Hops In K And K

[robbo5253]

Hey all,
relatively new to brewing, but loving every minute of it.
Have decided to start getting a little experimental and start making some better beer.
I dont want to go to all grain, trying to keep it reasonably simple but am keen to try new things.

Added hop pellets to primary on my current view after talking to a mate who did it, after reading around I am not sure if I have done the right thing or not.
The brew has taken off and is bubbling away well

My questions are:

1. Is it safe to add hops like this ( are they sanitary) I added them in with the kettle of water and the Brew enhancer before adding the syrup.

2. What are my other options? ie adding to secondary (dry hopping) or boiling them?

3. Will I have to rack to secondary to get rid of all the bits of Hop floating in my brew or can I keg straight away.

4. What are some other steps I can take to improving my brewing, ie culturing yeast?

Thanks in adnace, this site is fantastic and has taught me heaps

Cheers and Beers

Robbo

 

[brettprevans]

Hey all,
relatively new to brewing, but loving every minute of it.
Have decided to start getting a little experimental and start making some better beer.
I dont want to go to all grain, trying to keep it reasonably simple but am keen to try new things.

Added hop pellets to primary on my current view after talking to a mate who did it, after reading around I am not sure if I have done the right thing or not.
The brew has taken off and is bubbling away well

My questions are:

1. Is it safe to add hops like this ( are they sanitary) I added them in with the kettle of water and the Brew enhancer before adding the syrup.

2. What are my other options? ie adding to secondary (dry hopping) or boiling them?

3. Will I have to rack to secondary to get rid of all the bits of Hop floating in my brew or can I keg straight away.

4. What are some other steps I can take to improving my brewing, ie culturing yeast?

Thanks in adnace, this site is fantastic and has taught me heaps

Cheers and Beers

Robbo

Read the threads where recipes are discussed. There is heaps of info on differant methods of using hops. Try searching for 'dry hops', 'tea bag or teabaging'. When you boil up hops you can either strain to get of particles or when you rack you will get rid of most of it as it should compact down into the yeast cake.

Theres again plenty of info on yeast culturing. have a look in the Wiki and Common Ground

 

[robbo5253]

Cheers for the reply, will rack this one off and see how it goes.

Cheers and Beers

Robbo

 

[drsmurto]

Hey all,
relatively new to brewing, but loving every minute of it.
Have decided to start getting a little experimental and start making some better beer.
I dont want to go to all grain, trying to keep it reasonably simple but am keen to try new things.

Hehe. I said that 6 months ago, too much effort, cost too much.......

Its funny how this hobby sneaks up on you, first you are boiling up hops, dryhopping, racking to secondary, better yeasts, then you start steeping grain, partial mashes not far after and WTF - how did i end up here?
EDIT - havent done an AG yet but its just around the corner..... HLT and kettle sourced, mash tun soon.

If i am motivated i put my hops in small pieces of pantyhose, tied up at both ends so i dont end up with any crap in the primary but found when racking it stays behind if i dont use them. Dry hopping is a must if you want that hop aroma when you crack the bottle. :beerbang:

Cheers
DrSmurto

 

[robbo5253]

Am sure that is the way that I will probably head down the track (dont tell the missus), but for now just looking for a few tips to make some better beer!!!

Cheers and Beers

Daniel

 

[RobboMC]

Somewhere in these threads is a recent post about procedure for full-on kit making, with boiled hops, steeping grain and so on. Get yourself a copy, get a small pot, a can of extract and start boiling!

It' possible to start a boil, do all the kit and kilo stuff while it's boiling, and add strain in the resulting liquid as you top up the fermenter and so not really add much time to your brew, but add's an awful lot of quality.

 

[simpletotoro]

Hey all,
relatively new to brewing, but loving every minute of it.
Have decided to start getting a little experimental and start making some better beer.
I dont want to go to all grain, trying to keep it reasonably simple but am keen to try new things.

Added hop pellets to primary on my current view after talking to a mate who did it, after reading around I am not sure if I have done the right thing or not.
The brew has taken off and is bubbling away well

My questions are:

1. Is it safe to add hops like this ( are they sanitary) I added them in with the kettle of water and the Brew enhancer before adding the syrup.

2. What are my other options? ie adding to secondary (dry hopping) or boiling them?

3. Will I have to rack to secondary to get rid of all the bits of Hop floating in my brew or can I keg straight away.

4. What are some other steps I can take to improving my brewing, ie culturing yeast?

Thanks in adnace, this site is fantastic and has taught me heaps

Cheers and Beers

Robbo

hi welcome...
below is a list of great and useful links...heaps of reading but good stuff

this one general brewing info ...from basic to advanced...
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

ahb link to many useful links
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/Freq...pics-t1151.html

then theres these...
first i'll start with brewing temperature...ales maintain fermentation around 18-20/c...this is really important otherwise ...the yeast will ferment the wort differently (i don't know why?) and produce fucels (apparently higher order alchol ...which will affect taste (i think) and give you hangovers...

