off the heat for 10 mins
then on day 4 of the ferment I dry hop
my current brew is
coopers pale ale
30gm cascade @25
25gm cascade @ 15
25gm cascade @ 5
coopers brew converter #2
coopers brewing sugar
SaFale yeast US-05
dry hopped with 25g cascade on day 4

cannot wait to keg this one

That's a large amount of hops (70 grams)for what I presume will be a 20 litre batch?

 

[Let's Brew Beer]

Not really, i chucked in 50g of Motueka and 30g Hallertau into a 20L batch a cuppla months ago and it tasted fine. But i'm a bona fide hop-head from way back.

 

[Paddy Melon]

Hi Guys, great thread. I'm a newbie on here and been brewing kits for the last 12 months. I must admit I'm really pleased with the results so far and am trying to drink faster so I can brew more. I have now reached the point where I would like to make some of my brews a little more bitter but I am not a lover of hoppy beer, however reading this thread suggests to me that I can achieve more bitterness to my beer without increasing the hoppy flavour. Is that correct. If so what whould I do to a Canadian blond......beer kit?

 

[Brettmo]

I'm new to brewing.
So far I've done a mangrive jack's blonde lager and a coopers pale ale.
My next brew will be the Coopers fruit salad ale which is an easy intro into hopping:

https://uk.diybeer.com/recipes/index/view/id/35/