Boiling Hops From A Kit

[Mr.Moonshine]

Evening gents,

I was thinking earlier today that I might like to have a bit of experimentation with ageing beers, and so I figured I'd take inspiration from some people I read about in beer and brewer magazine (The millenium ale project), and make and ale my stepdad and myself could drink once a year for 10 years. I figured a scotch ale would be the go seeing as it's more malty, alcoholic and suited to ageing, however I'm currently only brewing partials. Is it possible to boil off the hop flavour AND bitterness from a kit (E.g; coopers lager), or am I better off buying extract or maybe going for my first all grain? I was thinking maybe it was better to avoid the first AG option, seeing as I've got no experience in full AG, but I suppose there may be time before I wanted to start the project to give it a go (wanting to run it from 2010-2020). Is there anyone apart from the millenium ale blokes who's given this a go?

Cheers in advance,

Mr. Moonshine

 

[seemax]

spending $11 on a coopers kit can to then boil it to buggery doesn't make sense

for the same amount you can get 1.5kg cans of unhopped extract (light,amber,dark,wheat)

as for the 10 year goal... good luck... personally i wouldn't drink 10 yr beer, then again there is no chance of it lasting that long with me

back to my English Mild now...

 

[PostModern]

Where do you see yourself being with this hobby in 10 years time? Will you be happy sipping on an extract beer in 2019?

 

[Punkal]

I have read about people doing this, they sugested a high alc, lots of hops and keeping the contact to air to a minimum.
because its a special batch waxing the lids will add to that and help with keeping out the air.
i dont know about boiling off the hop flavours in the kits but i boiled my second kit and it did not turn our that good imo.
i did a biab for my 3ed brew and it was easy it takes longer than a kit but the time lets you get everything ready and you have time to search this grate forum and read about people making the same mistake you just made but there beer turning out grate anyway so if you have the time i think you should do a ag even if its just a biab and you could probably even get a few brews in before you get to the 10 year brew.

 

[Mr.Moonshine]

I've not seen where to get unhopped extract for $11, it's at least $15 at my brewshop (brewcraft) since last I checked. My angle is also that I've got a whole bunch of coopers cans already, so if I can get most of the hoppiness out of them I might be able to use them... but maybe that's just wishful thinking. Given that it's supposed to last 10 years it's probably smarter to just get the morgans from the LHBS, even though it's more expensive than what I usually use
In terms of going AG I don't actually have large enough gear to put the whole 20 litre brew together, and fitting a pot that size on the stove top would also most likely cause serious problems >< with the time availible I'm going to investigate, but the boiling off of the hops seemed like a pretty simple solution to my problem

 

[Punkal]

sorry i thought you were doing full boils already. yes boiling 25 L on a stove top will take a long time if it ever boils. if you have the cans use them, you could try steeping grains if you dont already they will make a difference.

 

[Mr.Moonshine]

I'm not doing full boils, but I'm not doing only extract either. My problem is that I don't have a 25-30l boiler to do an AG mash and cope with the extended boil times required for such a strong ale. The plan was to make up a partial mash for all the more complex flavours, which I could also use to get some english hop flavours in (was planning on EKG and fuggles, 25g each for 60min), and then use the kits as a base to get the alcohol content and general body for the beer. I like the coopers kits (cost Vs flavour I think they're the best value), but I didn't want the PoR bitterness and flavour to dominate a lightly hopped style such as a strong scotch ale. I was considering switching to making an english barley wine, as the higher level of bitterness is more to style, but a strong scotch ale looks more attractive IMO.

 

[svyturys]

The guys you are referring to are to be found at http://homebrewandbeer.com/millenniumale.html
They have their complete recipe there.
cheers

 

[manticle]

I'd save the tins for brews now. If you want to brew something special that you can enjoy 10 years from now maybe try and enlist the help of an experienced AG brewer nearby. I'm sure you can work out a deal.

You can make great kit, extract and partial mash beers but if you're going to make the effort to wait that long to drink it then why not make it as special as you can?

I say that as a partial mash brewer too.