How Do I Get More Hop Flavour In My Esb 3kg Kit?

[pikerinoz]

First post. About to do third brew.

Have done 2 ESB 3kg kits so far. One Czech Pils and one Bavarian Lager. In both cases the guys at grape and grain suggested I add some extra hops - 40g Saaz for the Pils and 40g Hallertau for the Lager. Both times I just threw them in at the time of mixing the tin contents in with the boiling water.

I'm about to do another 3kg ESB kit - this time English Bitter. I'd like to get a flowery taste like the bitters back home in England.

I'm concerned that by adding the hops to the wort just before going into the fermenter I'm missing out on some valuable flavour and just getting the aroma. So from what I can make out from a few looks at the forum I need to boil the hops for at least 10 mins. If so what do I boil them in??? (the kit says just to add contents to boiling water but nothing about then boiling it for any period of time).

Also any suggestions for fruity/flowery hops appreciated. I'm keen on trying Nelson Sauvin as I love the fruity taste in Knappstein. Would this work in a bitter??

Pils worked ok but not hoppy enough for my taste (5 weeks in the bottle now). Yet to try the Lager - 2 weeks in bottle.

Cheers for any advice you can give me.

Pikerinoz

 

[avaneyk]

Hi Pikerinoz and welcome to the forum.

If your only after and flavour from your hops (ie your happy to keep the bitterness provided by your kit) then you can make a hop 'tea'. Add your hops to boiling water and boil or let steep for 1 to 15 mins. Shorter times give aroma and longer times give flavour.

If you use multiple additions at different times you can get different levels of flavour and aroma in your brew. The extract APAs I was making before I started doing AG used 28g cascade at 10mins and a further 28g at 2mins. I was boiling the hops with malt extract but you don't need to do this - you can just boil or steep the hops in water and then add this water to your kit. You can strain the hops but this isn't essential. If you do strain, either do it while the water is still above 70C or sanitise your strainer.

I haven't used Nelson Sauvin before, so can't comment. My english ales to date have all used EKG and fuggles.

Hope this helps,
Andrew.

 

[rclemmett]

I used 10g of Nelson Sauvin in a Morgans Bitter and it came out very nice. I would boil 100g or so of LDME in about 4L of water with the hops for about 10mins.

I would go easy on the Nelson Sauvin in a bitter... You could easily turn out something tasting like a bad white wine.

 

[Nick JD]

Get 20g of hops and put them in an old stocking or similar and boil a pot of water with a liter in it. Chuck the stocking in for 5 minutes and then pour the whole lot (hops included) into your fermenter.

I never have a fermenter brewing without a hop swag in there.

Try East Kent Goldings.

 

[Bribie G]

Many UK bitters get their 'flowery' taste from dry hopping in the cask. In the UK, several varieties of hops are pressed into 'plugs' which fit nicely through the spile hole in a cask. They look like this:



You can buy them in packs from the sponsors at the top of the page and from many other home brew suppliers, generally they come six to a packet. There are two ways you can use them, put one in a lady's nylon sock and chuck into fermenter after about 3 days of fermentation and let it float around for the duration or: get a large sterile vessel such as a teapot and make 'hop tea' with a plug and boiling water and let it sit for half an hour, then strain it into the fermenter a few days before bottling.

Good varieties for dry hopping are:
East Kent Goldings
Styrian Goldings

Happy brewing

Edit: as Nick said above. Hop pellets work fine as well

 

[Fourstar]

I'm about to do another 3kg ESB kit - this time English Bitter. I'd like to get a flowery taste like the bitters back home in England.

East Kent goldings are the quintessential English hop its a flowery one too! Much like Hallertau (herbal/floral) to the Germans.

EKG and you can't go wrong. Another good hop would be Target for a floral note. Simply do a small boil of a tbsp of dme in around 500ml of water. boil for 5 mins then drop your hops in for 5. dump this into your fermenter along with your tin of goo. If it where me i'd be going a biiig addition of hops.. maybe 50g. but thats just me.

 

[pikerinoz]

Thanks guys. This is helpful advice for a beginner. I had to get down to G&G early so missed most of your advice by the time I was buying my hops.

So I've just put my bitter down.

ESB Bitter 3kg kit
Hop tea
- Small amount of kit in 700ml boiling water
- 5-10g Nelson Sauvin @20mins
- 20g Williamette @10mins
- 20g Williamette @ 0min
Safale S-04 yeast starter pitched at 23 degrees

Original gravity of 1056.

A bit of an experiment so let's see how we go. The challenge now is to keep it at 18c in this cold Melbourne spring weather.

Thanks again

 

[mfdu]

mmmmmm that sounds good. it's a shame G&G are out of the Nottingham yeast - you'll have to try it next time.

but yeah - make a hop tea. you can even make multiples, say one @ 2 mins and one @ 10 mins for coverage of both flava and aroma.

if you pitch the yeast at around 18 degrees and keep the fermenter wrapped in a towelit should stay around 18. remember yeast creates heat (exothermic reaction) which should help to hold off the winter chill.




ps. there will be a bottle of my honey ale coming to ya. only one week in the bottle so far and it's very impressive. no hops, but the honey + belgian yeast gives it a real spicy flavour with georgeous aroma. couple more weeks and she'll be a beaut.

