Hops - What Do I Do With 'em

[Strange Dog]

I'm onto my 4th brew so seeing as I am an expert now I have decided to get all fancy and bought myself some hops. Problem is I don't know how to use them. The instructions I got from the home brew shop talk about boiling something but I dont boil anything, I just use the can of goo and mix it up to the right temperature then drop the yeast in.

I will be making a coopers ale tomorrow. What do I do with the "Galaxy" hops? The ale is the usual can plus box of brew enhancer 2 and the hops are pellet looking things that are kept in the freezer.

 

[kelbygreen]

you boil them with unhopped malt extract. 100g per 1lt of water a 4lt boil with 400g of malt will do. I wouldnt use a brew enhancer but rather mix your own malt and sugars. But I guess you could sub the malt in the boil with the enhancer not sure if that would throw the whole thing out or not. It depends hop much hops you want and what you want to make as to what to do with them.

 

[Effect]

Eat them

But honestly...if you do a mini boil with some spec grains, chuck a pinch in at 10 mins...then once fermentation stops on the whole batch chuck in 2 g/l of hops dry for a few days...then bottle as normal...

You'll then be brewing 10 min IPAs within 6 months.

Cheers

 

[Pennywise]

What Coopers kit is it? The Pale Ale?

Take half the be2 and bring it to the boil in 5L water, add 15g of the hop pellets and boil for 15 mins, add another 15g (after that 15 mins) and turn the flame out. Continue as usual, if you like it hoppy, dry hop with another 15g.
Galaxy is a good hit so you may find you need less, I would use more, but 30g IMO is a good starting point for a 23L batch

 

[manticle]

Hops add bitterness when boiled for a long time.
They add flavour when boiled for a shorter time. They add aroma when boiled for a shorter time still or just added to the brew during or after fermentation.

Best boiled in liquid with some sugar or malt to a gravity of about 1030-1050. Too high means less utilisation (bitterness etc), too low may result in harsh tastes. To give you an idea of time as a rough guide - most AG recipes will suggest bittering hops boiled for 60 minutes, flavour between 10 and 20 minutes and aroma between 5 minutes and just added when the heat is switched off after boiling.

There is crossover in all of these fields - bittering hops can still add flavour as will aroma hops, flavouring hops will add both.

Now that you know that, take Pennywise's advice for your brew tomorrow but reserve maybe 1/3 and add them to the fermenter a day or so before you intend to bottle (which is what he means by dry hop).

Then research hops and hop characteristics as much as you can (including extract, partial and grain/mash brewing)

 

[Rizzla]

Hi I generally don't use the coopers or other pre hopped cans, just liquid and dry malt with some crystal and maybe a little dex. However if I am in a hurry I will and add some hops. Made a coopers Aust Pale that turned out very nicely. I cold poured the goo into the fermenter and rined the tin out with about 1litre of hot water into a sauce pan once it boiled I added 10g Amarillo and 10 g Citra and boiled for 5 min 1 min before the end (ie four minutes later) I added 6 g Galaxy. Like I said turned out very nice, you could use something around these weights and time with your hops that should give you an idea of the fun and flavour you can get from hops. The idea of malt in the boil is to get the SG about right for isomerization

PS just pour the lot into the fermenter don't worry about a strainer and the small amount of hot water shouldn't affect the temp too much to pitch the yeast

 

[Strange Dog]

Yes it is the Australian Pale Ale that I am making. Its one of the beers that I buy most commonly from the bottle shop, though I am not really expecting it to come out the same. I am just looking for more interesting flavours than my current brews are providing though I am still quite happy with what I have made so far (I happen to be polishing off a few bottles of my homebrewed coopers lager as I type, gotta get some empty bottles ready ).

My main goal with the hops is to add a more complex flavour to the beer, I am not too concerned about bitterness and aromoa is the least of my concerns. I also like to add a little more complexity to each successive brew.

The home brew shop said to boil between 200g and 250g of the hops, but based on these replies that sounds like it is way too much ?

