Looking for advice for my first home brew kit

[AndyDeards]

Hi all. I'm a huge lover of real ale but I've never brewed before. I've decided to give it a go by buying one of the St Peter's IPA kits, along with an essentials starter kits which includes fermentation bucket, etc. I'm a big fan of citra hops so I'd like to include them into the process, but I'm not sure when and how to do that. Can anyone share some some advice?

Thanks! Andy, from Cheshire.

 

[Stevieboy]

1. Buy some hops.
2. bung 'em in the bucket about a week before you rack off for bottling/kegging

 

[xozzx]

Hi @AndyDeards. As stevieboy suggests best option would be to use them as a dry hop, this gives aroma from the hops. Assuming you are doing a 23L batch I would add around 50-100g hop pellets to the fermentor. As with everything brewing there are many ways to do things and everyone will have their own opinion on the best way. I would dry hop before active fermentation is complete, once the bubbling has slowed down significantly. Depending on the yeast this will likely be after about 4-5 days from pitching, you then want to leave them in the beer for about 5-7 days. This means some CO2 is still being produced which should drive off the oxygen you have added when adding the hops.

 

[AndyDeards]

Thanks for the info guys, that's a big help! Can't wait to give this a try in the coming weeks.

 

[soupdragon]

Important to note that unless you can "crash cool" your brew (will force the spent hops to drop to the bottom of the fermenter) a few days before packing you might want to either.....
1-----Put the dry hops in a nylon bag, or
2-----Put a nylon bag on the business end of your syphon when packing.
Failing to do that could easily lead to you having hop particles in your finished beer.
The bags are included with several kits but if you don't have one, the nylon veg bags from Lidl/Aldi do the job nicely.

Time will also allow the hops to drop out but it depends how patient you can be?

Cheers Tom

 

[Clint]

If you've never brewed before it may be better if you make the kit as it is. The kits are already hopped and you may like it just fine.If you make a mistake messing about with it at such an early stage it may put you off brewing. I would also add that the kit instructions are a bit ambitious...you want to leave it at least 2 weeks in the fermenter, at least 2 weeks carbonation and another 2 conditioning.
Your best friend is patience and key points are meticulous cleaning and sanitation of your equipment. Keep notes. Give yourself at least twice as long as you think it's going to take and remove any distractions from the room...partners,kids,dogs,cats. Prepare to be able to contain a mess...
Above all don't forget you can get help here usually at short notice and also remember to enjoy yourself!