chrisedjohn

Recipes 

I have access to some locally home-grown hops and am brainstorming ideas for preserving them between harvests. I've seen the drying and freezing option, but does anyone know (or have heard of the results) from preserving by first creating a strongly bitter hop-tea (water only) and freezing that to be thawed and added to the mash at boil?

I imagine one could even create a few different strengths of this "tea" which vary in bitterness and flavor to be added in place of the typical hop boilng schedule.

Any thoughts/knowledge on how well the bitterness/alpha acids would be preserved in frozen liquid?

Denny

Recipes 

My experience is that boiling hops in water produces a harsh, vegetal liquid that I don't want anywhere near my beer.

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chrisedjohn

Recipes 

I've read that it's the oxidation of the beta acid in the hops that produces those off flavors. Are you suggesting that boiling hops in the absence of wort (i.e. without sugars and proteins) oxidizes the hops due to the lack of these substances?

When you experienced that flavor, did you try boiling hops in straight water? How long until those flavors were present?

Thanks for sharing your insight.

bierhaus15

Recipes 

+100

I tried making a hop water in the same fashion as rose water, by simmering/reducing hops in water and then condensing the steam. The resulting liquids while extremely hoppy, were very grassy tasting and almost celery-like. I have also tried making a hop-tea (french press) and adding it a beer at bottling. It wasn't terrible, but not worth doing again.