Kit Tweaking. How to customise and improve upon a basic kit

[terrym]

Also can I dry hop at the end of the fermentation in the same FV if so any ideas how many hops to add to a 23 litre batch
Also is it better to buy the pellet or leaf hops

I’m also experimenting with a Wilko Cerveza & added Clarity Ferm to clear out the Gluten after 14 days fermenting still seems very cloudy

Yes you can add hops to the same FV. Pellets or whole hops are both fine but pellets are probably better in terms of giving up their goodness, gm for gm. If you are new to dry hopping I suggest you use a large nylon mesh bag to contain your hops to avoid them passing through at packaging. The weight of hops you add is down to experience, personal taste and the hop you are using. My suggestion for Citra is to go for 50g of pellets as a start point if you have not used them before.
More here
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/a-newbies-guide-to-dry-hopping-your-beer.61045/
And be aware that dry hopping is more about aroma compared to hop tea infusions which are more about flavour. If I make up a hop tea I use 100ml water @ 80*C for every 10g of pellets and allow to cool slowly then chuck the lot in, to get the best of both worlds.

 

[pms67]

What’s people’s opinion on the reasons for the guys at Lovebrewing to add 650g of sugar to these kits , https://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/chinook-ipa-beerworks-craft-brewery-series/
Young’s do it too with the Premium American IPA and Greg Hughes adds quite a bit in his brew book
Is it as bad as we make out?

 

[Gerryjo]

What’s people’s opinion on the reasons for the guys at Lovebrewing to add 650g of sugar to these kits , https://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/chinook-ipa-beerworks-craft-brewery-series/
Young’s do it too with the Premium American IPA and Greg Hughes adds quite a bit in his brew book
Is it as bad as we make out?

The sugar is added to increase the ABV to that stated on the kit.You will find this with a lot of kits.

 

[terrym]

What’s people’s opinion on the reasons for the guys at Lovebrewing to add 650g of sugar to these kits , https://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/chinook-ipa-beerworks-craft-brewery-series/
Young’s do it too with the Premium American IPA and Greg Hughes adds quite a bit in his brew book
Is it as bad as we make out?

Looks like it is very very similar to a Youngs AIPA. Many one cans get done with 500g dextrose and I have done them like that too and they have turned out OK. In this case there is not much more sugar but the malt is generous so I suppose relatively its better. Also the Youngs kit tends to ferment out to a low SG helped by the sugar, and this one may too. Perhaps the style requires dryness?

 

[pms67]

I thought that,how many people on here actually add dextrose to their brew?
As I said, Greg Hughes recommends this in a few of his beers but I’ve not seen to many recipes on here with it added.
Maybe worth a try on a brew to see if it affects the dryness

 

[terrym]

I thought that,how many people on here actually add dextrose to their brew?
As I said, Greg Hughes recommends this in a few of his beers but I’ve not seen to many recipes on here with it added.
Maybe worth a try on a brew to see if it affects the dryness

If you are mostly brewing kits then it is more than likely that you add some dextrose.
And I have recently been doing partial mashes based on 1kg pale malt and 1.5kg DME and sometimes add up to 200g table sugar to up the volume or ABV and don't notice any difference. Others on here use golden syrup as have I. And UK commercial brewers often use invert sugar, So I don't really see a problem, provided you are reasonably sparing with it. I'll get me coat....

 

[woomfy]

I've had some great success with the Youngs IPA kits, and i have a notion to spice my next brew up a bit. I have a Richies Simply kit being delivered shortly, and fancy adding something fruity like grapefruit in an attempt to create an Elvis Juice, taistylike. If I was adding a bottle of grapefruit juice or actual grapefruit inc peal, when and how would i do this. Surely the juice would increase the sugar content and upset the SG. Alternatively if I was adding actual fruit/peel, towards the end of initial fermentation, would the fruit/peel need sterilising somehow?

Thanks, in anticipation.

 

[Winterbournebrewery]

I've had some great success with the Youngs IPA kits, and i have a notion to spice my next brew up a bit. I have a Richies Simply kit being delivered shortly, and fancy adding something fruity like grapefruit in an attempt to create an Elvis Juice, taistylike. If I was adding a bottle of grapefruit juice or actual grapefruit inc peal, when and how would i do this. Surely the juice would increase the sugar content and upset the SG. Alternatively if I was adding actual fruit/peel, towards the end of initial fermentation, would the fruit/peel need sterilising somehow?

Thanks, in anticipation.

people have used a grapefruit extract with the Mangrove Jacks kits, But I am sure people on here have a better idea than me.

 

[norrie]

I've been experimenting lately with some beer kits I get out of Wilko. I have been making there dark stout and winter warmer. The last one I added half a can of treacle, some demerara sugar, spray malt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Not tried it yet but the last stout I did I added treacle and demerara sugar and it was quite nice.

 

[Baldinio]

I was looking at the aussie homebrew link at the start of the thread with reference to tweaking coopers kits. Most of the recipes use dried corn syrup which I hadn't heard of and couldn't find for sale online in the UK. Then found a reference on another aussie website where they said this is maltodextrin which I can find online in the UK. So has anyone tried any of these tweaks, what did you use instead of the dried corn syrup? And also what was the finished beer like?