Muntons gold continental pilsner - Hopping ideas

[yeasty]

I am now drinking my 1st brew, Coppers IPA at only 3 and a bit weeks in the bottle and cant believe how good it is.

I have just ordered a Muntons gold continental pilsner and some Saaz hops. I was planning on dry hopping but after reading more on this forum I am not sure if I am better boiling for 20 mins then steeping further hops for 20-30 mins. I'm not sure how different the effects are.

I am trying to produce a good 'Stella' style larger.

Any advice appreciated.

[MightyMouth]

I am trying to produce a good 'Stella' style larger.

Isn't "Good Stella" an oxymoron like "Microsoft Works"

Maybe you could boil half for 20 minutes and dry hop the rest?

[thesaintv12]

Yeasty - what IPA is it, the black tin brewmaster or the australian? I just brought the brewmaster, so an interested in a review.

I have jsut finished my keg of Coopers aussie lager, and that was great. Went a bit too fast actually!

[sparky Paul]

I have just ordered a Muntons gold continental pilsner and some Saaz hops. I was planning on dry hopping but after reading more on this forum I am not sure if I am better boiling for 20 mins then steeping further hops for 20-30 mins. I'm not sure how different the effects are.

IMHO, the biggest problem with kits is that they usually suffer from a lack of the flavours and aromas of late hop additions, I guess its due to the process of reducing the wort into an extract.

I've played about with boiling/steeping times a bit, and the 20min boil and 20-30min steep seems to work well with the average kit, perhaps boil 1/3rd and steep 2/3rds of the total addition. Boiling gives more of the rounded hoppy flavour and 'bite', and steeping gives more aroma and the more 'flowery' flavours, if you get my drift...

DL's recipe for Stella is Hallertau and Saaz in the boil, with more Saaz steeped late, so doing something with Saaz should get you the flavour you want. I've never done the Munton's Pilsner, but I would try 30g in the proportions above, perhaps 40g if you're brave.

I do something very similar with the Coopers Lager, and it works very well.

[yeasty]

It was the black tin brewmaster. My 1st brew and highly recommended. I brewed as per the instructions and bottled on 7/4 and already very drinkable and very clear. I would add slightly more priming sugar next time as the 1/2 teaspoon per pint is a bit flat for my liking.

I am wanting to experiment a bit with my next brew but am not sure how the different ways of hopping effect the brew. Does dry hopping taste different to boiling first etc.??

[yeasty]

Thanks sparky Paul, exactly the sort of info I was after.

[sparky Paul]

I've tried dry hopping, I prefer the boiling/steeping. I reckon it's the best way to get the stronger hoppy flavours you need for a lager without one part of the hop taste overpowering.

[thesaintv12]

@Sparky paul - have you done any mods on the other kits you are brewing?

[Chris The Fish]

ive got a brew on at the minute where ive boiled a slack handful (thats an imperial handful) of EKG for 10mins, then steeped for the same - its about to get bottled but smells mighty fine. I imagine it wont be around for long!

I prefer this method to dry hopping in a keg as the first and only time i tried this it gave the whole barrel a very dry and thin hop taste.

this may have been the variety however im happy with the first method mentioned.

hope this helps...

chris

[Piscator]

I've been trying out hopping Wherry kits and have settled on the following method:
10 minute boil using 20g of hops with about 2-3 ltrs of wort.
Dropping into a secondary fermenter after the main head has subsided and dry hopping with 5g of hops for a week before bottling.
This produces a slight increase in bitterness and a distinct increase in aroma.

Overall the improvement to the kit was worthwhile

Cheers
Steve

[yeasty]

Thanks for all the ideas. It sounds like a lot of trial and error. I have got the kit on the go this evening and gone with 10g saaz boiled for 20 mins then added 20g and steeped for 30 mins.

I will let you know how it turns out.

I have brew of Muntons Export Pilsner in the keg that seems a bit flat and on another thread was told that dispensing lager from pressure barrels can have this problem. I was planning on putting this brew in a keg but am having 2nd thoughts now. Is it general opinion that larger is best in the bottle?

[sparky Paul]

Sorry for the delay yeasty, I've only just caught up with this thread...

I bottle most stuff now, but to get the ideal level of carbonation for lagers you need to bottle or use cornies. I've never had any success with plastic barrels.

@Sparky paul - have you done any mods on the other kits you are brewing?

I doctor most of the kits I do, spraymalt and hops is the order of the day. I try to select hops according to the style of beer and the flavour you're looking for - I reckon bitters and especially lagers benefit the most from the hop additions. As well as recommendations for particular kits from other forum members, you can get some great ideas from the AG Recipes section... look for late hop additions for an idea of what variety of hop to add.

Having said that, the two I have on at the moment have had no mods, the cider is done as per instructions, and the Wherry is pretty good without any additions - I was a bit rushed so didn't bother doing anything fancy.

Have you got anything particular in mind?

[thesaintv12]

Have you got anything particular in mind?

I am happy with the results from the bitters I have done. Like yeasty I am now after making as near perfect Lager as I can. I find that this is what a lot of my friends drink and want to show that a home brewed lager can be as good if not better than some of the rough stuff on sale.

I am going to get back to doing some AG, but time is limited these days and I will probably be doing quite a lot more kits.

I have a corrnie set up now, so the cabonation problem is gone.

[sparky Paul]

My staple lager is the Cooper's Heritage, usually made with 500g dextrose and 750g light spraymalt, and 30-40g Saaz hops in the one third boil, two thirds steeped ratio.

It takes a while to reach it's best, but I think it's pretty good in a commercial lager sort of way. Even OH likes it - and she is highly suspicious of anything I've brewed up...