Ipa Or English Bitter

[wbosher]

I've not done an IPA for a while, but replacing the Light Dry malt with a 1.5 kg can of light malt extract
and boil in your cascade for 10 min would be a great way to brew it up.

Alternatively keep the Cascade for another brew; I enjoy it with a Canadian Blonde kit;
and boost your IPA with Fuggles which may work better with the IPA kit.

I've already ordered the LDME and it on it's way, so will just have to use that this time. The hops were given to me only really looking for an excuse to use them. :lol:

 

[Yob]

According to that awesome spreadsheet floating around these parts, if I take out the dex, the alcohol content lowers quite significantly. Would leaving it there have adverse effects?

Dex tends to thin a beer out, with an IPA you dont really want a thin beer, nice and thick and malt and all up in your face with hops. When playing with kits i noticed a vast improvement when i limited my dex to a max of 300g (or even better.. None at all) IMO dex is a bitch in kit brews, sure you get more alcohol from it but it comes at a high price.

That said I havnt brewed the kit IPA.

 

[bum]

I've already ordered the LDME and it on it's way, so will just have to use that this time.

I wouldn't stress, the only real difference is water. Not sure why robbo suggests it as an improvement.

That said I havnt brewed the kit IPA.

I made a fairly chewy version of this tin once (2kg LDME, 300g crystal) and I would definitely sub out for some dex if I were to do the same beer again. I agree that 500g dex to 1kg LDME is a bit out of balance but if the kick is more important than the balance then I think it'll do the job and he'll still see a big difference if this is his first use of LDME.

 

[DU99]

try about 200/250 of dex.

 

[Blitzer]

Think I'm going to try:

1 can Coopers IPA
1.5kg Liquid Amber Malt
30 g Galaxy in small boil.

US-05 yeast.

Bottling on the weekend, so will probably try get it fermenting next week. Hoping it goes well and tastes great.

 

[wbosher]

I made a fairly chewy version of this tin once (2kg LDME, 300g crystal) and I would definitely sub out for some dex if I were to do the same beer again. I agree that 500g dex to 1kg LDME is a bit out of balance but if the kick is more important than the balance then I think it'll do the job and he'll still see a big difference if this is his first use of LDME.

I'm making the 20L version as opposed to the "Normal" 23L one, so I would think that the lower water contant will thicken it up and balance out the extra dex?

My thinking is to do it by the book according to the recipe on the Coopers website, and see how it tastes. Once I know how that one goes, then I can play around with it.

 

[bum]

Sounds like a plan. Let us know how she travels.

 

[Yob]

I made a fairly chewy version of this tin once (2kg LDME, 300g crystal)

out of curiosity, what did you hop it with?

 

[bum]

90g of Fuggles. Worked nicely enough but would use EKG and/or Styrian if I went that big with it again.

 

[wbosher]

Just put the IPA on, went with the 20L one on the Coopers website with no added hops this time. I was going to rehydrate the yeast but ended up just sprinkling.

First time using DME, **** that stuff is hard to dissolve! Must have spent 10 minute stirring to get rid of the lumps.

Got myself some starsan, I am now converted. Made life SO much easier! Sanitised everything, even the can opener and my hands. :lol:

I forgot to take an OG reading, but I can live with that.

Sitting nicely at 22c but that will come down a little, now the hard part...waiting...

 

[slash22000]

First time using DME, **** that stuff is hard to dissolve! Must have spent 10 minute stirring to get rid of the lumps.

You should use hot water to dissolve DME, not necessarily boiling, but certainly hot. I fridge a few litres of filtered water overnight to offset the heat of the dissolved DME.

 

[wbosher]

You should use hot water to dissolve DME, not necessarily boiling, but certainly hot. I fridge a few litres of filtered water overnight to offset the heat of the dissolved DME.

I did. I boiled 2L of water, threw it into the FV then stirred in the DME...for 10 minutes.

 

[wbosher]

Just had a look (no I didn't take the lid off) there is a massive amount of foam on top, a good inch or two, it's only been a couple of hours. I've never seen that much before. Is that just a furious fermentation or could it be the starsan?

I'm not worried, just curious.

 

[DU99]

Its the DME

 

[mwd]

Actually DME dissolves better in coldish water. Don't ask me why just try it.

I add the DME to cold water in the fermenter before dumping in the hot can of goop no problem with clumping.

 

[wbosher]

Actually DME dissolves better in coldish water. Don't ask me why just try it.

I add the DME to cold water in the fermenter before dumping in the hot can of goop no problem with clumping.

I might try that next time, it was a real PITA.

Looks to have settled down now, I thought it might have been sanstar foam, I've never used it before.

 

[wbosher]

Might dry hop some of the Cascade pellets that I've got sitting in the freezer once the fermentation is done. Any ideas as to how much?

I think I read here somewhere that a general rule of thumb is 1 gram of hops per litre of beer, sound about right? Just throw in 20 grams of pellets into the FV?

 

[dammag]

I find that the Coopers DME added at the end of a boil makes hard lumpy "lollies" but with the DME I get from Craftbrewer I can chuck a Kg in 3.5 L of water at the end of the boil and it almost dissolves itself.

Damian.

 

[wbosher]

Got it bottled on Saturday, tasted it and it was no where near as strong and bitter as I thought (hoped) it would be. Maybe that will change in time.

Can wait to try it in a few weeks time.