 

[Swinging Beef]

If Nelson Sauvinis your thing, just wait till fermentation is completed and throw in 15-25g of hops for two or three days.
The hops are a bacterial preventative, so no need to sterilise them, and you will get grassy aromatics the likes of James Squire Golden Ale or that great NZ Macs Hoppy Pilsner

 

[pikerinoz]

Holding steady at 18c.

Tried the Bavarian Lager today. Just 2 weeks in bottle but was easy drinking.

I've some leftover NS so might lob some in when fermentation is finished.

 

[Fourstar]

Many UK bitters get their 'flowery' taste from dry hopping in the cask. In the UK, several varieties of hops are pressed into 'plugs' which fit nicely through the spile hole in a cask. They look like this:

You know whats coming to ya bribie.... *Wink Wink*. Better start stocking up on plugs buddy. :icon_cheers:

 

[pikerinoz]

Gents
Day 8 and gravity has stopped dropping at 1020 - it's been there for last 3 days (started 1056). Krausen has dropped. Hydrometer tube much clearer. Temp has been consistent at 20c.; Swirled things about yesterday but no further reduction. I've just stuck it in the shed where the temp will drop it to 10-12 to settle the sediment. 1020 seems a bit high but unless I'm missing something I think that's it for this brew???Planning to bottle in 3-4 days. I don't yet have a secondary fermenter.

Virtually no carbonation evident in the hydrometer tube either. A problem??

 

[DUANNE]

Gents
Day 8 and gravity has stopped dropping at 1020 - it's been there for last 3 days (started 1056). Krausen has dropped. Hydrometer tube much clearer. Temp has been consistent at 20c.; Swirled things about yesterday but no further reduction. I've just stuck it in the shed where the temp will drop it to 10-12 to settle the sediment. 1020 seems a bit high but unless I'm missing something I think that's it for this brew???Planning to bottle in 3-4 days. I don't yet have a secondary fermenter.

Virtually no carbonation evident in the hydrometer tube either. A problem??

that sounds way to high. if you have another fermentor it might pay to rack the beer as this can help jump start a stuck ferment.if not you can give the fementor a bit of a swirl and that may help also. this is one of the reasons i gave up on s04 it can get stuck and not budge sometimes. I had a brew stick on 1016 with it i racked gave it 2 months tried everything known to man and then decided that must be it. ended up being the only bottle bombs ive ever had.

 

[Digger11]

Yeah, 1020 seems a bit high. I had a similar issue with my last (first) brew. I gave it a bit of a swirl at Day7 when it was stick - and it eventually dropped to 1010 on Days 13,14 and 15. So patience might be a virtue. I didn't measure the SG from Day 7 to 13 as I thought I was stressing too much !

Remember that it will do no harm if you leave it in he Fermenter for longer than the 4-7 days that the Kits recommend (up to 6 weeks has been discussed as when it will start to turn bad (but that is a bit long).

Some brewers recommend 14 days at 18 degrees no matter what - so I wouldn't cool it yet. Give it the full 14 days - I think you will fing that the Yeast might still be re-acting - if you cool it now you will definitely stop it.

Just my 2c.

 

[Bribie G]

You know whats coming to ya bribie.... *Wink Wink*. Better start stocking up on plugs buddy. :icon_cheers:

My Vietnamese present arrived Friday, thanks Fourstar. I have 12 plugs of Styrian Goldings arrived from Ross and doing a mega-landlord. :icon_drool2: to take a keg to the QLD case swap next month.

These 'tea balls' are hard to get in Australia but if you can find them they are great for hopping in the keg or in secondary and should last forever if looked after. :icon_cheers:

 

[pikerinoz]

Thanks. It's back out of the shed and warming up to 22c after another good swirling. I'll give it a few more days.....

 

[bum]

These 'tea balls' are hard to get in Australia

Nah.

Finding ones that actually seal all the way around is a different matter all together...

 

[mwd]

Nah.

Finding ones that actually seal all the way around is a different matter all together...

Get them at any kitchen store for about $6.00 for the big one and they have a locking clip to keep the two halves together. Got mine at Robin's

Why would you need a 100% seal all the way round anyway seeing as they are made from stainless mesh very fine particles escape through the holes in the mesh. :huh:

P.S. made in China for chinese hops no escape for the tiddlies.

picture

 

[bum]

All the ones I've seen (cheap shops) tend to have a 3mm-ish gap somewhere - seems to defeat the purpose of using one when it has a gap that big. I just bung my hops in anyway - I don't mind the floaties. I just look at everything in every shop now thinking "How could I use this in the brewery...?"

 

[Bribie G]

I didn't think of looking in Robins Kitchen, they sell amazing stuff there like swivel potato peelers that actually work. I'd been trying all the asian shops in Fortitude Valley and they didn't know what I was talking about <_< . I'm brewing a MegaLandlord today for the Qld case swap and I'll when I keg it I'll drop the ball in with a couple of plugs of Styrian Goldings. Should hit the spot.
I managed to grab the last 3 bottles of Timothy Taylor Landlord from 1st Choice Morayfield yesterday - it's the first time I've tried genuine TTL and I seriously need to increase the aroma hops :icon_drool2: