Earl Gray Pale Ale?

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neosapien

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I've been toying with this idea for a while now, and I'm starting to fill in the gaps bit by bit; now I need a bit of guidance from the hive mind.

My plan is to make a 5 gallon batch of my maharaja clone (about 10% abv, 110 IBUs).

I'd like to add in some earl gray tea for an extra touch of complexity. I think the bergamot and citrusy tones will go nice with it. I've read a few various ideas people have had about how to go about it and couldn't find much concensus.

3 bags of Earl Gray tea in half a gallon of water? Looking at steeping in 160 degree water for maybe 10 minutes? Add in secondary as a top off?

This is where I am a bit perplexed. I don't want to infect anything, yet I am also cautious of boiling black tea and pulling a whole lot of tannins. I want the flavour to be noticeable in the back of your mind, but not so much that you think you're drinking a tea beer.

Ideas if you please, good brewbrain?
 
I was just wondering if the kambucha brewwers out there would have any ideas on this? I was wondering about this one myself...
 
I was just wondering if the kambucha brewwers out there would have any ideas on this? I was wondering about this one myself...

yeah, it seems like a very delicate line to walk between overpowering/not noticeable at all, tannins balancing the full-body of a 10% brew, fearing the infection, vegetal stuff from the tea...
 
The part I'm not sure about is whether to add it towards the end of the boil,like a flavor hop or spice addition. Or maybe as a dry hop or the like? I'd want good flavor,but not bitter from being boiled too much. Not sure which would be better. And the Earl Grey tea I get from World Market has way better flavor than the regular Store bought stuff. It came in a tin urn that was painted like a dressed up indian elephant. Cool tin.
 
My plan is to make a 5 gallon batch of my maharaja clone (about 10% abv, 110 IBUs).

I'd like to add in some earl gray tea for an extra touch of complexity. I think the bergamot and citrusy tones will go nice with it. I've read a few various ideas people have had about how to go about it and couldn't find much concensus.

Have you considered just using bergamot instead of relying on tea? I ask because the bergamot flavor in most EG teas is already subtle, and you'll need to use a LOT of tea to have that flavor emerge in the finished beer, especially behind all of those hops.

Perhaps a steep of kaffir lime leaves (similar to bergamot) at flameout?
 
so here's what I'm thinking.

16.25# 2 row
6oz crystal 120L
6oz victory
1# cane sugar

mash at 152.

3oz columbus - FWH
1/2oz crystal, 1/2oz columbus - 45 minutes
1/2oz centennial, 1/2oz simcoe - 2 minute

WLP099 at 68 degrees for 3 weeks in primary.

bring half gallon or gallon of water to boil, cool to about 165, add in 3 bags of earl gray tea for 15 minutes.

rack to secondary, add in the supertea, 1/2oz of columbus, and 1/2oz of centennial.

bottle and let sit for ages until it's delicious...

corrections/ideas?
 
Have you considered just using bergamot instead of relying on tea? I ask because the bergamot flavor in most EG teas is already subtle, and you'll need to use a LOT of tea to have that flavor emerge in the finished beer, especially behind all of those hops.

Perhaps a steep of kaffir lime leaves (similar to bergamot) at flameout?

lol, it's always the simple things. nope, hadn't crossed my mind. how much would you suggest? maybe 2-3 ounces of bergamot/kaffir leaves blend at flameout?

brilliant! thanks for that :)
 
Like I mentioned,& was questioned later,I think the bergamot in the World Market one is higher than the grocery store one. Besides the other things in it. I think it tastes more like a proper custom blend. It might work better than the grocery stuff.
 
Have you considered aging sans tea and than adding tea to taste when the beer is ready to be transfered to keg or bottles?
 
Have you considered aging sans tea and than adding tea to taste when the beer is ready to be transfered to keg or bottles?

hadn't considered that to this point. with the exception of my witkap, i have generally steered away from adding anything non-traditional to my brews. i've mainly just been focused on trying to put out a consistent good product. this whole idea is pretty new to me, and i'm still a total brew noob.

if i go that route, what's the easiest way to pull that off, just mix a percent by mL in a sample tube then multiply it up to the full batch size?

that sounds like the safest route in terms of getting the taste i want, but i don't know about how it would mix in consistently (i suppose it's about the same as priming sugar really, just rack on top of the proper amount of tea).

I'll have to ponder all of this overnight. Thank you all for the tips and advice :) If anybody else has ideas, please throw them at me. I will likely be brewing it this week and update with results.

Greatly appreciated. Kampai.
 
if i go that route, what's the easiest way to pull that off, just mix a percent by mL in a sample tube then multiply it up to the full batch size?

That or just add tea to whole batch little by little until you get the taste you want. Another idea - 'dry hop' with the tea bags. I know Terrapin does this with coffee instead of doing a cold press extraction.
 
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