Hobknocker Dark English Ale

[batman72]

I visited England last year and I was given a Hobgoblin and loved it, got back to the states and couldn't find it available here, so I figured I would make my own and found this kit:

Hobknocker Dark English Ale

Now, I never made anything like this before and I was looking for beginner tips, anything y'all can share. I also purchased this to make the 5 gallon batch :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SA5VLQE/

 

[batman72]

Has anyone tried this kit?

I am a beginner on beer making and any advice would be awesome

I ordered this ale kit and a conical 7.9 gallon fermenter .

 

[madscientist451]

My advice:
You can make brewing complicated or you can keep things simple, so start as simple as possible and you can add complexity if you want to.
Go on you tube and watch some BIAB videos, its a pretty easy process.
"How to Brew" by John Palmer is a free book on line, and covers most of the basic material, there's a newer updated version available.
That kit is probably OK, but you never know how long a kit has been sitting on the shelf, so skip the kit next time and order grain and hops and go for it.

 

[Pappers_]

Welcome to the hobby and to HBT! Moved this to beginners brewing forum (from the recipe database). Take a look around, especially in this beginner's forum, there are sticky threads at the top. Lots of good info, plus ask as many questions as you want.

+1 on @madscientist451 's suggestion about taking a look at the first couple of chapters of How to Brew.

 

[FromZwolle]

great choice for a simple start. hobgoblin is a fantastic beer.

a couple tips, though there are hundreds more on this site to look for,

1.-make sure to aerate as much as you can before you add the yeast, and then do your best to keep oxygen out of every step after that. just splash the beer around in the fermenter a good bit with a sanitized spoon for a minute or two.

2.-fermentation temperature control is pretty key to getting your beer to not taste like warm yeast. do your best to store the fermenter somewhere in the 60-65F range while active fermentation goes on. the temp inside the fermenter will be 3-8 degrees higher than that.

3.-patience, patience, patience. fermentation can take 3-4 weeks to make the best beer possible. (this comment will get plenty of arguements, but it's a good place for a new brewer to start)

and finally, for this kit specifically, ditch the priming sugar that comes with the kit and use brown sugar instead. it will really push forward the great malty character.

 

[madscientist451]

OMG I just googled hobknocker and the definition is not family friendly.
On the positive side, the beer is supposed to be a clone of Wychwood Hobgoblin that was featured on the CYBI podcast:

Wychwood Hobgoblin Clone (From CYBI w/ Jamil Zainasheff)

Compiled from notes taken from an interview with Wychwood Head Brewer Jeff Drew.

Pre-boil: 7.27 gallons
Post-boil: 6 gallons
Efficiency: 70%
Evaporation: 15%

OG: 1.046
FG: 1.011-1.012
IBU: 24-26
Color: 15.5 SRM
Boil: 60 Minutes
ABV: 5.2%

All-Grain:
British Pale Malt 90% 4.29kg
British Crystal 75L 8% 360g Simpson's preferably
British Chocolate Malt 2% 100g Simpson's preferably
Cane Sugar 0.5% 20g

Hops:
Kent Goldings 14g(~0.50oz) 4.75AA 60mins
Fuggles 14g(~0.50oz) 5.00AA 60mins
Cascade 16g(~0.56oz) 5.75AA 15mins
Styrian Goldings 64g(~2.25oz) 5.25AA 15mins

Yeast:
White Labs WLP023 Burton Ale

Mash
Single infusion at 67C(153F) for 60mins. No mash-out.

Fermentation:
Ferment at 16C(61F) rising to 20C(68F) over 3 days then down to 8C(46F).

 

[batman72]

Ale finished awhile ago, I tried a few recently and they are AWESOME!!! there is soo much flavor!. Will be making more again soon, I am sure the 5 gallons won't make it too long, not a bad start at Beer making for sure.

 

[FromZwolle]

nice. this thread got my inner goblin riled up and i'm also drinking a hobnobby inspired dark english ale.

 

[TonyKZ1]

I just seen this topic, otherwise I'd posted earlier. I've bought and brewed that recipe from Boomchugalug / Jaspers Homebrewing a couple times, 5G & 1G versions. One of my favorite recipes from them.