Youngs American IPA Kit

[mervynskidmore]

Hi lads and lassies. Just picked up this kit and will probably brew next week. It say's it'll come out at 6.5%. I'm looking for something a bit more sessionable so I was wondering if anyone would know what the abv would be without adding the kilo of dextrose that comes with it. I'd prefer to get something in the region of 4.5%. Also there's no muslin bags with these kits, will bottling be messy through my little bottler attachment?

[mcgrath]

You could add extra water either. but you're looking at about 8-10 litres I think,
If you don't put in the dextrose, it may be even hoppier than expected, I assume the sugar is balancing out the hop bitterness to some extent. So that will depend on your taste. I'd probably just make it as it is intended  and drink less or make small adjustments to water/sugar to knock maybe a percent off it. 

[cgrvy]

Hi, I'm thinking about doing this brew too - looks great from what I have seen on youtube.

Just wondering if adding carapils would be beneficial in this brew? Also thinking of using finings for the first time in this brew - any thoughts?

(sorry if I'm hijacking the thread a little!)

[belfastjacko]

I made the regular youngs pale ale and it turned out waaay stronger than youngs suggested it would, still very tastey though.

I have their american Amber sitting on my desk gonna tackle it next week maybe.

[mervynskidmore]

Finings would be good, personally I don't mind hazy beer although I do think clear beer looks better. I might just add half of the dextrose, I'm not that into higher gravity beers.

[Drzava]

I have this kit and intend to do it as my first 'expensive' kit (after I have a couple of more el cheapos under my belt). Reviews are mostly excellent - looks to be a serious brew, and several people have had it finish higher than stated (7%+). Takes a while to ferment though apparently - most reviews say 3 weeks.

[mervynskidmore]

Weather is shite outside so I just stuck this kit on this evening. Used half the dextrose included and brewed up to 24 litres. I didn't plan the extra litre but the wort was a bit too warm so added cold water I had in the fridge. Will update as to how this turns out but I'm sure it'll be a decent brew. I'll leave it in primary for around 3 weeks and then dry hop. Still not sure whether to chuck the hops in as is or go down to the brew shop and get a muslin bag.

[HalfCutClub]

I bottled Youngs APA recently.  Very nice beer but very cloudy.  I reckon I got loads of sediment when I transferred it to a second FV, didn't have a syphon.

The hops will dissolve so no need for a bag.

[irish_goat]

I bottled Youngs APA recently.  Very nice beer but very cloudy.  I reckon I got loads of sediment when I transferred it to a second FV, didn't have a syphon.

The hops will dissolve so no need for a bag.

I have a Youngs APA in the fermenter from a kit demo I did 2 weeks ago and it seems quite cloudy as well. I've already added the dry hops so I can't really transfer to a secondary now either. Will syphon into a bottling bucket anyway and hope for the best. Mines did come with a little muslin bag as well.

[Padraich]

I brewed the IPA to recipe a while back.  I left it in primary for a little longer than specified, and then left it in bottles for 4+ weeks, 2 of them in the hotpress.

The patience paid off as the beer was perfectly clear once I started drinking it.  So, if you can be a bit patient, the bottles clear up on their own.

IIRC, it came out ~7.2% but you wouldn't have known it from the taste... just from the sleepiness that arrived halfway through the second bottle. 

[mervynskidmore]

Just bottled this kit tonight. Dry hopped for 4 days and just straight from primary into bottles. Tasted a sample before I bottled and it was very promising, the hops really hit you and this is exactly what I was looking for, nice bitterness too. Bottling directly from primary is probably not advisable but living in a small apartment it's all I've got space for. I just chucked the dry hops into the bucket as per instructions and there are a lot of hop particles floating around in the bottles. I expect they will settle to the bottom and hopefully will stay there during the pouring of the beer. This is an expensive kit but when you look at what you get it seems worth it. I'll crack open the first bottle in 2 weeks and update ye.

[cgrvy]

Brewed this up 2 days ago, the og is over 1.060 - by far the highest I have ever brewed. Maybe I should have only added half the sugar because I wanted a regular beer for summertime and not something supercharged. Oh well - guess I will have to do another brew so! I'm going to give it 2.5 / 3 weeks in primary and then transfer to secondary and add the hops.

[mervynskidmore]

Just took my first sample today. Only a week in the bottles but reasonably well carbonated and quite clear. Great hoppy smell, straw colour with a white frothy head. Lots of pine needles on the taste. It's actually not as bitter as I had thought it would be and it's got a nice dry finish. Great tasting beer and you would never think it's 6.5%. Overall it's a brilliant kit and definitely the best attempt I've had at a kit American IPA. Very little if any kit twang to it at all. I've bought the Youngs Amber Ale and the American Pale Ale and can't wait to see how they turn out.

[cgrvy]

Transferred to secondary and added hops yesterday - smells amazing! Cant wait to give this a go.

[Drzava]

I have this kit and intend to do it as my first 'expensive' kit (after I have a couple of more el cheapos under my belt). Reviews are mostly excellent - looks to be a serious brew, and several people have had it finish higher than stated (7%+). Takes a while to ferment though apparently - most reviews say 3 weeks.

Finally got around to doing this. In the FV for 25 days, and bottled last Saturday. Accidently short brewed to ~21.5L. OG 1.062, FG an astonishing 1.002, giving 7.9% ABV before priming (call it 8.2% in the bottle). Definitely not a session beer! Dry hopped for 2 days; taster smelt and tasted very promising. Hops were a pain though, even though I added them in a muslin bag. Lots of tiny bits floating in the beer, especially at the top. Left behind quite a bit when racking (onto included priming dextrose) and ended up with a slightly disappointing 39 500ml bottles which still have some hop particles. I wonder would I have been as well off just adding the hop pellets straight into the beer - this could possibly contribute greater aroma too? The beer didn't clear in the FV either - I had hoped a lot of the yeast would drop out but, even after 25 days, the beer was still very cloudy. Hopefully it'll clear in the bottle!