About to to a Cooper's IPA kit, intend to mess with it a bit... tips?

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Stavrogin78

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Hi everyone! So, I've been home brewing on and off for years, but it's pretty much been just following the directions, and I'm trying to get a little more under the hood now. Started with the Brew House BIAB kits (which, honestly, were pretty good, especially their IPA), and I've moved on to extract kits now for a bit more control. I've done a few of the Coopers kits and the results were okay - nothing to write home about, but still better than the budget beer I can get at the store.

I've got a couple of the Cooper's IPA kits on the way, and I've done this kit four times before (once, fermentation simply failed to start at all, despite a second pitching - only thing I can figure is that I forgot to oxygenate the wort at all), and while I generally like it, I want to add a bit more bitterness to it. I've never added hops to a kit before, so I'm hoping I can get some guidance here, so I can do the best I can with what I've got.

So, on the way are two of the Cooper's IPA kits, a few pounds of the Briess Golden Light DME (which is what I've used for them before), and an ounce each of Centennial and Cascade hops.

My usual process is a partial boil, putting 3 litres of water in a pot, simmering for 15 minutes, then adding the DME and some dextrose (2lbs of DME, 1 of dextrose) and simmering that for fifteen minutes, then taking the kettle off the heat and adding the can contents. I drop the whole kettle in the sink with cold water and bring it down to about 36C, pour into my fermenter (which is just a bucket, I don't have a lid), and top up with water to 23 litres. When the temp is right around 20C, I stir it madly for a minute or two to oxygenate, pitch the yeast, put a towel over it, and leave it for four to six days before racking to a glass carboy for a couple of weeks.

This usually works fine for any Coopers kit (I've done the Dark Ale kit, too). If I've understood general brewing correctly, I'm thinking I would add the Centennial at the same time as I add the DME and dextrose, and simmer that all for the 15 minutes, then take it off the heat and add the can. I'm figuring I can just strain out the hops pellets when I pour it into the primary. This would take care of the bittering. Also, I don't have a muslin bag, and probably can't get one anytime soon, so straining it will probably have to be.

I'm considering dry hopping it with the Cascade on top of that, but I'm unsure how to go about that. Would I dry hop it while it's in the primary? Or after I rack it to the carboy? I know, I know, folks are all saying these days that secondary isn't necessary, but as I don't have a proper lid for my primary (and can't get one right now either), racking to the carboy is probably worth the risk, as it reduces the chances of my dogs, children, or wife accidentally contaminating the beer in that open, towel-covered bucket.

Anything I'm missing here? And how much hops? The whole ounce for both bittering and aroma? Half an ounce? I'm not going for anything extreme, here, just a little extra beyond what the pre-hopped can gives me. Also, am I overlooking any important steps here?

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

Also, I am not a connoisseur. Keep in mind that the alternative to what I brew at home is Lucky Lager. So the bar ain't exactly high, here. Less-than-perfect is totally okay; this is a learning experience.
 
1. Dry yeast contains all it need for propagation so it does not need aeration. You need to find a different reason for one batch not fermenting. Just how certain are you that that batch did not ferment?
2. To get the bitterness from hops that you desire takes hot wort and time. To get the most bittering from them takes an hour of boil or near boil although you can get an estimated 90% of that in 30 minutes. 15 minute simmer will get you some, amount unknown. I would normally add 1oz of hops for a 5 gallon batch, depending on the alpha acid of the hop. I use Nugget with alpha acid of about 13%. Read the label on the hops you choose for bittering as the percentage of alpha acid determines how much bitterness you will get from them. For this batch, since you don't have the experience with the hops, just add the ounce of Centennial in the boil and see if you like it.
3. If your carboy is large enough, use it for the primary and don't secondary. If it is too small, just keep on with how you do it for now. Some people try to strain out the hops, some (like me) just leave them in the fermenter until bottling. Often the dry hops will settle out so you can rack the beer from above them at bottling time. If not, a paint strainer bag wrapped around the siphon pickup will keep them out.
4. An ounce of Cascade hops will be fine for dry hopping on this batch. Some brewers like to add more, some much more. You'll learn from this batch.
5. Control of the temperature during the first few days of fermentation made the biggest difference in the taste of my beer. If you don't have a temperature controlled refrigerator, a tub of water that you can set the fermenter into will help immensely. Use bottles of water that you have frozen to add to the water to keep the fermenting beer cool. 3 to 4 days of that will be a big advantage.
6. Don't rush your beer. Give it time to ferment out and start to clear, normally 10 to 14 days, before adding the dry hop. Leave the beer another 3 to 7 days to extract all the aroma possible from the dry hops, them bottle. Try a bottle one week after bottling. Try another at 2 weeks. Start serious drinking at 3 weeks. I think you will like the difference the extra time makes.
 
Thanks for the reply, this was really helpful! A question about this:

2. To get the bitterness from hops that you desire takes hot wort and time. To get the most bittering from them takes an hour of boil or near boil although you can get an estimated 90% of that in 30 minutes. 15 minute simmer will get you some, amount unknown. I would normally add 1oz of hops for a 5 gallon batch, depending on the alpha acid of the hop. I use Nugget with alpha acid of about 13%. Read the label on the hops you choose for bittering as the percentage of alpha acid determines how much bitterness you will get from them. For this batch, since you don't have the experience with the hops, just add the ounce of Centennial in the boil and see if you like it.

As I mentioned, my usual process was to boil the water for 15 minutes (can't remember where I read this, but it had something to do with boiling off chlorine or other stuff, so I just do it now), then I add the fermentables. Would it make sense to boil the water for 15 minutes, add the hops, simmer that for 15 minutes, THEN add the fermentables, simmer for another 15, then remove from heat and add the can?

My carboy is pretty much exactly the size needed as a secondary for a 23L batch - there's no room in there for the foam from vigourous fermentation, so I guess I'll just keep doing it as I've been doing it with the "bucket" primary and racking after a few days. But that begs another question, though I think you've kind of already answered it: if I'm dry hopping in that narrow-necked glass carboy, it's near impossible to keep the hops in any sort of bag, unless there's a trick I don't know about. Can I just toss them into the carboy after 10 days or so, and hope they settle out before racking into the bottling bucket? It's these little mechanical issues that get tricky for me sometimes.

Thanks again!
 
Boiling does drive off chlorine but many municipalities use chloramine and that does not boil off. A much better approach is to use Campden tablets as they remove both. 1/4 tablet per 5 gallons does it in seconds.

Use 1/4 to 1/2 the fermentables in the water when you boil the hops then add the rest when you turn off the heat. The hops probably need the 30 to 60 minutes of boiling/simmering to isomerize the hop oils for the bitterness. While it has been said that 90% of the bitterness happens within 30 minutes, there is nothing said about it being a linear process and you may not get nearly enough with the 15 minutes.

I only use a bucket and never use a bag for dry hops. Sometimes they settle out nicely, sometimes I need to add a filter on the intake side of the siphon to keep them out of the bottling bucket. Keep checking on a lid for your bucket. My local Walmart has them for 5 gallon buckets and they also fit the 6 1/2 gallon buckets.
 
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