Bearing in mind that I am trying to keep it simple, I am thinking : boil 5L of water with 500g of BE2 and 15g of hops for 15 mins, then add another 15g and let it cool slightly, then poor the hops+water+BE2 into the fermenter, add tin of goo and the rest of BE2, make up to 23L at 20 degrees and add yeast. Sound OK ?

 

[Pennywise]

I would be chilling the pot down in a sink of cold water, even the small boils I do with grain liquor and hops for my kit beers tends to give me about 26-28c once in the fermenter (21-23L),in this wether anyway (that's with out chilling). In winter it's a different story but I would suggest chilling for 20 mins and changing the water over 2-3 times, the first bit of chilling will make the water outside the pot hot pretty quickly, the lesser the difference between the two mediums the longer it'll take so if you change the chilling water every ten mins you'll get it down pretty quickly. You really only need to drop, say, 5L boiling wort, down to 60c for a 20L batch, the cold water from the tap going in to the fermenter will do the rest for you

 

[Strange Dog]

Okey dokes, so I will follow my plan and make sure I chill the hops+water down before adding to fermenter. Thanks for the tips everyone.

 

[pyrosx]

The home brew shop said to boil between 200g and 250g of the hops, but based on these replies that sounds like it is way too much ?

Get a new homebrew shop.

 

[bignath]

The home brew shop said to boil between 200g and 250g of the hops, but based on these replies that sounds like it is way too much ?

Nope, that amount is perfectly fine...............if you're brewing 23 pallets

 

[Wimmig]

The home brew shop said to boil between 200g and 250g of the hops, but based on these replies that sounds like it is way too much ?

Not 20g or 25g? Which shop? Maybe they have been on the 1000IBU's from m/k.

 

[BjornJ]

or maybe the LHBS meant to boil 200-250 grams of BE2 in some water, then add the hops to this?

 

[Strange Dog]

Ahhh, no it ended up being my mistake. The entire pack is only 100g and I recall him saying it would be enough for 4 or 5 brews. I dont know where the 250g figure came from, just a figment of my lager-addled state I guess. Thats what you get when you drink-and-type.

 

[climbatize]

With my first batch of APA and BE2 I used 25 gms of Amarillo hops and was so glad that I did. As far as the commercial product goes, my home brew Pale Ale is not as bitter, a little lighter in carbonation and much more fruity. As someone else said, 30gms for a 23l batch sounds like a good start.

As for boiling the hops, i'm definitely going to use pantyhose with my next (3rd) brew. With the first brew, I cracked one bottle and found there was a shitload of hop sediment/trub when poured into a glass. I guess I disturbed the fermenter a little whilst I was getting to the end of bottling. I was at Bunnings yesterday asking about a paint straining bag but they didn't have any, so it looks like i'm gonna grab a sixxer of knee-highs. I'm glad my Coles store has just opened a self checkout.

 

[Strange Dog]

I got my brew done today and used the hops, and have some more questions.

- When I was boiling the hops (for 15 minutes) a lot of the "scum" ended up around the brim of the saucepan, which I scraped back into the water. Was this a good idea or not?

- Do I need to be concerned about introducing an infection from the boiled water+hops? I cooled the hops/water down for 30 minutes (by sitting the saucepan in cold water with the lid on) before adding it all to the fermenter (it was the first thing I added, followed by the rest of the BE2 and the can of goo). The hops + water was still warm enough that the remaining 19 litres of water was all cold to arrive at a final temperature of 24 degrees (total fermenter volume = 23L).

- If I do need to be concerned about infection, how do I reduce the risk in future brews?

- I added half the BE2 to the hops and water as suggested by someone above. Whats the idea behind that?

- My specific gravity ended up being 1034, which sounds kind of low. Actually, he highest I have ever had is 1036 which was the last lager I brewed. Why do I keep getting such low OG's ? I follow everything to the letter!!!! I have a brand new hygrometer after replacing the one I got with the starter kit because it was WAY out of whack, and I have tested it with fresh water and it showed 1000.

