Adding flavours

[kirky]

Hi, I'm new to the homebrew world.
I have recntly made my first brew from a youngs brewing kit and would like to do another but adding further flavour. Would it be possible to add further flavour to this and what would you recommend? Also, when to add certain flavours.

Cheers,
Kirky

[dave-o]

What do you mean by "flavour"?

[kirky]

Hi Daveo,

Forgive me if it sounds stupid but very new to this. I have got a youngs brew kit which comes with the ready mixed extract in a can which you just mix with boiling water and add sugar. Is there anything I can add to make a chocolate beer for intance? Or what would you recommend?

[dave-o]

Well you could always add some flavour hops of your own.

What is the process for kit beers? I could probably suggest a suitable hop addition point.

[Kev888]

Kit beers normally involve adding a bit of boiling water to the extract mix (and any sugar or extra malt required in the isntructions), then topping up with cold water and piching the yeast. Unlike extract or grain brewing there isn't a stage at which there's any prolonged boiling, which can make adding flavours from some raw ingredients like hops or other grains a challenge.

Occasionally kits include a small bag of hops (like a big tea bag) that they suggest you steep in boiled water for a bit before adding the liquid to the FV, so you could try that. I only tried a kit with this once though, and found the result a bit harsh and bitter without the accompanying hop flavour I would have expected but maybe I did it wrongly; I'm only an occasional kit user. An alternative may be to add dry hops in a sanitised net bag to the fermenter and leave them in (dry hopping) which will add more hop aroma than bitterness or flavour.

If your kit calls for sugar you could try substituting malt extract to give it more body and residual sweetness, and/or adding or substituting some syrup or honey - these dissolve well in warm water and change the character of the fermentables and hence the end flavour.

If you're serious about playing with the recipies beyond a bit of addition or substitution though you may want to look at extract brewing in the near future, and maybe even partial grain if you can get a decent sized boiler. Whilst you can definately tinker with kits you can of course only ever start from a point that the manufacturer feels is already finished.

Cheers
kev

[dave-o]

Also on a very simple level, i reckon chucking some hops into the FV for a kit beer would definitely make a noticable difference to the flavour.

[kirky]

Cheers guys!

Will try adding some hops, any ones you recommend and how much to a 5 gallon batch?

[dave-o]

It depends what sort of beer you are making and what sort of flavour you want to add. I'd probably suggest somewhere around 20-30 grams for a noticable extra hop taste.

[Chicken Dipper]

I have recently started all grain brewing, before this I made kits and extract brews for about 15 years. (What was i doing)??? Anyway, I reckon for this kit 20g of challenger or goldings boiled in some of the water for 60 mins will see you right for a good additional bitterness, and a further 10g in the last ten for hoppy pong. Just add this strained to the fermenter with the rest of the water. It's best to buy some hop bags to make it easier, will cost you about 20p, or a square of muslin.
I have heard of people using a caffetier to make a sort of hop tea or just putting hops in the empty tin and pouring boiling water over the hops and leaving for half an hour for aroma, which I never tried, but I guess would work ok for aroma.

Once you've got your head around the processes, I cannot stress how much better AG brewing is. It certainly takes longer and is a little more involved, but the taste and quality is miles apart. The initial outlay costs are soon recuperated and if you need advice, the guys on here are fantastic!

Yeah, am boring myself now, ha ha! Good luck!