Can you use Saaz in Bitter or does it have to be Lager?

[WishboneBrewery]

Having just ordered a few hops for tweaking beer kits I was wondering about, Can you use Saaz in Bitter or does it have to be Lager?

I'd ordered some Target, Fuggles, and First Gold... but First Gold had sold out so I thought I'd have some Saaz to tweak a Future Lager kit.

Also, would Saaz be a good hop for a Wheat Beer?
...and if anyone can tell me the good points and usefulness of Target, Fuggles, First Gold and Saaz I'd much appreciate it Thanks

[GARYSMIFF]

I am new here, if you try it and you like it why should you not use saaz, I brewed up, lager malt ,saaz and ale yeast S04 and it tasted like a bitter and every one drunk it and its all gone.

[WishboneBrewery]

cool.... well some might find their way into the Geordie Yorkshire Bitter Kit I just got along with Fuggles and Target

[boingy]

Some hops are traditionally used for certain beers but there are no rules. If you are using them for bittering (in a lengthy boil) you need to be aware that some are stronger than others (the Alpha Acid value tells you this) but if you are just using them for aroma or flavour tweaks then use whatever you like. Be sure to make notes of how much you use and what you do with them so you can learn what each hop tastes/smells like.

There is some decent info on hop uses and flavours here (click on each hop name for details):

www.charlesfaram.co.uk/Variety.asp

[WishboneBrewery]

Cool, I think I randomly found that website last night after a search...

*after reading a little on your advice*

So I gather that 'Target' will be good on a long boil for bitterness as its a hight alpha and could also dry Hop after ferment.

Fuggles is more of an English Ale Character builder

Saaz sounds like its going to impart a good bit of Aroma

And First Gold is an all rounder with zestiness

Would you recommend Tweaking a Bitter kit brew with just 1 type of hop so that I could note its traits or should I just note down which and how much of each i decide to use and how I used them.

[boingy]

I'd say stick with one type of hop at a time and aim for aroma rather than bitterness. The kit should already be fairly balanced bitterness-wise. Personally, I'd also avoid the Target for now. Its main purpose is bittering.

Make a hop tea. Pour boiling water over an ounce or two of your chosen hops, let it steep for 15 mins then strain out the hops and use the "tea" as part of the kit water.

[WishboneBrewery]

cheers

[WishboneBrewery]

ere Boingy..
You say avoid the Target Hops for now, my first Batch of Coopers Stout is pretty good, but I do feel it could use some more bite to it...
Could I use a few of the Target Hops boiled up in the Spray Malt for my next brew??? Would the Target be ok or would either the Fuggles or Saaz be more appropriate? I wouldn't want to over-do it so how many grams for extra bittering?

thanks again

[boingy]

It's hard to be precise about these things but Target is quite powerful so it's best to underdo it rather than overdo it. The amount of bitterness also depends on the length of the boil and (to some extent) on the gravity of the boil. I'd suggest try 15 to 25 grams and boil for 20 to 30 minutes. The problem is that it is very hard to gauge the bitterness before fermentation is complete. The other way to tweak bitterness is to add some isomerised hop extract. This is a liquid that can be added to the final beer to increase the bitterness and hoppiness.

Example:
http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/catalog/de ... =HOP313922

Oh, and if you decide to make hop tea for any of your brews, another thread suggested a caffetiere as an excellent vessel for the job.

[WishboneBrewery]

yeah, I spotted the caffetiere mention

I shall try the boil with Target on the stout next time, I'll probably stick to the real hops as i should hopefully learn more that way. cheers again

[arkadiuszmakarenko]

You can brew sort of summer bitter. Use just pale ale malt, hint of bittering hops and a lot of Saaz for taste and aroma. Ferment using any good dry ale yeast.

[WishboneBrewery]

any specific amounts of hops?

[arkadiuszmakarenko]

I`ll put quite tastefull recepie, but you need to "lager" this beer for at least 3 months.
For 30 liters
6kg lager or pale ale malt
Mash it in 68 degrees C for at least 60`.
hops
40g any strong %AA hops (Magnum, Target, Premiant) - should be about 9% AA for 60 minuts
60g Zatecky hops (for some reason called Saaz in UK) - 30`
20-30g Zatecky (Saaz) for 5`
Use Safale S-04 or Danstar Windsor yeast.
You can dry hop it aswell.

This is based on recepie Polish ale (orgynally we use lublin hops, but with saaz it`s going to be great as well)