Just ordered my first kit and it comes with the carabiner slobber. I have some cascade hops that I’ve dried and put in the freezer. Can I use it in this beer? Maybe dry hop. This will be my first batch.
Absolutely, you can hop up your beer as much as you like. A good starting amount might be 1 oz dry hops per 5 gallons. But you could use a lot more if you want. It’s all good… go for it!
:cheers:
I just finished using up the last of my homegrown hops. Cascade is a nice dry hop, +1 to going for it.
Alright I’ll do it. Thanks . Next question. Can I dry hop in the primary or should I do a secondary. I have a fermenter bucket and a bottling bucket only.
If you don’t care to reuse the yeast, just throw’em in the primary. If you want to harvest the yeast for repitching, rack to secondary.
I’d also consider dry hopping with at least an ounce and probably more.
:cheers:
I didn’t know you could reuse the yeast. Is that something I should plan on doing?
Your choice. Since it’s your first beer, maybe just worry about getting your process down. But yes, yeast can be reused. It’s a big time/money saver if/when you get into harvesting and reusing yeast.
Thanks all. can’t wait form kit to arrive 
Sorry to change the subject but this is kind of relative. I can’t see saving $6 for a vial of yeast ever being worth the time or effort for me.
Sorry to change the subject but this is kind of relative. I can’t see saving $6 for a vial of yeast ever being worth the time or effort for me.[/quote]
A yeast cake has enough yeast to ferment another 2-4 beers depending on size, gravity. So lets say on average you can ferment 3 average strength beers from a single yeast cake. Wyeast packs go for about $8 (at least where I am). That’s $24 worth of yeast. Then you can take those three cakes and split them up into 9 new batches of yeast (3 per cake). 9x$8= $72.
Ok, so maybe you don’t want to use the same yeast for all your beers. I rarely do, but I do try to brew like styles close together to maximize a pack of yeast. For example, I recently brewed a Patersbier and split the yeast cake into 2 jars. One small, one larger. I pitched the smaller jar into a Belgian IPA and the larger jar into a Tripel. So for the price of one pack of yeast, I brewed 15 gallons. No need for multiple packs of yeast, no need to make or build up a starter. Saved me money and time… which is just as valuable as money.
I’ve also gotten away from rinsing/washing yeast since I’ve read several articles stating how detrimental it is to the yeast. I now just swirl the yeast cake with a little of the left over beer and pour right into sanitized jars.
I think part of it is I brew like once every 1-2 months. So for me to save 9 batches worth of yeast that takes about a year. I can definitely see it being a much bigger ROI if you brew a lot more often though.
Definitely. I would agree. I brew about 2x a month and am often throwing out saved yeast. Again, lining up a few beers using the same strain is what I shoot for. Doesn’t always happen, but when I do, it’s nice to save some cash and not have to go out buy yeast, make starter, etc.
Back in the good old days (last year 
) when I was getting sacks of grain for $30-35, bulk hops for $10-12 lb, and reusing yeast, I could brew a simple session ale for around $10. Now that the bulk group grain buys are going away and hop prices seem to be climbing, that price is higher. Still, reusing yeast is a pretty big money saver if planned out right.
Yeast will easily last a month or two. Just make a new starter. I keep several strains on hand and try to use them a few times.
If this is your first batch, maybe you ought to just follow the recipe.
