TOPIC:

Hi There.

I'm Mick from Phibsboro. I'm attempting my first brew. It's a Muntons india pale ale kit that I'm trying out. It's 4 hours old and the room temperature is about 20C.

I really like US west coast (Oregon) beers, so was recommended to chuck in some cascade hops to add to the taste before I bottle.

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions over the coming weeks. Hopefully no disasters and a nice result for the christmas.

Mick.

Good choice for your first attempt. Nothing like some hops to ease you in.

20 C is nice for ale fermentation so things should be bubbling shortly. When are you planning to add the Cascade? It can complicate things a little if not done properly, especially if you are adding dry hops to the primary fermenter.

When/how do you suggest I add the cascade? I have a second fermenter and was planning on transfering to that and maybe adding the cascade then.

About a week before bottling, sanitise a mesh bag (be it a sheet of wrapped muslin or nylon perhaps) by boiling in water for ten minutes. Put around 20 grams of hops in it. Then put the bag of hops into the fermenter. The hops don't need to be sanitised because they don't cause contamination.

Pluck out the hop bag before bottling. Most tend to transfer the beer to a second vessel for dry hopping but it will work well enough in the primary. This should add decent hop aroma to your brew.

You caught me with a sneaky edit there.

I would transfer to the secondary, if you are confident with racking the beer, and then add the hops.

Thanks. I'll try that.

By the way what is the procedure for Aerating the Yeast after it's added. I just stirred the mixture quite aggressively for a few minutes, well as aggressive as I could without spilling it. Did I do enough?