So I assumed this would be the right place to post since I will have to essentially have to redesign the recipe. Anyways, I purchased several kits from a LHBS here in Italy now that I have discovered a homwbrew shop somewhat nearby.
The kit I plan on brewing first is a Mangrove Jacks APA. When I got home I realized just how different the instructions were compared to the states. According to this kit I am supposed to:
Boil the water
Add malt to fermenter.
Add 1.4 lbs dextrose to fermenter.
Stir together.
Pitch hop pellets and pitch yeast.
Now I don’t feel comfortable with this way a short I’ve been doing it the normal way, boil malt and water together, timed hop additions and so on.
The packaging of the kit is extremely different too. There is nothing telling you what type of LME is being used (whether it’s light, amber ect.) and the hops were centennial and Columbus. Only problem is that they are both packaged into one 60 gram bag mixed together…the yeast USB US West Coast dry yeast.
So, with planning on brewing it how I always have with times hop additions and adding malt to the book itself I plugged everything into brewers friend with of course some guessing on the LME type.
Game plan:
I plan to add LME and dextrose to boil.
Put half the hops (mix of Columbus, centennial) as 60 min addition.
Add second half of hops at 15 minutes.
Curious if anyone has thoughts on proceeding this route or any advice. I have all the kit packaging and instructions in case I need to snap a few pics for more clarification.
I do have another kit just like that one. Where it comes in the sealed bag instead of the box. Funny thing, when I went to take a picture of my kit for you I saw right on the side “100% hopped malt extract” and can’t believe I missed that the first time.
Will I be able to proceed with brewing the malt for an hour in my kettle instead of just boiling the water and adding malt and hot water to my fermenter? I will attach the picture of my kit as well.
You would not boil prehopped LME. Boiling will bring out unpleasant bitterness. Not sure what to do with the hop pellets. It may be that the kit is designed for a rushed brew. Ferment for 4 to 5 days then bottle. The hop pellets would then be somewhat flavor and aroma additions.
How does this sound. Bring the water to a boil and add the dextrose and three-quarters of the hops. At the end of 15 minutes turn the heat off and stir in the LME. Cool and pour into fermentor. Aerate. Use the remaining quarter of the hops as a dry hop around day 14.
The no boil method works for pre hopped extract kits. I did a Mr Beer kit that the kids got me for Christmas a couple years back. I did the kit to humor them and show my appreciation, bit it actually turned out pretty nice.
I’ve only done the one pre-hopped “brew” and it had no pellets. I’d suggest you think of them as a flame-out addition. or as @flars says, maybe save some for a dry hop…
For the no boil method what would be the best approach to mixing the malt and water? I have a glass carboy so the only way to mix would be to shake the carboy isn’t my guess. Either that or take the flameout approach in the kettle so I can stir it in to dissolve.
Aiding hop oil isomerization with a low OG wort was my thinking. There is some thinking now that it may not be necessary and that a hop tea would be just as effective. Some also say different bitterness/flavor levels result from just a hop tea. I’m staying with the low OG wort for awhile.
Boil the water, add the dextrose and continue to boil for another 5 minutes, add 1/4 of your hop packet, with the dextrose. Take it off the heat source, add your malt to dissolve in the not boiling water but still very hot. I will assume you do have a big enough kettle? Chill , then into the fermenter. Yeast when the temp is appropriate. After primary ferment is done, add the remainder of the hops and allow to to sit for a week. Then to rack again into a clean vessel, into the fridge for the clearing phase, pre- keg. Sneezles61
That Mr Beer I made was a small 2-gal kit, so the LME and water were easily mixed in the plastic fermenter barrel that came with the kit.
I suppose you could do like a regular extract kit, and mix/boil the LME with half the water stove-top, then top-off/chill with more water in the carboy. You just need to get the wort “mostly” mixed, the yeast will stir it as it ferments too. You’re fine as long as there aren’t globs of undissolved syrup on the bottom. Of course “mostly” mixed can mess up an Original Gravity measurement, but since you can trust the predicted OG of extract kits; don’t sweat it.
I do not have much brewing history or enough knowledge to decide which is better but my gut instinct leans towards having a low OG to work with when adding the hops.
If you are looking for some inspiration some “kit hacks” for your additional kits, take a look at @hd4mark did here. If you don’t see a way to do things like make a “Black APA” from the Columbus APA kit, send me a PM & we can kick around some ideas “off-forum”.
I will certainly do that. I have a honey porter, a grapefruit IPA and a wheat beer to work with as well.
Just finished brewing up my peace coffee 2nd crack stout from our host that my inlaws were awesome enough to bring over on their visit. So I have some time to mull idea a while it ferments.
I think for the future I will be building my recipes while I am living here. Everyone should have seen this place. It was an amazing shop just rough with the language barrier. Odd thing is they sold garden supplies and pet stuff (beds, treats, leashes) so I think future visits will consist of a recipe list and some treats for the dog when I get home.
