Coopers IPA

[stupid_squaddy]

I'm a lover of IPA and find the Coopers kit a reasonable attempt (if you boost the ABV%) but it does lack that hoppy bitter twang a good IPA needs. I don't thing hop tea or dry hopping would achieve this, it needs a more fundamental modification to the kit. Does anyone know a decent way to increase the bitterness without altering the mouthfeel or aroma of the brew? (I've tried Challenger boiled in to the wort for 20 mins and it was Cr@p)!

[stevezx7r]

If your after increasing the bitterness then boiling hops is the way to go. You can use, say, 20g of your favorite hops such as Aurora, boil them in a muslin bag in a clean pan of water for 60 mins, then add the liquor to your fv then add the tin of extract. That should make it into a proper tasting IPA

I'm not sure why it didn't work with the Cascade although they are a hop which needs time to mature, more so than say EKG etc.

[FiercelyFuzzy]

I've got the Coopers IPA kit & was going to follow this recipe I found on the Coopers website. Maybe dry hop with Styrians also? This is my first deviation from a kit recipe so hopefully it'll work out.

Authentic IPA
India Pale Ale was shipped from England to India for the British troops. To withstand the journey, IPA needed to be a heavily hopped, malty brew with high levels of alcohol.
Coopers Brewmaster Selection IPA recipe can be easily modified to make an authentic IPA like those produced in the early 1800s. Beware, as this recipe produces a beer with serious bitterness, sure to please the "Hopheads"!
Ingredients
1.7kg Brewmaster IPA
1kg Coopers Light Dry Malt
500g Sugar or Dextrose
Method
Place the Coopers Light Dry Malt into a drained, sanitised fermenter.
Add 2 litres of hot water.
Immediately pick the fermenter up and swirl the contents until dissolved (approx 15 secs).
Mix in the balance of ingredients then top up the fermenter with cool water to the 20litre mark.
Pitch the yeast and seal.

[stevezx7r]

Yeah, that recipe looks fine. As far dry hopping goes it might be a good idea to get a muslin bag, boil it and a few marbles (to stop the bag from floating) to sanitise then throw it into the keg (if your kegging) with your choice amount of hops then transfer your fermented beer into that.

Styrians are another favorite hop of mine second only to Aurora