Hop Tea

[smdjoachim]

I have made a hoppy pale ale with Amarillo and Nelson which I was going to dry hop,but I thought I would try a hop tea instead.

So a few questions

Has anybody done it?
How did they do it?
Did it work ?
And would you do it again?

[Totem]

I done it recently for my wherry kit. I added 80g of sugar to sauspan with water and brought it to the boil. I had to use quite a bit of water (didn't measure im afraid) as i used 50g of goldings. Added the hops in a pre boiled muslin bag and took the heat away. Left for 30 mins and drained, squeesed and added the the keg. I dont know if this is the done way put ill be doing the same for a lager brew i have at the moment.

[Normski]

I've been adding a Hop Tea to my last 4 brews. I prefer it to dry hopping. I have been getting a nice fresh aroma and flavor.
It’s less messy than dry hopping and it doesn't block the tap.
I thought that the aroma and flavor would fade after a few weeks, But it appears to last at least a month, which is long enough for me to drink a keg.

I put 1 Litre of boiling water in a saucepan, Add hops, (I use the same type and amount as I use to late hop)
Bring back to the boil, Turn of the heat and let is steep for about 10 mins.
Then I pour through a sieve.
I add this Hop tea after fermentation has finished.

I prefer this to dry hopping. Which I have tried but I didn’t think it gave me such a nice flavor and aroma. I found dry hopping was a bit grassy for me. I also had a batch go rank.

One thing that I have changed is that I now reduce my brew length by 1 Litre, to allow for the 1 Litre of Hop Tea I will add after fermentation, which will bring it back to the normal brew length.

[Martin G]

Yep, I like hop tea as well. I have only made 4 batches of beer so cannot claim loads of experience. Everything used to make my hop tea is metal, so it is easy to steralise/sanitise in a flame (metal baking cup, foil and metal strainer). The hops have at least been scorched so I hope to have reduced the risk of infection (if there is any).

Not sure if it is a good idea to squeeze the hops. I have been growing hops in the garden and begging for some from a neighbour that has a bine. I made some hop tea to compare my own Cascade bine with the neighbours. In my case I found that unsqueezed hops made a tea that was nice and clear and 'clean' smelling, but it went cloudy when I squeezed the hops and the aroma was just not quite as crisp (perhaps just stronger, but it put me off). By the way, the neighbours bine was more Cascadey than the Cascade!! but then my Cascade is only young.

It is also interesting to note how bitter hop tea is, when I added it to my Christmas Oatmeal Stout brew it went from sickly sweet to a lovely balance, though I dare say so myself!!

[Totem]

I was tempted to try some of the tea too, very bitter indeed. Its been in my keg for a few weeks now - the old man said it tasted like pub beer; not the usual homebrew smell - which was a bonus.

[196osh]

I have made hop tea a few times and especially when dry hopping in large quantities into high gravity beers, I think Dry hopping generally gives a better more rounded hop flavour that lasts longer.

[Invalid Stout]

I have made hop tea a few times and especially when dry hopping in large quantities into high gravity beers, I think Dry hopping generally gives a better more rounded hop flavour that lasts longer.

So you're doing the hop tea and dry hopping too?