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Spatch

The bitterness that Muntons quotes for the Blond kit is 25-35 which in not that useful as it is a fairly wide range. The morgans Amber ale kit that I used with 1.5kg amber malt has an IBU of 38 and then I added more bitterness using hops to get it to about 45 all up. Even if you went with the cluster hops you had, if they were only steeped in hot water they won't add any bitterness, just aroma. You need to boil them to get any bitterness. Hopefully the sweetness will lessen but I think it may stay on the sweet side. Perhaps you could get some liquid hops and try a drop of this per stubbie, others may know whether this is a good idea.

earle wrote:Spatch

if they were only steeped in hot water they won't add any bitterness, just aroma. You need to boil them to get any bitterness.

It was boiled for 1 minute.............. not long enough?

Definitely not long enough. Check out this chart to get an idea of the contribution hops make in terms of length of time boiled.

http://www.brewsupplies.com/hop_characteristics.htm

Then just to see how complicated it can be check out Palmers nomograph

http://www.howtobrew.com/images/ibunomo.pdf

Then forget you ever saw it and use beersmith or an online hop calculator like this one to work out how much bitterness hops can add to your brew.

http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/Calcula ... p_calc.htm

Many kit manufacturers have the ibu of their kits on the web and there are also excel spreadsheets floating around.

Now that is interesting.

And after I got off the net I thought back and I did only steep it.
The one I boiled was the German Lager converter hops but sounds like
one minutes boiling is no different to steeping......

red dog wrote:I used a can of Morgans amber ale,
1KG of malt,
Recipe called for safale yeast but I used the one in the kit.
Fuggles hops soked for 10 min.

Its fermenting at about 24-26degrees here in the study. it slowed up for a couple of days as the nights cooled off a bit but it fermenting at a steady rate.

Please excuse my ignorance but I am new to the home brewing caper--have done a few kits bought from supermarket, but want to experiment a little bit. Our local homebrew shop sells hops in two ways--finishing hops in a 12g 'tea bag' or 60g pellets--which way would you suggest I go.

I am thinking of going with a can of the Morgans Royal Oak Amber Ale and the Morgans Caramalt. As we are starting to get a little cooler at night I would think that the temp would be at the lower end of the scale.

bgm1409 wrote:Please excuse my ignorance but I am new to the home brewing caper--have done a few kits bought from supermarket, but want to experiment a little bit. Our local homebrew shop sells hops in two ways--finishing hops in a 12g 'tea bag' or 60g pellets--which way would you suggest I go.

I am thinking of going with a can of the Morgans Royal Oak Amber Ale and the Morgans Caramalt. As we are starting to get a little cooler at night I would think that the temp would be at the lower end of the scale.

Tea bags are for nannas and n00bs that you pwned.

Go the fresh hop pellets! You will not regret it!

The pellets tend to work out more economical and if they have been stored correctly should be fresher. Plus as an added bonus you'll have some left over which gives you a great excuse to plan another batch. Store them in an airtight container in the freezer.

I've just put another batch down after doing the first batch. Its definately going to be a prefered brew after sampling so away we go.

Kevnlis wrote:

bgm1409 wrote:Please excuse my ignorance but I am new to the home brewing caper--have done a few kits bought from supermarket, but want to experiment a little bit. Our local homebrew shop sells hops in two ways--finishing hops in a 12g 'tea bag' or 60g pellets--which way would you suggest I go.

I am thinking of going with a can of the Morgans Royal Oak Amber Ale and the Morgans Caramalt. As we are starting to get a little cooler at night I would think that the temp would be at the lower end of the scale.

Tea bags are for nannas and n00bs that you pwned.

Go the fresh hop pellets! You will not regret it!

Quantity of hops used in this recipe?

bgm1409 wrote:

Kevnlis wrote:Tea bags are for nannas and n00bs that you pwned.

Go the fresh hop pellets! You will not regret it!

Quantity of hops used in this recipe?

Depends on the type of hops you have.

Fuggles

In a 4L boil with the tin of Amber Extract chuck in 10g or so when it hits full boil, wait 10 min and then chuck in another 10g or so wait a further 10 min then take it off the heat and combine it with the contents of the kit into your fermentor. Top up with cold water and ferment for 3-4 days, then add a further 10g and leave for another 3-4 days before you bottle.