additional DME and hops

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keat64

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guys.

My beer brewing has always been kits, but for years iv'e really want to experiment with grain brews, i'm getting close to having a go at this, so will undoubtedly be back for advice.
In the mean time, maybe you could help me with this one.

Rather than buying a kit and then just following the instructions, on this occasion i decided to add a little custom in to the mix.

I bought the cheapest kit i could find, added 500g of dark DME, and 500g of which i boiled for 10 minutes with 35g of brambling cross hop pellets.
The brew is bubbling along nicely and smells better than anything else ive evr done.

Would it be worth considering dry hopping for a few days once the fermentation settles down a bit.
 
It's totally up to you, that's the beauty of tweaking kits!

If you have a spare FV you could split the brew and dry hop half and see the difference.

My recent 1 can experiment I did one batch by the book and added treacle and a dry hop to the other. Part of me wonders if 2 tweaks was too much, as I'm not sure what each of them contributed individually.

But it's your beer - do what you think you'll enjoy*!

*I've also added (boiled) chillies to bottles as they've conditioned for a bit of heat, a nice change but not something I'd want for a whole batch.
 
The 10min boil will have added flavour and some aroma. afaik dry hopping does the opposite adds mostly aroma and some flavour, so if you want more aroma yes, it's worth dry hopping - the general consensus is to do it 5 days before bottling/kegging
 
It's totally up to you, that's the beauty of tweaking kits!

If you have a spare FV you could split the brew and dry hop half and see the difference.

My recent 1 can experiment I did one batch by the book and added treacle and a dry hop to the other. Part of me wonders if 2 tweaks was too much, as I'm not sure what each of them contributed individually.

But it's your beer - do what you think you'll enjoy*!

*I've also added (boiled) chillies to bottles as they've conditioned for a bit of heat, a nice change but not something I'd want for a whole batch.
what did you put the treacle in mate?was it the black stuff lyles the full tin and what/how did it change the finished beer as ive got a tin and a few pale ale kits and im itchin to give it a go:hmm:
 
I reckon there's no need to dry hop - it's going to be quite a dark beer, dark beers aren't generally dry hopped, and the Bram X hops you have boiled will add a good dose of flavour, and I think are a good choice. Be interested to hear how it turns out.
 
Yes it was the red lyle's tin which I added it to a youngs scottish heavy kit (quite dark and malty).

The taster jars before the dry hop had quite an after taste of molasses, which has dampened with conditioning. Compared to the "straight" kit the treacle and dry hop have been a welcome addition.
 
I love tweaking kits like this, I'm an AG brewer but something like this is great when there's not a lot of time.

Picked up one of the Wherrys in Wilko for 15 quid, have divided it to single cans for 10L brews and am currently tweaking each one differently. The first one I'm trying to turn into a Hobgoblin-ish brew by steeping some grains and boiling/steeping hops based on an AG Hobgoblin recipe (just the latter stages, as Wherry alreadt has some bitterness).
 
I love tweaking kits like this, I'm an AG brewer but something like this is great when there's not a lot of time.

Picked up one of the Wherrys in Wilko for 15 quid, have divided it to single cans for 10L brews and am currently tweaking each one differently. The first one I'm trying to turn into a Hobgoblin-ish brew by steeping some grains and boiling/steeping hops based on an AG Hobgoblin recipe (just the latter stages, as Wherry alreadt has some bitterness).
Ooh hobgoblin,luvly keep us abreast of results mate please
 
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