Brew #1 kegged.
So time to plan brew #2. I want to brew a nice full-bodied IPA-style beer, but I do like my beer bitter. Is there any way I can add bitterness to a normal IPA kit without going for the whole brewing-from-extract thing? I'm too new to be doing that just yet.
I've heard of dry-hopping, but doesn't that just affect aroma?
Would there be any benefit in adding hops to the fermentation, or does it have to be to the boil to get any benefit?
And is it reasonable to get a kit, add some water to its malt extract and boil some hops in it for a while, then proceed as normal? Or would this destroy the balance they'd struck when they produced their malt extract? After all, they will have added hops in the factory at specific times during the boil.
Lastly, and this is a long shot...could I boil a load of hops in water, remove the hops then use the water when I made up a kit? That way I'd get the bitterness out of the hops but not interfere with the malt extract supplied...surely?
Or should I just concentrate on the kits till I'm ready for Extract brewing?
Adding bitterness to a kit
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Chris The Fish
if your looking for a nice hoppy ipa then ive come accross a few which i enjoy.
The easy starter for 10 is a tin of coopers ipa with a a bag of hopped spraymalt added along with about 500g of glucose - tastes very nice in the Fv, and if that is anything to go by it will be a cracker - its the first time ive used the hopped spraymalt and i reckon its going to be a belter.
2nd - i once boiled a slack handful of progress hops for 10 mins, then added a 2nd for a 10 min steep, then added it to a Woodfordes Great Eastern, still my best brew to date (in that style) and ive done over 30 in the last year/18 months or so.
hope this helps
ctf
The easy starter for 10 is a tin of coopers ipa with a a bag of hopped spraymalt added along with about 500g of glucose - tastes very nice in the Fv, and if that is anything to go by it will be a cracker - its the first time ive used the hopped spraymalt and i reckon its going to be a belter.
2nd - i once boiled a slack handful of progress hops for 10 mins, then added a 2nd for a 10 min steep, then added it to a Woodfordes Great Eastern, still my best brew to date (in that style) and ive done over 30 in the last year/18 months or so.
hope this helps
ctf
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Jaoqua
Thanks for your replies, lads. I will have a look for Isomerized Hop Extract. From the description it looks like it would be handy to have around as a beer-saver for bland brews.
Chris, I think that's what I'm after. I've only been looking at 3kg kits so far cos I thought they'd be the best quality. But hopped spraymalt sounds good. I also haven't looked at any Coopers kits cos I went to Australia a few years ago and all I drank was Coopers. It was nice, but it wasn't a patch on UK beer. However, I'll have another look now. I may also try the hop trick, but not in the same brew!
Chris, I think that's what I'm after. I've only been looking at 3kg kits so far cos I thought they'd be the best quality. But hopped spraymalt sounds good. I also haven't looked at any Coopers kits cos I went to Australia a few years ago and all I drank was Coopers. It was nice, but it wasn't a patch on UK beer. However, I'll have another look now. I may also try the hop trick, but not in the same brew!