Adding hops to kit

[ianac1]

Looking for a bit of advice/guidance here.

I've brewed 4-5 kits so far and the last few have turned out great.

I dry hopped the last batch i made but now i'm wanting to add hops at the beggining and not too sure how to go about it.

I'm making a Coopers pal ale and i have both glacier and williamette hops available, both of which should compliment this ale according to this http://www.byo.com/resources/hops

My question is what do i do?

Usually i just add 4 litres of hot water to my fermenter and add the contents of the can before filling it up with water as per instructions.

This time do i boil just water, say 6 litres, and add the hops to that then add to the fermenter and carry on from there?

If that's correct then how long do i boil the water for and which hops would you add first and which hops would you add for finishing hops and in what quantities?

I don't have a hop bag so i'd just be throwing them in, do i take them out before i transfer to the fermenter?

A lot of questions i know but i just want to get it right.

Thanks for any replies.

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Boil the hops in a few litres of water for 10 minutes. Strain through a sanitised sieve.

[ianac1]

Thanks for the reply OSB.

1/2 oz of glacier and 1/2 oz of williamette boiled together for a plae ale sound good to you?

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Thanks for the reply OSB.

1/2 oz of glacier and 1/2 oz of williamette boiled together for a plae ale sound good to you?

No idea. I just use use British hops such as Goldings, Fuggles and Challenger to make very tasty beer.

[timothio]

I've not tried adding hops yet, but am planning to... I found the following post helpful, I know its all about improving a lager kit and uses completely different hops, but I guess the same principles regarding hop usage could be applied...

"I've quite a few of these Coopers lager kits over the last few years, IMHO you can't beat adding lots of classic lager hops. Sometimes I use Saflager yeast, particularly if ambient temperature is low enough to do it's stuff, but I often I use the supplied Cooper's yeast which works very well too. Saflager definitely has the edge, the resulting beer has a very clean taste, but it doesn't half stink when it's fermenting! In either case, it helps to keep the fermentating temperature lower, 12-15°C for Saflager, around 18°C for the supplied yeast.

My recommendations for a kit lager...

1] Use any of the Cooper's lager-type kits.

2] When adding your fermentables, use 50%-75% light or extra-light spraymalt, make the rest up with brewing sugar/dextrose. The dextrose lightens the 'mouthfeel' nicely, you don't want a lager to be too heavy.

3] Add hops. I prefer Saaz, which is a classic European lager hop, but Halletauer are good too. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, here's my favourite method for adding hops (thanks Chris) and it works for me... Empty the content of the kit can into the fermenter, and fill the can with boiling water from a kettle. Stir to dissolve the remaining extract, and tip into a large pan. Repeat, so you have two can fulls in the pan. Take a quantity of hops, add one third of the quantity and boil for 15 minutes, stirring any froth back in. Remove from the heat and add the remaining two thirds of the hops, and leave to steep for 20-30 minutes. Strain the liquor back into the fermenter through a sanitised sieve. I would start with 25-30g of Saaz. I often add 40g+, but I would err on the side of caution initially, particularly if the hops are very fresh.

4] Bottle... you'll never get the required level of carbonation in a plastic keg. I add 4tsp of priming sugar per 2L PET, which sounds a lot, but it gives you the fizz and the necessary CO2 bite you need in a lager. The bottles will be very lively, so will need to be chilled in the fridge for several hours before opening, otherwise you will be met by an instant sediment snowstorm upon opening. The only viable alternative IMHO is force carbonating in a cornie keg.

5] Give it time to condition. A couple of months in the bottle makes all the difference."

(Sorry, I cant remember who posted this originally, I copied and pasted it into notepad so I wouldnt forget how to do it!!)

[ianac1]

Thanks for this timothio, very helpfull.

I'm going to use this method to brew my coopers australian pale ale today.

Hopefully it all goes well, i'll use different hops though.

I think i'll go with 15g each of glacier and williamette.

I'm going to paste this into notepad!

[Manx Guy]

Hi,

FWIW I'm planning to add some Styrian Golding (equiv. to willimiate) to my next brew of Coopers Pale Ale...

I use UK type hops like OSB... Fuggles, goldings etc. and european ones like Hellertau and Saaz to my lagers...
So far (see in my sig. lager below) with soem success!

Good luck be interested to know how you get on!

Slainte!

[sparky Paul]

Sorry, I cant remember who posted this originally, I copied and pasted it into notepad so I wouldnt forget how to do it!!

That would be me! I remember writing that.

[ianac1]

Thank you then too to you sparky paul.

Just to clarify, do i add the coopers brew enhancer to the boiling water before adding the hops?

[ianac1]

Just realised that's probably a silly question.

I'd add the brewing sugar to the fermenter after the hot water?

[ianac1]

Will do Manx guy, hoping it's going to turn out good.

I've boiled the hops and just leaving them steeping at the moment then back to it.

[Titanium Tone]

Hi Ianac,
Check out this thread it may be of use. TT.
forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20386

[sparky Paul]

Just realised that's probably a silly question.

I'd add the brewing sugar to the fermenter after the hot water?

That's right. All the fermentables go in the fermenter as normal, except for the can rinsings which go in the pan for boiling.

[ianac1]

I've got this in primary just now but i didn't take a SG reading at the start.

All along i had a strange feeling that it wasn't fermenting as it should (don't know why) , the temp has been a little lower than normal.

Today is day 7 of fermenting and i decided to take a hydrometer reading from it which was around 1.011 or 1.012 so it certainly seems to be coming along.

What should i be aiming for for a FG reading roughly for this coopers australian pal ale as i know there are a few people on here who have made it?

It's still quite sweet smelling so i think i'll leave it a bit longer and maybe just wait until i get the same reading over a couple of days or so.

Any ideas on the FG?

[ianac1]

Any thoughts on this, could fermentation have stalled near completion?

If so do i just give it a little stir to get the yeast going again without disturbing the sediment/trub at the bottom or do i want to kick all that up again?