Hops advice

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ajt24

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Hi im a novice just done a wilko pilsner, but im thinking about maybe trying doing a kit with hops, i only really like lager, and wanted to know where to start, what would be the best method for a novice do i boil water and hops then pour it through a sive to the fermenting bucket with the malt extract fronm the tin. Or do i just pop some hops in the fementing bucket,
or do i just stick to the kits :D
many thanks
 
Just putting the hops in is called dry hopping.

Boiling the hops will add more bitterness. You can just add them to hot water, and allow them to cool before adding to the FV. This is called hop tea.

Both are good. Do a bit of research and give it a go.
I tend to hop tea as it seems to cause less mess.... discuss....
 
Depends what you want, more bitterness or more flavour or more aroma. Boiling provides bitterness, steeping in hot/warm water will give you flavour and aroma, dry hopping gives aroma. And aroma can have a big effect.

If you only drink lager, do you actually want to increase any of those things? I would def recommend you try, because you will probably expand your tastes and realise there are things you like. Cascades are popular and work well in pale beers. Steep or dry hop, don't start tampering with bitterness at this stage, just add some fresh flavour/aroma. It improves a kit a lot, if you use hops you like.
 
For lager type kits stick with "noble" hops (Hallertau, Tettnanger, Spalt, and Saaz) as those are the traditional lager hops.

Be careful with the terms used in hopping as they might not quite be what you think they are...

You could be mistaken for thinking that dry hopping (aroma) won't alter the taste/flavour of your beer. It will. Considerably. You could be mistaken for thinking that late additions in a non-kit boil or a hop tea won't do a lot for the smell of your beer. It will. To a degree at least.

The terms bittering, flavour and aroma, when it comes to hops are base groups of chemicals that have an effect on "taste" and "smell" (I'm using the quotes there as taste has only four components: salt, sweet, sour and bitter; which are detected on the tongue, all other complexity in the enjoyment of food and drink is essentially smell although it gets to your soft palette from the back of your mouth rather than up your nose so REAL flavour is really a combination of taste[tongue] and smell[soft palette] and aroma just smell - so I've used the quote to differentiate from the real meanings without using the words flavour and aroma which would be more confusing).

Bittering refers to the alpha acids extracted and isomerised during the long boiling process and which give dry, bitter notes to the "taste" of your beer.

Flavour refers to the heavier (physically more dense) aromatic compounds in hops which are extracted more easily than the alpha acids but boil off after 30 minutes or so. These tend to be the deeper more "vegetal", grassy "tastes" and to a degree smells but being heavy and not very volatile they don't evaporate from your glass easily. You'll get a lot of these from a boil of between 15 and 30 minutes.

Aroma refers to the lighter (physically less dense) compounds in hops which are extracted very easily but boil off really quickly. These will be your citrussy and floral notes in both "taste" and "smell". You'll get these from a short boil of 5 minutes, a steep like making tea, or for the most "zingy" effect by dry-hopping.

To my mind for a lager you probably want the flavour and some aroma so try boiling some hops for 20 mins and add some more with 5 mins to go.

How much? No idea... you are completely off-piste at this point, there are no guides or software packages to work it out.

If I think back to kit brewing days, my biggest available pot would boil 8 litres (a jam pan), working with that I would say maybe 15-20g for 20mins and add 5-10g for the last 5 mins and use the resulting liquor to make up your kit.

Give it a go!
 
Less traditionally, IPA hops are becoming popular in lagers (caeser augustus by Williams Bros Brewing Co being a good example fo this) - cascade are pretty standard, anything like citra/simcoe/chinook/centennial/mosaic is great too. it's not a lager flavour, but adds the citrusy notes that you find in american IPAs (like Punk IPA and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale) without the ale body. Just one to think about.

Your home brew shop (if you have one) might sell Hop Tea Bags. They're a great way to start hopping kits, just choose your variety and boil up a kettleful then add it into the brew.
 
thanks guys, getting some input just makes it kess dornting, i suppose its a bit of a trial and error to get the desired taste, im hoping to get a stella style taste from my next kit, just one more question does the type/style of yeast effect the taste?
 
Pretty much EVERYTHING will affect the taste dude, especially the yeast and even the water you use
 
Stella uses Saaz hops I think.

You should use a lager yeast and lager fermentation temperatures (about 7-13C) to make a true lager.

I think some homebrewers make blonde ales in the style of lager, at room temperatures, using a very neutral tasting yeast - like US-05, or maybe Nottingham.

I suggested cascade cos a lot of lager drinkers are finding they like very pale ales/blonde ales, and cascades are a common and popular hop for these. Maybe try Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, available widely, to see what you think. Making true lagers is not for beginners, making blonde ales in a lager style is much more doable.
 
yep. lager yeast needs some serious temperature control, a lot of lager kits just come with a really clean ale yeast. you can upgrade it if you want, it's likely to increase the quality.

for stella you probably want saaz hops steeped in there, that's where a lot of the flavour in stella is. (posted as you posted clibit!)
 
Would love to kit bash a Punk IPA or a FUBAR someday - havent the time nor money for a true AG brew
 
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