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.
A couple of thoughts Denny:
-
Leaf or pellets? I imagine a hop tea with pellets will be a little more vegetal and harsh?
-
The warmer/hotter the extraction may result in more harsh characteristics, ie cold-steeping coffee vs. french press vs. a percolater?
-
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.
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!!!
The article is about recipe formulation. I was working on ways to learn the flavors of various ingredients.