click link below for info on 100 can coolers and the like (temp control..)...
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=13615

secondly heres a thread about 2nd-ary fermention....
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=13883

and some others others...
another one on secondary fermentation...
http://www.allaboutbeer.com/homebrew/secondar.html

one on racking (the transfer of your fermented /or almost fermented beer to another vessel...)
http://www.grumpys.com.au/m1.php3?manualid=14

and another on bulk priming...
http://oz.craftbrewer.org/Library/Methods/...mpleGuide.shtml

and yet another on bulk priming ( i think this ones better)...
http://www.grumpys.com.au/m1.php3?manualid=13

i personally only rack (drain off fermented beer into another empty fermenter to bulk prime...which is only done to save the hassel of spooning sugar into each and every bottle...its not really very difficult...i recommend you try it sometime and it save heaps of hassle...just do it so as not to allow to much air(read O2 to get into your soon to be beer as this will cause oxidation...)

below is a link to a page with some common off flavours...(maybe this will help)
http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

try this link for some good info...
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=14384

*****HOPS INFO*****

note: you can buy hops in three ways that i know of (1) flowers (2) pellets (3)teabags (which seem to be pellets in a teabag)

(1)flowers and (2) pellets are added to an extract which is usually boiled ...an extract is unhopped wort it comes in a tin or container and is used instead of (and sometimes in addition to) your fermentable sugars
... i.e. dextrose, dried malts, etc ........if you read the link below on adding hops ...it will explain it much better i'm sure.

(3)teabag....these are just added for aroma by placing the whole bag in your fermenter (i do it just before i add the yeast)...or you can as others have already said steep the bag in a couple of hundred mls of boiling water and tip both the water and bag in for extra flavour and some aroma .(again just before you add the yeast)

this link for other info on adding hops

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-1.html

also maybe read this... its how i first got taught it (if you can be bothered read the whole topic as the info will probably only make sense if you do ...the stuff you want to know is in pint of lagers posts

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=13548

(LDM stands for light dried malt... its a fermentable sugar you buy from home brew shops) .....if your using an extract instead of light dried malt ....i just add 2-3 litres of water to a large pot and bring it to a rolling boil then add the tinned extract and use whatever hop schedule i've choosen....so when someone writes this for example...

EXAMPLE
Hop schedule:
8g willamette boiled in extract @10 mins
8g Hallertau boiled in extract @10 mins

4g willamette boiled in extract @flameout
4g willamette boiled in extract @flameout

i add 8g willamette and 8g Hallertau to my simmering extract for 10 minutes (this was to add flavour) then when i turn of the gas i add 4g willamette and 4g willamette and (this was to add aroma)

PLEASE NOTE THAT IN THE ABOVE EXAMPLES THE EXTRACT OR LDM IS ONLY USED AS FERMENTABLE SUGARS AND THE HOP ADDITIONS FOR FLAVOUR AND AROMA ...NOT FOR BITTERING (for bittering you need to boil longer though if you read john palmer link it will explain more clearly i am sure)... YOU THEN JUST ADD THE BOILED EXTRACT OR BOILED LDM TO THE KIT AS YOU WOULD YOUR DEXTROSE OR DRIED MALT (AS WELL AS ANY OTHER FERMENTABLE SUGARS YOU'VE CHOOSEN TO USE)...

also this link may explain more on hopping
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=14069

***also you might find this hops guide useful ...i do ...thank a bloke called bconnery for it ....*** (this attachment is fantastic for new brewers like us...)

View attachment hopsguide.xls


also some other info links.....


you may want to read this stuff as well on yeast starters
http://www.grumpys.com.au/m1.php3?manualid=9
http://www.grumpys.com.au/m1.php3?manualid=11



maybe this stuff will help...i realise theres a lot of info here,<even stuff you didn't ask for....okay most of it you didn't ask for....> ...still take what you want from it and use it and keep the rest for future reference

cheers good luck...simpletotoro

 

[bconnery]

Somewhere in these threads is a recent post about procedure for full-on kit making, with boiled hops, steeping grain and so on. Get yourself a copy, get a small pot, a can of extract and start boiling!

It' possible to start a boil, do all the kit and kilo stuff while it's boiling, and add strain in the resulting liquid as you top up the fermenter and so not really add much time to your brew, but add's an awful lot of quality.

This is the post he's talking about...



http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=14384

 

[Brooksy]

Here's another link.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...c=14793&hl=


I've started on the hopping pathway myself.

I use Coopers Lager (Original) as my base kit and boil the wort for 45 mins.

Last kit hopping skeds were:
"Cascade Lager" **
Coopers Lager Kit
1kg Dextrose
Wort Boiled 45 mins
45 - 10gms Super Alpha (11%) 10
20 - 15 gms Cascade (5.5%) 4
05 - 15gms Cascade (5.5%) 2

**Doesn't taste anything like the Commercial Cascade, named after the hops....

"Super Alpha Lager"
Coopers Lager Kit
1kg Dextrose
Wort boiled 30mins.
Hop schedule:
30 minutes 12gms Super Alpha 11
15 minutes 10gms Super Alpha 6
5 minutes 10gms Super Alpha 2

They are a real improvement on the (imo) bland Coopers Lager. And also probably into the Pale Ale area as well.

