Recommend a good pale ale kit

The Minstrel

Ahoy!
Ready to get started on a new batch of homebrew and wondering if anyone can recommend a nice pale ale kit. I like the Sierra Nevada pale ale and the O'Haras pale ales especially. I also was quite taken with a really nice ale from Fuller's recently, too. Not the India pale ale. Any recommendations?
Thanks

BeerNut

Anything at all, just make it with spraymalt and dry-hop the hell out of it with a good American aroma hop.

The Minstrel

BeerNut wrote: »

Anything at all, just make it with spraymalt and dry-hop the hell out of it with a good American aroma hop.

Anything at all? Could you not have just done the decent thing and replied with a recommendation instead of this? I wouldn't know spraymalt from spraypaint.

mayto

You could try a coopers ingredient kit here http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_190&products_id=1144&zenid=2d31fde9e143f56465037a2e494b8b81 . Get some cascade hops too http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=77_78&products_id=174&zenid=2d31fde9e143f56465037a2e494b8b81 and some muslin bags to. Put the beer into a second fermenter after about 10 days when fermentation should be about done. Then get 25g or 50g of cascade hops in a muslin bag which is first sanitised with some boiling water. Tie the bag and put into fermenter for about a week before bottling

BeerNut

The Minstrel wrote: »

I wouldn't know spraymalt from spraypaint.

Learn what spraymalt (aka dry malt extract) is. It's useful for brewing, and kit brewing especially.

But basically O'Hara's and SNPA taste how they do because they're dry hopped with west-coast American hops. Freshness is everything with hops and I'd trust separately-bought hops much more than ones that came packaged with a kit.

You'll get decent results with a Coopers Lager kit, 1kg of spraymalt and 30g of Cascade.

Krusty_Clown

mayto wrote: »

You could try a coopers ingredient kit here http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_190&products_id=1144&zenid=2d31fde9e143f56465037a2e494b8b81 . Get some cascade hops too http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=77_78&products_id=174&zenid=2d31fde9e143f56465037a2e494b8b81 and some muslin bags to. Put the beer into a second fermenter after about 10 days when fermentation should be about done. Then get 25g or 50g of cascade hops in a muslin bag which is first sanitised with some boiling water. Tie the bag and put into fermenter for about a week before bottling

What's the advantage of putting it into a second fermenter, as opposed to keeping it in the primary for an extra 10 days and just throwing the sanitised hops into the primary, once fermentation is pretty much done? I understand it can cause 'off-flavours', but will you get those if you stick with a primary for just two weeks?

mayto

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

What's the advantage of putting it into a second fermenter, as opposed to keeping it in the primary for an extra 10 days and just throwing the sanitised hops into the primary, once fermentation is pretty much done? I understand it can cause 'off-flavours', but will you get those if you stick with a primary for just two weeks?

The layer of yeast and trub at the bottom of the fermenter is meant to absorb some of the hop oils from dry hopping. Of course it will be fine just to put them in the primary fermenter.

Mashtun

BeerNut wrote: »

Freshness is everything with hops and I'd trust separately-bought hops much more than ones that came packaged with a kit.

Any information on deterioration of hops. What qualities do they lose as they as they approach their best before date in terms of alpha acid, aroma etc?

When i'm finished with them i try to purge as much air from the bag as possible and put a peg on top. I then put them in a cool dry place out of direct light. Is this enough or could more be done

stevenmu

I'd be very interested in this too, I did the same with some hops about 6 weeks back, and I'd be hoping to use them for an mini-extract brew in a week or two. If they have deteriorated in quality but are still useable would upping the quantities used compensate ok?

BeerNut

Mashtun wrote: »

What qualities do they lose as they as they approach their best before date in terms of alpha acid, aroma etc?

The alpha acids stay the same so the bittering power is fine. It's the beta acids: the delicate aroma qualities, that fade.

Mashtun wrote: »

Is this enough or could more be done

You should always keep your hops in the freezer, but purging the air out of them is important too. Oxygen is the biggest enemy.

stevenmu wrote: »

I did the same with some hops about 6 weeks back, and I'd be hoping to use them for an mini-extract brew in a week or two.

I'm sure they'll be fine, but freeze them if they're not already frozen.

stevenmu wrote: »

If they have deteriorated in quality but are still useable would upping the quantities used compensate ok?

Should do, but you'll lose the more subtle qualities. I tend to demote hops which are more than six months old to bittering duties only.

stevenmu

Thanks, I'll get them in the freezer pronto.

The Minstrel

BeerNut wrote: »

30g of Cascade.

Question about the hops...
When you say 30g of cascade, do you mean cones, pellets or plugs?

Should I throw them into the primary before or after fermentation? And how are they applied to the mixture - added loose or in a muslin bag? I know these qs are painful but please bear with me...

mayto

The Minstrel wrote: »

Question about the hops...
When you say 30g of cascade, do you mean cones, pellets or plugs?

Should I throw them into the primary before or after fermentation? And how are they applied to the mixture - added loose or in a muslin bag? I know these qs are painful but please bear with me...

You want to add the hops when fermentation is about done as the c02 produced during fermentation will carry out the aroma you want. I myself usually use whole hops for dry hopping, putting them in a sanitsed muslin bag first. Not sure is it worth putting pellet hops in a muslin bag as they break up into tiny pieces, but then again the bag might hold them fine. I will try pellet hops in a muslin bag next. You can chuch the pellet hops straight in too, they will float then break up and most will sink in time. When bottling just leave last bit of beer behind which could have bits of hops in it. I dry hopped a columbus pale ale with more columbus pellet hops last year and the aroma was unreal, what a hop