OH MY GAWD...disgusting...yuck yuck

So, I’m doing a Zymurgy article and I thought I’d do some research on making hop teas to compare hops.  I’ve done this before with poor results, but I wanted to quantify things a bit.  Holy shit!  That has got to be some of the most vile, disgusting stuff to ever pass my lips!  3 hours later I can’t get the harshness out of my mouth.  Do people actually make this stuff and put it in their beers?  Man, I shudder just thinking about what it tasted like.

LOL!!!  Can’t wait to see the article Denny.

but you will sleep well. ;D

That’s how I feel about the green tea that is all the rage, these days.

–puke–

I don’t think so…this crap makes me feel like I wanna puke…

You adding any DME to that tea?

I have a theory it helps both extraction and flavor. :slight_smile:

A couple of thoughts Denny:

  1. Leaf or pellets? I imagine a hop tea with pellets will be a little more vegetal and harsh?

  2. The warmer/hotter the extraction may result in more harsh characteristics, ie cold-steeping coffee vs. french press vs. a percolater?

  3. Water chemistry: similar to Burton vs. Pilsner water.  Would using R/O or DI result in a less harsh flavor profile do to the water chemistry in tap water?

Nope, I didn’t.  I hope to god I don’t get any more extraction that I already did!  I’m sure flavor would be improved, but I wanted to keep it “pure”.  I tried whole (homegrown) Cascade and Columbus and Mt. Hood pellets.  All I can really say is that you could tell a difference between them all.

I think you actually extract different things based on the pH and minerals in the water so I think you get a better example of what to expect in the beer with a DME tea than just a tea.

Both…actually the pellets were better

Water was 170.  Less than in the kettle where they normally go, maybe a touch hotter than FWH temps

My water isn’t very extreme.  RO or DI might be better, but I was looking for something that anyone could do in their kitchen as a way of comparing hops and learning their flavors.

I agree with you, although when I did this before I adjusted water pH without improving the results much.  I wanted to try  KISS method for people to try at home.

Contact time would also be a factor.

What about blending the tea with something tasteless like a BMC? ;D

5 min. contact time.

I wonder if it has the same effects as a hop extract?  :-\

Hey Denny…just a little dab will do ya…it’s good for what ales ya.  :smiley:

A l’il dab is even too much!

I did this once… boiled a qt of water down to ~3/4C with about .5oz of pellets added… was going to add to a kitchen sink beer that turned out underhopped… decided to taste it… WOW! I will never do that again… It took forever to get that taste out of my mouth. horrible dreams… but after aging the beer turned out ok.

I heard that, “tea” replaced waterboarding in Iraq a few years ago.

And you call yourself a hophead…

I’m wondering what the article will be like.  How many words does it take to say “DON’T  :)”?

HAHAHAHAHA!!!
:stuck_out_tongue:

The article is about recipe formulation.  I was working on ways to learn the flavors of various ingredients.