 

[Rowy]

I got my brew done today and used the hops, and have some more questions.

- When I was boiling the hops (for 15 minutes) a lot of the "scum" ended up around the brim of the saucepan, which I scraped back into the water. Was this a good idea or not?

- Do I need to be concerned about introducing an infection from the boiled water+hops? I cooled the hops/water down for 30 minutes (by sitting the saucepan in cold water with the lid on) before adding it all to the fermenter (it was the first thing I added, followed by the rest of the BE2 and the can of goo). The hops + water was still warm enough that the remaining 19 litres of water was all cold to arrive at a final temperature of 24 degrees (total fermenter volume = 23L).

- If I do need to be concerned about infection, how do I reduce the risk in future brews?

- I added half the BE2 to the hops and water as suggested by someone above. Whats the idea behind that?

- My specific gravity ended up being 1034, which sounds kind of low. Actually, he highest I have ever had is 1036 which was the last lager I brewed. Why do I keep getting such low OG's ? I follow everything to the letter!!!! I have a brand new hygrometer after replacing the one I got with the starter kit because it was WAY out of whack, and I have tested it with fresh water and it showed 1000.

Mate was it 1000 at 20dgs?

 

[kymba]

hope you are not troll

and good choice with galaxy - it is the taste of stone and wood pacific ale (passionfruit!)

I got my brew done today and used the hops, and have some more questions.

- When I was boiling the hops (for 15 minutes) a lot of the "scum" ended up around the brim of the saucepan, which I scraped back into the water. Was this a good idea or not?

no worries, the scum is awesome and full of hoppy goodness. you should have only boiled for 5 -10 minutes for flavour though

- Do I need to be concerned about introducing an infection from the boiled water+hops? I cooled the hops/water down for 30 minutes (by sitting the saucepan in cold water with the lid on) before adding it all to the fermenter (it was the first thing I added, followed by the rest of the BE2 and the can of goo). The hops + water was still warm enough that the remaining 19 litres of water was all cold to arrive at a final temperature of 24 degrees (total fermenter volume = 23L).

- If I do need to be concerned about infection, how do I reduce the risk in future brews?

If you are cautious and sanitary, no. and you needn't have worried about cooling then adding...just tip the hot stuff in the fermenter and dump everything else on top....the 19L of cold water will pull the hop temp down quick smart, and lock in that flavour addition without upping the bitterness

- I added half the BE2 to the hops and water as suggested by someone above. Whats the idea behind that

a crazy homebrew store guy described it to me like this "the chain of molecules in sugar expand when they are heated, allowing the hop bitterness molecules inbetween them. then when you chill the sugar it locks the hops thingies in"...or you could research alpha acids and isomerisation

- My specific gravity ended up being 1034, which sounds kind of low. Actually, he highest I have ever had is 1036 which was the last lager I brewed. Why do I keep getting such low OG's ? I follow everything to the letter!!!! I have a brand new hygrometer after replacing the one I got with the starter kit because it was WAY out of whack, and I have tested it with fresh water and it showed 1000.

sorry, no idea on your low SG...you did add another kilo of fermentables right?

 

[manticle]

If you are measuring the OG/SG at high temperature, it will read lower than it actually is. If your hydrometer is reading correctly (water at 15-20 degrees reads close to 1.000) then check what temp your wort was when reading. If it was hot, the reading would be low.

Likewise if you get a super high reading taken from a tap, you may have extra unimxed malt giving you a false high reading.

 

[Strange Dog]

I added 500g of BE2 to the saucepan that I boiled the hops in, and then I added the remaining 500g into the fermenter, making a total of 1kg of BE2. I figured the 500g I added to the hops+water would still do its thing once it was all added to the fermenter, was I wrong ? If it needs more added, is it too late to do it now ?

My OG problems may be temperature related. My three previous brews have all turned out OK so I guess I will not stress over it.