new to homebrewing- couple questions

[spongebobsquarebrew]

Hello everyone, i am new to homebrewing and have a couple questions. I live in Portland and there are a few home brew stores so I got a couple recipes and followed a video on youtube. So far so good. My 1st porter came out great, I have a heff in the carboy it is almost done, and another chocolate porter that I am going to add chocolate, almond, coconut extract in when it is ready to go into the keg, in the other carboy, i am trying to make an almond joy. I also invested into a 2 keg system, to force carbonate.

My first brew was a Porter, and I never strained the hops out of the wort before putting it in the carboy. Is there a set idea that you should strain the hops out or not strain em, or does it really matter?

The more I thought about it the more I thought, it is like an IPA Porter. I actually think it helped the flavor. Am I right?

What does the Alpha % mean? Is 17% a very bitter taste, or not bitter taste?

I am going to make a fruit beer and want to use puree', should I add this when I have cooled the wort as it is going into the 1st fermentation? Or is there a better or alternate time?

Any suggestions would be great,
Thanks
mathew

 

[cuttsjp]

1. Most people strain out the hops before going into the fermenter to get rid of certain off flavors, but if you do a whirlpool in your brew pot after chilling to fermenting temps, you pretty much don't need to strain them out because they'll be left at the bottom of your brewpot.
2. Depending on the hops you used, you may very well have ended up with a sort of "IPA porter." American hops would create that citrusy, IPA-style hop character, particularly with flavor and aroma hop additions. Black IPA is a style that is very much in vogue with homebrewers right now, so if you like it, go with it!
3. Alpha acids are the bitter component of hops, so the higher the Alpha %, the more bitter they will be. Certain other factors, some relating to the beer and some not, will contribute to the taster's perception of the bitterness (some high alpha hops are, by nature, more mellow than others of equal alpha acid content). Also, 17% is a very high AA content. There are few strains of hops commercially available that are higher than that.
4. For fruit beers, if you want to add fruit purée, you should either add it at flame out of your boil and let it steep for 10-15 minutes to pasteurize it, or you should add it into the beer upon racking the beer into a secondary fermenter. Adding the purée directly to your primary fermenter is not appropriate, as it can contaminate the beer and generate all sorts of undesirable off-flavors.

Hope this helps. Happy brewing!

 

[spongebobsquarebrew]

Thanks this really helps,

I will use the idea of adding the puree' at flame out and try one with the secondary fermenter as well.