Summer Glory Kit - When to Hop?!

[KneeDownMarce]

Hi everyone,

Am still quite new to home brewing but have learned that 3 weeks in the "bucket" often equates to a better tasting brew than if you stick to the 10-14 days the kits generally recommend.

I'm brewing "summer glory" and the instructions say leave it to ferment in the bucket for 5 days, then throw in the hops for 5 days before bottling it.

Personally, I'd like to leave it fermenting for a total of 3 weeks to maximize the chances of a well rounded-out flavour- does anyone have experience as to when would be the best moment to throw in the hops? I don't want an excessively bitter after-taste and don't know if I should follow the kit ratio of 50/50 or put the hops in 5 days before I expect to bottle it... or maybe some other idea.

I'd be very grateful for your experience!

Kind regards,

Marcel

 

[The Baron]

I would put the hops in a week before you want to keg/bottle and take them out after 5 days which leaves you 2 days to crash the beer and drop the last bit of sediment to the bottom

 

[KneeDownMarce]

Hi the Baron (great sig. btw!),

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely follow it. Is "crashing the beer", moving the bucket to a cold place for a couple of days before bottling it? I've not done that before... Just simply bottled it after a 2 or 3 weeks.

Kr, Marcel

 

[The Baron]

Yes some of the serious brewers use a fridge but at this time of the year a garage floor is usually quite cool so put it there if you have one

 

[KneeDownMarce]

With the cold weather we've got, it sounds good to me... what's the advantage of "crashing the beer"? is it simply to make the beer look clearer? or is it to improve the taste?

 

[The Baron]

It is to make anything in suspension to drop to the bottom so that the beer is clearer when kegged or bottled

 

[KneeDownMarce]

Really appreciate your advice! I'll follow it and let you know how I get on. :-)

 

[The Baron]

Hope it turns out good

 

[KneeDownMarce]

Just a quick update... I'm in week 2 and a bit of the beer fermenting in the "Bucket" stage, so sampled it to see if I think it needs hops or not (don't want an overpowering bitter after taste if possible)... But am a bit concerned as it doesn't really taste very nice and has a slightly odd smell - hard to describe.

So now I'm a little worried this might be what spoiled beer tastes like... in which case I'm stuffed... but if not, does anyone think it's Ok to leave it fermenting an extra week or so to see if the yeast can finish off and improve the taste? Could I ruin it by leaving it too long fermenting?

Thanks for any advice!