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Using Hops with Kit Beers
Hops were originally used in beer as a preservative. It was not long
before it was considered an essential ingredient imparting bitterness &
flavour as well as aroma providing a balance for malty sweetness.
Hops are flowers (or cones) that are grown on a grape
like vine. The flowers are dried and compressed into pellets, which prolong
their shelf life and make them easier to use. There are many different varieties
hops which all impart there own characteristic and produce a wide variety of
different style beer. As most of the beer kits available are already bittered,
it is the flavour & aroma characteristics we are trying to enhance when
using hops in our brew. Below are three different methods you can adopt which
all will give slight flavour differences.
Tip the whole contents of the mug into the fermenter
just before you add the yeast & give a gentle stir with a sterilised spoon.
Add the yeast!
Easy!! Dry Hop: Add hops to the fermenter after you have dissolved
your other ingredients in hot water. Give a gentle stir to ensure hops are
soaked thoroughly, then fill to required level with cold water. Add the
yeast! Quick Boil: In a saucepan, dissolve your brewing sugar in approximately 2 litres of water & bring it to a gentle simmer. Toss in the hops & simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. If you intend to use other hops by the standard method, you may use this liquid & saucepan instead of a coffee mug. Ie at the end of the simmer, remove saucepan from heat, toss in other hops & steep for 10 minutes as normal. Using this liquid should reduce the need for further hot water. Please Note: - All of these methods can be practiced using loose hop pellets. Added to the fermenter, most of the used hops will sink to the bottom & very rarely end up in the bottle. This saves unnecessary packaging & cost to you!
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