Simplest ever hop Schedule ?

[BrewerBoyle]

Hi guys,

Long time lurker here!

I have been making beerkits for about 25 years but have never really modified them very much when I find ones I like I stick with them

However I'm going to start trying to use hops to improve a few, so I have 50 grams of vacuum packed loose Golding and either a Tom Caxton real ale kit or a Geordie winter warmer.

Is it just a case of lobbing the all hops in the fermentor for a few days, or is there a better way to get a nice hoppy improvement to either of these kits ?

Any advice appreciated, Thanks

[TC2642]

Do you want aroma or bitterness? If you just want aroma then dry hop at the end of fermentation otherwise you're going to need to boil for about an hour or so to get the maximum bitterness out of them.

[BrewerBoyle]

Do you want aroma or bitterness? If you just want aroma then dry hop at the end of fermentation otherwise you're going to need to boil for about an hour or so to get the maximum bitterness out of them.

Thanks for the reply, an hour is quite a while, maybe I would need another hop type for bitterness?

Or perhaps I could boil half of what I have and dry hop with the rest?

[lee1]

hi brewer try boil half and dry hop half think tc would agree with that its all about experimenting to find your taste

[richtangsoo]

If you want to add a bit of hop flavour, put about 30g in a hop bag and boil in a pint of water for 5 to 15 minutes, then add the water to the beer just before bottling or kegging.
Or for a bit of aroma and mouthfeel, wait until primary fermentation is finished or just a couple of OG away from being finished. then break the hops up into their individual flowers and stick them in to your fermenter on top of the beer, for about 4 to 7 days.
It is important at this stage to protect your beer as much as possible from the air, as oxygen reacting with the hops will severely reduce the lifespan of your beer, cover with an airlock and if you have access to some gas squirt some on top of the beer to purge as much oxygen from the fermenter as possible.
Their are plenty of different ways of playing with hops, this is just a couple.

[BrewerBoyle]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

I have just noticed the "Adapted Kit Recipes" sticky as well, so I will have a read through that too

[TC2642]

hi brewer try boil half and dry hop half think tc would agree with that its all about experimenting to find your taste

Yeah, I'd say experiment as much as possible, as lee said, you are making it for yourself not anyone else.