Extra hops to a Geordie kit

[Scotty]

Hello chaps, I have some Challenger hops to try a little experiment with a Geordie Yorkshire Bitter kit. As I normally add 5 litres of boiled water to dissolve the can contents, I was thinking of boiling the hops in this water. If it can be done, how much water will I need to use to boil the hops?

[sparky Paul]

Empty the extract into the fermenter, add spraymalt or BKE, and make up to 40 pints as usual.

Rinse the can with boiling water, stirring well to dissolve the remaining extract, and empty into a large pan. Do this twice, so you have two canfulls - I guess 2-3 litres. Boil one third of the hops for 10-20 minutes, then remove from the heat and add the remaining two thirds of the hops and leave to steep for 20-30 minutes. Strain into the fermenter through a sanitised fine sieve.

You need to boil the hops in a worty solution to get the best extraction.

Works for me... I would try 20-25g of hops to start with.

Hope this helps.

[Scotty]

cheers Paul, I was toying with the idea of adding an extra 5-10g for aroma but I gather by adding the remaining two thirds this will be for aroma?
Would it be best not to heat up the can as this won't leave much wort left for the hop stage?

Also, will my made-up wort be ok left without the yeast for the hour or so?

[WishboneBrewery]

You can always boil up your Spray malt / sugars with your hops before adding that to the FV to dissolve the kit contents.

I've done something similar to Paul's suggestion here:
http://pdtnc.wordpress.com/2009/02/28/t ... itter-kit/

What I had in FV 2 has turned out the best (though they both need more maturation)
In FV2:

* 20 Pints of Geordie Yorkshire Bitter (Half a kit!)
* ASDA Smart price Liquor
* 500g Light Spray malt
* 20g Saaz Hops steeped for 15mins in cafetiere
* Safale s04 Yeast also working well before pitching
* OG: 1032

Geordie lager kit:
http://pdtnc.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/g ... saaz-hops/ (I have no idea what this will be like yet.

[Scotty]

if I were to boil the sugar/hops, would I loose much to evaporation?

[OldSpeckledBadger]

if I were to boil the sugar/hops, would I loose much to evaporation?

You'll definitely lose some although since you're only boiling for 10-20 minutes it probably won't be enough to matter. You could do a dummy run 1st with boiling the water to see how much you're going to lose if you're worried.

[sparky Paul]

cheers Paul, I was toying with the idea of adding an extra 5-10g for aroma but I gather by adding the remaining two thirds this will be for aroma?

Yes, the first lot is for a bit of extra flavour, and the larger addition is to give some aroma, sadly lacking in most kits. I find these proportions work quite well.

Would it be best not to heat up the can as this won't leave much wort left for the hop stage?

I never bother heating up the can, it leaves enough behind to make up the worty liquor you need.

Also, will my made-up wort be ok left without the yeast for the hour or so?

Yes, no problem so long as you keep the lid on. You can just dump the extract into the fermenter and make it up just before the hoppy liquor is ready if you like. Alternatively, you can let the liquor cool and add after pitching the yeast.

if I were to boil the sugar/hops, would I loose much to evaporation?

Not much over 15 minutes or so. You can put a lid on if you like, to minimise losses.

I didn't mention this earlier, but don't forget to keep stirring and folding the froth back in occasionally when boiling. The hop oils collect here and you need to keep these in the boil.

[Scotty]

I kept stirring it round every 5mins or so but the smell from the FV is powerful!

It is away in the FV now, had a look this morning (16hrs after pitching yeast) and it is picking up quite quickly. It is also the first time I've used S-04 but didn't rehydrate as I wanted to see how well it would start.

[sparky Paul]

It is also the first time I've used S-04 but didn't rehydrate as I wanted to see how well it would start.

I use S-04 a lot. I never rehydrate or make starters, and it always does me proud.