I still have untried Super Pride (14%) and Saaz (5.5%) hops to try, and they will be done over the next 2 weeks. Hopping skeds will be similar to those above, but boiling times will be 45 mins.

The Cascade hops result in a fruity passionfruit flavour and the Super Alpha, although not being a stunner, gives a down to earth honest flavour.

Remembering that these 2 recipes are for a single can, so I am also going to try a full malt (toucan) recipe using 2 Homebrand kits, boiled and hooped separately then combined in the carboy.

Brew a standard kit first so you have a standard result for comparison purposes.

Hopefully I've attached the Hops spreadsheat I use for calculating the bitterness of the added hops. The original copy is available somewhere on this site, I just added a couple of things. No cells are protected, so please becareful when entering data.View attachment HopSpecs.xls

 

[robbo5253]

Hey all,
thanks for all the replys, am on my second Hopped brew at this stage.
First one was a Cerveza with Hops added in hot water into the fermenter.
This fermented away for 2 weeks before being kegged and now has a very fruity smell. Dont know if its an infection or just what the Hops have done to it.

Second is a Little Creatures Clone:
Thomas Coopers Traditional Draught, 1.5Kg Coopers Wheat Malt and 300g of dextrose. Added 24g of Cascade Hops to Boiling water in a cup and then into the fermenter. Put this down yesterday and was already a krausen forming this morning and movement in the airlock.

Next step is to buy a pot and start boiling away.

Again cheers for all the info, its making my brewing come along a lot faster than intended

Cheers and Beers

Robbo

 

[robbo5253]

Dont know if it is my uneducated beer nose or my brewing... but further to my fruity smelling Mexican, I have just transfered my LCPA to secondary and that also has a fruity smell to it...
My question is, is this the Hop Aroma or is this an infection?
I have sanitised properly between uses and dont think this is the problem...

Any hints would be fantastic

Cheers and Beers

Robbo

 

[Mr Bond]

hopped up extract brews with ale yeasts always smell fruity when green.Bottle and leave for 6 weeks.
You will never achieve that clean dry commercial finish with extracts.Learn to enjoy the extra body or go AG!

 

[robbo5253]

Will boiling the hops reduce this?
The reason I ask is that I only Keg 90% of the time due to short bottle supply, and only have 2 kegs so my beer doesnt get a great time to mature

Cheers

Robbo

 

[Brooksy]

Will boiling the hops reduce this?
The reason I ask is that I only Keg 90% of the time due to short bottle supply, and only have 2 kegs so my beer doesn't get a great time to mature

Cheers

Robbo

Doing your hops as you have, I believe would've given you the aroma. Did you SG when transferring to secondary? Taste your sample and that will prove/disprove infection.
Personally, I'd bank on no infection, because the Cascade have a very nice flavour and aroma.
If you don't want to boil the entire can, after you poured the contents into your fermenter, rinse out the can and add this rinse compound to a suitable pot. Bring to the boil and carefully add half your hops and boil for about 10 mins. Switch off the heat and add the other half and allow to cool and settle before adding the liquid to the fermenter. Putting the boiling container into a sink full of cold water will assist in cooling.

Personally, I like to boil the kit hops out of the liquid and add back my own hops or toucanning, but there are many threads on these subjects.
:beer:

 

[Brewer_010]

You will never achieve that clean dry commercial finish with extracts.Learn to enjoy the extra body or go AG!

I would disagree with this in part. I've brewed quite a few unhopped extract beers with large amouts of grain and, if the recipe is planned carefully, I think a 'clean tasting' beer is achievable. You just need to use the right ingredients and pick the freshest extract possible. But you mostly need to make the right kind of beer - I probably would never do an extract pilsner for instance.

But in the majority of cases, your right, probably all kits have that 'claggy' mouthfeel .

 

[Brooksy]

I would disagree with this in part. ................
But in the majority of cases, your right, probably all kits have that 'claggy' mouthfeel .

Geeze, be careful jumping the fence Brewer, it's high enough to cause injury........ :lol:

A little bit of nutrient can do wonders mate.
Qtr teaspoon per can if using a good yeast.
Half a tspn per can if using kit yeast.

 

[Brewer_010]

Geeze, be careful jumping the fence Brewer, it's high enough to cause injury........ :lol:

A little bit of nutrient can do wonders mate.
Qtr teaspoon per can if using a good yeast.
Half a tspn per can if using kit yeast.

splinters are the bane of my existence.....as I often see both sides to an issue. Its all in the training
But seriously, good beers can be brewed by any method IMO, u just need thought and good ingredients.
And I agree with your enzyme theory - although careful addition of certain grain/adjunts plus a good yeast can do a similar job.