Newbie Hop Questions

[can-o-worms]

Hey guys... this is my first post, been reading the forums for a couple of weeks now and finally decided it was time to get involved.
I started brewing in January and I'm going to bottle my sixth attempt tonight. So far i have done nothing but mix up a can of extract and 1kg of dextrose... let it ferment for a week and bottle.
Only problems have been with a slight lack of carbonation in my 1st and 3rd batch. Still, everything has been very drinkable.... possibly too drinkable, although i haven't tasted my 5th brew yet since i only bottled it about 10 days ago.
...Anyway, although i am very happy with the kits so far, but it seems they could do with a bit more bittering. I have some Mount Hood and US golding pellets that someone gave me, I don't know how old they are, but they are sealed in air tight bags and i know they have always been frozen, so i am guessing they should be ok. right?
Until now I have just been boiling extract adding the dextrose and stirring for about 20mins. But i have just been reading about boiling it until you get a "hot break". How important is this? ... and is this what i should be doing?
... and finally the hop question...., so i add the hops, not really sure how much yet, but after i boil everything for an hour, do you strain the wort before adding it to the fermenter? and if i am adding bittering hops should i also add hops later in the boil for aroma?

Last question, I have a can of Black Rock Bitter and Black Rock India Pale Ale, and like i said before, a packet of Mount Hood and US Golding hops. Can anybody see anything wrong with using either of those hops with either of those kits? or even suggest what might be best with what?

All the ingredients for my next brew are listed above, I live in Osaka, Japan and as far as I know making beer is illegal here, so there are no home brew shops where i can just pick up 500grams of dry malt or anything else. I can get kits and most of the stuff i need online.... but there is not a whole lot of variety. I actually get a bit upset when i see some people complain about their local homebrew shop. Be thankful you have one at all.

Sorry for rambling on like this and any advice is appreciated, thanks for your time.
Patrick

[Oliver]

Hi Patrick, and welcome.

Dogger's view is that hops should not be frozen, but I'm not sure why.

I'm sure he'll let us know why.

In any case, either of these hops should be fine to use with kits you have. Try about 10g or so, boiled for an hour or so with some malt or a bit of the kit. You could also chuck in another 5g when you turn off the heat if you're looking for some extra aroma. Add more next time if you're still not happy with the bitterness.

Pretty much any hop can be used with any beer. The only thing is that it might not be true to style. The beer will still be nice, and I'm sure you'll still enjoy it.

Being a kit brewer, don't worry about the hot break. If the kit's been made properly this will have been done for you. The hot break become important when you mash your own malt rather than using malt extract.

The easiest thing to do is to strain the hops out of the liquid before adding to the fermenter. This will avoid the bottling tube becoming blocked when you bottle.

Being a homebrewer in Japan sounds like a bummer!

Cheers,

Oliver

[Dogger Dan]

They oxidize quicker when they are frozen.

DOgger

[kitkat]

regarding hops, in pellets they dissolve a lot in the boil, so filtering them out when pouring in the fermenter could be a pain. I just leave them in the hot wort when I pour it in the fermenter, haven't been complaining so far.

[Dogger Dan]

Kitkat

I do the same thing if I am using only a small amount of hops. It really plugs things up if you try doing that with say 4 oz hops.

Dogger

[Jay]

I do either of two things.

1) if I'm steeping hops in boiling water for 10minutes or whatever I use a coffee plunger. (can put grains in this aswell).

2) If boiling I use a pool filter sock (never been in the pool). Put grains and hops in sock, tie off with rubber band and throw into the boil.

Cheers,
Jay.

[Hrundi V Bakshi]

Mr Jay. Please, don't to be boiling grains! If they are light grains or base malts, there will be no conversion, so all you are adding to the beer is starch. If they are roasted grains or crystal malts, you will be adding tanins to the beer.

You may have had drinkable beer as a result of this mistreatment, but the problem flavours you are adding may just have been disguised by other faults.

I will not to mention the taste of boiled rubber from the elastic bands!

[Jay]

Sorry

I don't boil grains and never have (know about the tannins). Sorry got a bit carried away with what I was typing (I don't combine if boiling).

What I do is boil hops but not grains in a bag. I will put grains and hops in a bag if steeping in boiled water and grains in a bag alone if...simmering is suppose the word is, at 70C. This is where I got confused.

Thanks for pointing this out Hrundi

Cheers,
Jay.