TOPIC:

Got the bug 3 months ago and already have 3 very promising brews in bottles with positive results so far and a further 3 kits on the go at the moment all Coopers of course which are lager and pilsner made with their recommended enhancers <!-- s:wink: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s:wink: --> .
I have spent literally days looking over Youtube, Beoir and wealth of info on the net and I do want to go to the next step. I now know that to get to the Valhalla of Homebrew I need to go to Extract or Mash.
Do I have the time, patience or resources to go to Mash, probably not.
I played with several kits in the UK 25 years ago and they were muck and I'm amazed how much more user friendly the whole process has become and improvement in quality of "beer in a tin".
Like my coffee will I crush my own beans and buy a Gaggia machine? probably not, but will I buy the best instant I can afford, use the best water, quality brown sugar etc. yes definately.

To stay on topic if I can get to 75% of perfect homebrew with a standard kit for the fizzy my pals and I drink and then to start to play around with the premium and connoisseur ranges and progress onto different non kit Yeasts and finishing Hops achieving an 80-85% and better still be able to buy those in recommended bundles great. <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

Finishing hops are back:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="www.homebrewwest.ie/better-brew-finishin...et-teabags-160-c.asp">www.homebrewwest.ie/better-brew- ... -160-c.asp
New from Hambleton Bard.

Pellet finishing hops in a teabag. Just pop in a cup of boiling water, wait a few minutes, and throw it all in, including the teabag, just before pitching the yeast.

Not new exactly, we had Morgans finishing hops but they can't be obtained anymore in Europe.

The question we have is:
- how do we improve beer kits with these?

Range is:
BB Saaz
BB Fuggles
BB Goldings
BB Challenger
BB Hallertauer Hersbrucker
BB East Kent Goldings
BB Progress
BB Target
BB Williamette (weeks away)

We will throw them in at cost with beer kit bundles if it makes a big enough difference to make a new brewer put on a second kit.

Advice please!

&amp;quot;HomeBrewWest&amp;quot;:3raizol1 wrote: Finishing hops are back:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="www.homebrewwest.ie/better-brew-finishin...et-teabags-160-c.asp">www.homebrewwest.ie/better-brew- ... -160-c.asp
New from Hambleton Bard.

Pellet finishing hops in a teabag. Just pop in a cup of boiling water, wait a few minutes, and throw it all in, including the teabag, just before pitching the yeast.

Not new exactly, we had Morgans finishing hops but they can't be obtained anymore in Europe.

The question we have is:
- how do we improve beer kits with these?

Range is:
BB Saaz
BB Fuggles
BB Goldings
BB Challenger
BB Hallertauer Hersbrucker
BB East Kent Goldings
BB Progress
BB Target
BB Williamette (weeks away)

We will throw them in at cost with beer kit bundles if it makes a big enough difference to make a new brewer put on a second kit.

Advice please![/quote:3raizol1]

They're an easy unintimidating way for a new brewer to improve a kit and they will make a substantial difference to hop aroma. They're also not buying too much that they are forced to store sealed in their freezer, and basically end up with large amounts of hops of one type.

Yes, but which hops with which beers?

We'd like to bundle the hops in with beer kits, but we need to find the best hop for each beer. Any ideas?

BB Saaz ----lager
BB Fuggles ---English ale/ IPA / stouts
BB Goldings --- English ale/ IPA / stouts
BB Challenger ---Classic English Ale/IPA
BB Hallertauer Hersbrucker ----Lager/Weizen
BB East Kent Goldings ---Enlgish Ale / stouts
BB Progress --- Like Fuggles, so same types of beer
BB Target --- Ales
BB Williamette (weeks away) -- APA fuggles like but with US typical fruit notes.

That's just rough but close enough without knowing the exact kits.

Brilliant. Thanks a million Eoin.