Can I improve this kit with these hops?

[Abatchaweek]

Hello,

Newbie kit and kilo maker here from new zealand .I use coopers (runs) original kits as there very cheap and I find the least offensive of them so far to be real ale (although haven't tried the stout).I like it as it has ,compared to the lighter coopers, some seemblence of taste imo,I like the bite that it has.

Anyways I wanted to tart it up some/experiment etc and got some hops from home brew shop and he said they should be okay for flavour/dry hopping.

My question is can I make something decent from the following ingredients as in ideas of how long/amounts of hops to boil/dry hop.Or will I need another more appropriate hop.

1 can 1.7kg coopers real ale
beer enhancer 1kg malt/dextrose ratio unknown
100g/3.5oz styrian golding (NZ) 7.2%

I only have an 8 ltr boil pot.

My idea pre any guidance would of been to boil the beer enhancer and 1 ounce of hops for 15 minutes then add the beer kit in last 5 minutes to mix and then top up in fermenter and then dry hop after 5 days with another 1oz for a week or 2.Any ideas/suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[birvine]

Hmmm... from my limited experimenting experience...

To keep costs down, use what you have though some might say to use LME or DME in place of this enhancer (??)

Boil the contents of the can and the enhancer in say 6 litres of water for 10-15 minutes, at T5 (five minutes to go) put in 1 oz hops, at T1 another ounce of hops, then 0.5 oz at T0. After 3-4 weeks of primary add the final ounce of hops and leave for another week before bottling.

Yes. I LOVE Styrian Goldings!

B

 

[unionrdr]

I use a cooper's OS can in all my brews. I like to change them into other styles,depending on which can I use. I do this by adding different,plain Munton's DME's in 3lb (about 1.4kg) bags.
I use half the bag in the boil,2.5 gallons (about 9.5L) to do 3 hop additions. After stiring in the DME,I get a mini hot break for about 3 minutes. Then,bag up an ounce (30g) of hops & set the timer for 20 minutes in this instance.
At 10 minutes,add .5oz (15g). At flame out,another 15g (.5oz) for 10 minutes with the lid on. Remove & drain hops,add remaining DME & cooper's can,stiring each addition to mix thoroughly.
Then cover & steep for 15 minutes.
If you're not using any DME in the boil,get your water boiling,then add 30g (1oz) to the boil for 15 minutes,remove/drain (i use hop sacks for these additions),then take the kettle off the heat & mix in the cooper's can,& the brew enhancer. You don't want to boil either of them. You'll loose hop flavors in the can,& maybe caramelize the sugars in the brew enhancer.
Then,when FG is reached,dry hop for a week with 1oz (30g) of hops.

 

[Abatchaweek]

Thanks guys.

 

[unionrdr]

You're welcome. Just keep in mind not to boil the cooper's pre-hopped can,or any sugars/brew enhancers & you're good to go.

 

[birvine]

Interesting. I used to boil my pre-hopped kits when I used them - from what I understood there were no flavour or aroma hops in them. But I may stand corrected!

B

 

[unionrdr]

Well,the Original Series cooper's cans have bittering only,with Pride of Ringwood hops. So you'd be loosing some bittering by boiling the pre-hopped cans. Not to mention,some darkening/caramelization.
The international series,& Thomas Cooper's selection have flavor & aroma additions. Something to keep in mind.
That's why I use the OS cans in my recipes. They lend themselves very well to DME & hop additions. In other words,you can make your own recipes with them,once you start learning witch can with what plain DME & hops give you what style.

 

[billf2112]

Changing the hops and/or yeast will make any brew different. One of the biggest things about cloning is getting the hops and schedule right.

I made brewers best kit and simply used a different yeast and it was totally different from what another brewer did with the same kit. We both followed the instructions to the key, the only change was the yeast and fermentation temperature. We ended up with different beers.

 

[unionrdr]

I don't mean a different variation from yeast or hops of the same style. I mean a completely different beer altogether. It's not hard to do.