Get a (slightly more complex) Brew On!

So, hopefully you will have read my previous entry in which I made a straight up Coopers Stout kit.

The thing about kits is they work well as a base, but the condensing and storing of a kit means they lose a bit of edge. It's pretty easy to jazz them back up again though. One simple way is to introduce more hops. Coopers make a kit called "Australian Pale Ale" (APA), which is great for experimenting with. I quite often hop it up with this simple process.

Firstly you'll need to get yourself some hops. Generally these come vacuum packed in 100g pounches.

 
 100g is, however, a lot of hops. Given that the kit is already hoppy, we only need to use 25g in this brew.
The packing process means the hops are super clumped together so I break them apart into 25g clumps. I then bag these up and put them in a plastic container and stick them in the freezer. They'll be good for...I dunno how long, I've always used them up. 

I'm just weighing Hops, Officer.

So, after I've weighed out 25g I put them into a hop bag. It doesn't matter about it being sterilized as it's about to be boiled.

Once they're in the bag I tie it in a loose knot. It then goes into about 2 litres of boiling water, and simmers for around 15 minutes.

Now, the process for brewing is exactly the same as for the previous kit. However this time after I've put all the ingredients in the bucket, instead of just using hot water out of the kettle I use this "Hop Tea". Then stir, top up with cold water and ferment. Easy.