Midwest HopScare IPA

[Oakes]

So, I will brewing the HopScare kit from Midwest in the next couple weeks and all seems pretty straight forward. But, I do have a few questions for those of you who have brewed the kit before.

1) I saw a lot of people adding hops both for the boil and dry hopping. I wanted this to be a very hoppy beer, so what extra hops, and when to add, would you recommend.

2) Would you recommend single or double stage fermentation. I won't be adding anything, aside from dry hopping.

3) When I brewed their Wit kit, I felt that the malts were boiled for too long and that they should have been added about halfway through the boil to get a gold color and not a brown. If this kit similar in that aspect? If so, when should the malt be added?

Any other suggestions about this kit would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

 

[RM-MN]

1. Very hoppy as in bitter or very hoppy as in lots of aroma? What kind of flavors would you want to prevail? Those two questions determine what hops and when you add them. Maybe you should brew this one as is first to see what it is like before you make a lot of changes. You might like it just as is.

2. Many of us have learned that a secondary fermenter is not necessary for most beers. There are a few exceptions to that. This isn't one.

3. Boiling will darken the malt extract in any batch. I'd start with only half of the extract in at the beginning of the boil and the rest when I turned off the heat.

With any kit I've done, they don't give good instructions for the fermentation temperature. Look at the yeast used in your kit and search for its preferred temperature range. Try to keep the temperature of the fermenting beer (not the air temp) near the bottom of this range.

 

[Oakes]

1. Very hoppy as in bitter or very hoppy as in lots of aroma? What kind of flavors would you want to prevail? Those two questions determine what hops and when you add them. Maybe you should brew this one as is first to see what it is like before you make a lot of changes. You might like it just as is.

2. Many of us have learned that a secondary fermenter is not necessary for most beers. There are a few exceptions to that. This isn't one.

3. Boiling will darken the malt extract in any batch. I'd start with only half of the extract in at the beginning of the boil and the rest when I turned off the heat.

With any kit I've done, they don't give good instructions for the fermentation temperature. Look at the yeast used in your kit and search for its preferred temperature range. Try to keep the temperature of the fermenting beer (not the air temp) near the bottom of this range.

Thanks for the insight, I was thinking of keeping this one in Primary because my carboy will be holding a Vanilla Stout and I wanted both to be going at the same time.

When it came to the extra hops, I was looking at dry hopping with an extra 1-2 oz of cascade and amarillo mix.

And for the boil, I wish I had known that method when I brewed my Wit. Would have made the color match the beer and I wouldn't have felt like an idiot.

I concur that their directions are bad, but getting the gift of homebrewing for Christmas is always a good thing.

 

[RM-MN]

Your idea of adding those hops for added aroma is sound. I think they would make a decent addition but I'd still suggest you brew it as it once first. You can always make it again and add more hops if you want then.

Congrats on a brewing Christmas present. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

 

[Oakes]

I think I will go on your word by simply doing the base kit without additions. Do you think that I should do the 2 stage as recommended or simply do single stage?

 

[RM-MN]

Single stage. The recommendation to move to secondary was based on the fear of yeast autolysis. This fear is very real for big breweries but nearly non-existent for us home brewers. Nobody has bothered to rewrite the instructions since it was found unnecessary. Maybe they don't want to remove it because it helps to sell carboys.

 

[Oakes]

Single stage. The recommendation to move to secondary was based on the fear of yeast autolysis. This fear is very real for big breweries but nearly non-existent for us home brewers. Nobody has bothered to rewrite the instructions since it was found unnecessary. Maybe they don't want to remove it because it helps to sell carboys.

lol gotta make a buck somewhere but again, thanks for your help. I am still kinda new to all of this. I do my research but sometimes the crazy thoughts in my head get the best of me.