Has anyone tried the Hop Head IPA kit from Midwest??

Im about to brew this kit sunday so let me know what you think of it and any changes that need to be made. Thanks!

 

Brew it as written the first time around would be my advice. I really don't like Midwest, however the one kit I bought which was a Red Hook clone came out very well. I like to tinker after a first run through of a recipe which sets your baseline.

 

I brewed it as specified and it turned out really well. Most of my friends really enjoyed it and keep asking when I am going to make it again.

 

I would recommend brewing it the way it comes also.

I brewed it a 2nd time and then used different hops just so I didn't have 4 cases of identical beer and it's also great. On the 2nd one I used Amarillo & Simcoe FWH, then continuously hopped 60min to 40min with Warrior for the bitter, and then 40min-0min with Amarillo & Simcoe and dry hopped with amarillo & simcoe too. It's conditioning now, but already delicious.

 

I just picked up their Octane IPA kit, so I'm anxious to try it. Let us know how your Hophead turns out. I kept going back and forth between the two and I went with the Octane since they said it was their best seller. Also, I figured the higher alcohol content would balance the hops a bit better.

 

I have also heard alot of good things about their Limited Edition Ferocious IPA kit.
I am looking to do a nice IPA for one of my next brew. Its going to be hard to decide which one!

 

I brewed this about 3 months ago and loved it. I just my second batch to brew this week . Follow the instructions, Which yeast are you using? Thats the only thing that would really change this.

 

Is it a well balanced IPA or just extremly hoppy?

 

The hop head or Ferocious?

 

I ordered the white labs california ale so it should provide a nice clean malt

 

it was my first ipa, i felt it was very well balanced. It was the hophead.
i used safale 05 on it was great. hope it turns out great.

 

I brewed the hop head as well and it is still my favorite out of the beers I've brewed. As to tweaking, I brewed it as is though I think I used a dry yeast. maybe going with liquid would be better. Worth a try.

 

Old thread, but I wanted to chime in with my HH DIPA kit experience.

I picked up the extract kit and followed the directions exactly with the specialty grains and hop additions. However, I miscalculated the amount of ice I needed to chill the wort and ended up with 6 gallons in my fermenter!! This brought my OG down to about 1.067. I aerated by vigorously stirring with my drill mixer for several minutes and pitched two packs of Wyeast American Ale. Primary for 2 weeks @70 deg, racked into secondary and dry hopped for 1 week. After only 2 weeks in the bottle this beer is the best I've made so far. Although it was only my 4th completed batch. My FG ended up at 1.016 so my miscalculation turned this into an IPA as opposed to a DIPA--probably knocked the IBUs down a bit too--but still VERY drinkable!

 

I just kegged this Friday and am anxious to tap into it this afternoon. I followed the directions with wyeast. 1 week in the primary and one week in the secondary dry hopping. SG 10.72 FG 10.16. Smelled amazing...