And for my next kit....

[PureGuiness]

I say go with what you've got. After all brewing is all about experimentation and trying stuff out.

The hops you've got are aroma hops as far as I know and also the kit syrup is already hopped (and bittered). Boiling for 60 minutes is going to do very little to enhance the flavour at a guess but making a hop tea or boiling for about 10 minutes will provide the extra hop flavour.

I would say steep the grain for about 20-30 mins at 66ish oC and then make a hop tea in the warm wort and then add that to the kit as you make it up.

See how it goes. If it turns out well then try something different next time. That's the way you'll learn about the process and ingredients

[jonewer]

I been told elsewhere that I shouldnt boil the crystal. But then I have been told to steep, discard the card and boil the resulting wort. Does this sound right?

Should I boil the DME? Or just tip it in willy nilly? I have heard conflicting things about this.

Got my ingredients today. Brew day next saturday!

[SiHoltye]

Well, you're right about that! But I have been and gorn and ordered 100g of said weeds! Gotta do summink with them.

Compost them.

Eh, am I missing something?

OK a US Hop variety won't make you a traditional English IPA, Badger's right, for that you'd want English ingredients all the way 'cos traditionally that was all that was available to brewers at the time. Don't compost Amarillo though . If you must have a bona-fide English historic IPA don't use Maris Otter malt either 'cos that wasn't created until the 1960's

Amarillo is a lovely hop to brew with will big ballsy citrussy flavour and aroma, like grapefruit citrus, a supercharged cascade-a-like. It's very popular in American Pale Ales and American IPA's, and many homebrewers use it over here use it - it's great. Crouch Vale Brewery (Essex) make a brew called Amarillo.

Is there an all-grain brewer local to you to show you the ropes if you're serious? It's not hard once you've done it and the freedom means you've a lifetime of cloning styles and malt/hop combo's to try.

I chipped in because I thought suggesting a new brewer compost a hop because it was out of style for an intended brew was positively negative.

[jonewer]

Thanks for your input SiHoltye (and others who have offered helpful advice), and yes, suggesting a new brewer throw out a hop he has spent good money on because it was out of style for an intended brew (or foreign) is negative, and frankly not a very good advertisement for this website.

[JayBee]

Go with your instinct. Its your beer so try something out, I`ve experimented a bit and only made a couple of " don`t think I`ll go down that road again " brews.
I`ve got 2 more kit adaptations I want to try before I go to extract but the learning process, particularly with hops has been invaluable.

[mercilessrich]

I wholeheartedly agree- i'm no expert but i'f you've bought them why not use 'em.
Thats a big hop quota and to me the 60 min boil time for the 1st batch, sounds like quite a bit. Mind you, you are after a hoppy brew.
I'm guessing you've brewed it now- how did it turn out?

[EoinMag]

The wherry I found quite sweet and cloying. Very underhopped.

It comes really good at about 8 weeks and turns into a proper bitter, before that it's green and not very good.

[booldawg]

Rule number one - never throw anything out!

Hops freeze very well and keep for months if you've opened the bag. They'll always come in handy for an up and coming brew.

As Siholtye mentioned the American hops such as Amarillo, Cascade and Centennial are becoming very popular amongst UK breweries and home brewers alike due to their unique citrusy aroma and excellent bittering properties.

I'm brewing a best bitter today and using English hops for bittering and Cascade for aroma, dont get too hung up on style - its your beer!