Beer without hops?

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nigel31

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Hi All,

I recently made a wee heavy that contained 12 lbs. of LME plus steeped grains (it's still fermenting). (A lot of sweetness--tha's the whole idea.) The recipe/kit called for 1 oz. of Northern Brewer hops at the beginning (60 mins.) of the boil, which I duly added.

Just wondering if anyone's got an idea as to how such a big, sweet brew would taste with 1/2 an ounce or with NO hops at all. I mean, 1 oz. of lowish-alpha hops boiling for 60 minutes against all that sweetness can't have a massive impact on flavor, can it?

Thoughts anyone? More than anything, I'm curious. (And admittedly am not a hophead.)

Cheers.
 
Bitterness is used to balance out the beer. It can become just too sweet without it. Granted, some people like big malty beers.

There is also a drink called gruit, that is just beer with herbs instead of hops. They can be very interesting.
 
Hi All,

I recently made a wee heavy that contained 12 lbs. of LME plus steeped grains (it's still fermenting). (A lot of sweetness--tha's the whole idea.) The recipe/kit called for 1 oz. of Northern Brewer hops at the beginning (60 mins.) of the boil, which I duly added.

Just wondering if anyone's got an idea as to how such a big, sweet brew would taste with 1/2 an ounce or with NO hops at all. I mean, 1 oz. of lowish-alpha hops boiling for 60 minutes against all that sweetness can't have a massive impact on flavor, can it?

Thoughts anyone? More than anything, I'm curious. (And admittedly am not a hophead.)

Cheers.

Try it.

Some thoughts.

1. It won't be beer.
2. It won't be balanced.
3. It will lose some preservative properties.
4. If you like it cool. It's your beer.
5. Let us know how it goes and what you think of it.
 
I made about 6 sours without hops, using different bacteria and Brett strains. I did it mostly to learn about the aromas of the strains without have the hop aroma hide it. Then I moved up to 10IBUs and then up to 20IBUs with my favorite strains. I continue to like them better with more IBUs, hop flavor and aroma, though they are certainly not bitter and the smell is only mildly hoppy. So far for me, I can make OK beer without hops, but good beer with hops. The only reason I tried this is because the acidity balances the sweetness of the malt in a sour beer. Without the acidity, I think hops become more important for balance.
 
Try it.

Some thoughts.

1. It won't be beer.
2. It won't be balanced.
3. It will lose some preservative properties.
4. If you like it cool. It's your fermented Malta Goya.
5. Let us know how it goes and what you think of it.

For accuracy.
 
^ That was like looking at one of those "what's different in these two pictures" puzzles. But well played.

I would say that hopless beer is a good thought experiment but that at the same time you probably wouldn't want a couple cases of it laying around to drink. But hey nothing is stopping you from doing it if you want to find out why hops are a part of the heart and soul of beer.

Maybe then make a gruit, which uses herbs and spices instead of hops.

That would be a pretty instructive pair of brews, I'd say, and no one will lose an eye if you try it out!
 
Hey, who added the Malta Goya bit to Orfy's quote? Funny, 'cause I'm a huge fan of the stuff. It's true, but I'll probably get flamed for it! If I could make a beer that tasted close to malta but was alcoholic, I'd be pretty happy. :D The main difference is that there's no yeast--hence, no alcohol--in malta (well, and precious little hops, too).

If I do it, I may do a 2-gallon batch (or something) and it won't be right away. And I'll certainly pony up the info for the benefit (or laughs) of all.
 
Try it.

Some thoughts.

1. It won't be beer.
2. It won't be balanced.
3. It will lose some preservative properties.
4. If you like it cool. It's your beer.
5. Let us know how it goes and what you think of it.


I disagree that it won't be beer. It was still called beer before hops were discovered for use in beer. I bought come beer made in Scotland a few months ago that are supposed to be historical recipes. all 4 different beers i got didnt have hops, but had other things like pine needles and heather in its place.

No they didnt have hops but they were all fantastic beers.
 
I disagree that it won't be beer. It was still called beer before hops were discovered for use in beer. I bought come beer made in Scotland a few months ago that are supposed to be historical recipes. all 4 different beers i got didnt have hops, but had other things like pine needles and heather in its place.

No they didnt have hops but they were all fantastic beers.

I agree; we don't all have to obey German law.
 
The Current common meaning of beer is a drink that contains Barley, hops, yeast and water.
If you make a beer type drink without hops then you may call it beer but it's not really.

If it's the brewery I'm thinking of and you look at the label on the bottles you bought then It'd of had the correct name on. I think the use heather, seaweed and such things.


Lets just say he wouldn't be making "Normal" beer.
 
At the Extreme Beer Fest in Boston last weekend I tried at least two beers without hops. One was by WormCity. They brewed it 36 hours before the fest and "carbonated" it on the drive from Worcester to Boston, so MAYBE an hour. Interesting experiment, but I couldn't even finish the two ounce glass. The other was by Cambridge Brewing Company and it was a Heather IPA and was actually very good. Although, I'm not sure if the Heather was used in complete replacement of the hops or just in addition. Either way, if you're looking to try something interesting and out of left field, literally, try substituting Heather flowers for hops.
 
The Current common meaning of beer is a drink that contains Barley, hops, yeast and water.
If you make a beer type drink without hops then you may call it beer but it's not really.

If it's the brewery I'm thinking of and you look at the label on the bottles you bought then It'd of had the correct name on. I think the use heather, seaweed and such things.


Lets just say he wouldn't be making "Normal" beer.

AFAIK, beer meant hopped, ale: unhopped. Hops were introduced into
England in the early 1500's for growing, so everything there before
then was an ale. Nowadays though "beer" is the general term for
all malt beverages as far as the general public is concerned. Before
the microbrew/homebrew revolution (and after prohibition) "ale"
usually meant a mellow, sweeter or less bitter beer, and nobody
thought much about hops/no hops or top fermenting/bottom fermenting.
What "ale" should mean today is "beer fermented at higher temps"
and "lager" is "beer fermented at lower temps".

Ray
 
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