Using Japanese Roasted Barley Tea??

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dcHokie

dcHokie

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Out of curiosity, I just grabbed a box of Roasted Barley Tea from a little Japanese bodega near my house. They are pretty beefy teabags and the only english on the box is the ingredients: Barley (Japan origin), Malt Extract, Barley Germ.

I tried a cup as hot tea, and roasty is putting it mildly, the aroma is mid-boil beer. I'd like to incorporate this someone into a mini-batch, anyone ever used this for brewing, or have any suggestions??
 
It is called mugicha. In Japan, it is typically used to make iced tea, not hot tea.


I have thought about this before, but I haven't really come up with a beer using it yet.
 
weirdboy said:
It is called mugicha. In Japan, it is typically used to make iced tea, not hot tea.
Click to expand...

I suppose that would explain the iced tea graphic on the back of the box, haha.

Wheels are turning, I'm thinking I may try to incorporate this into an Asian inspired porter with toasted sesame seeds, somehow....
 
A friend of mine (non-homebrewer, but with definite interest in the process and with beer in general) brought this thread to my attention as we had been discussing the possibilities of brewing a beer with prominent barley tea aroma/flavor...we had thought about perhaps adding the tea to late primary or secondary (either dry-hop style or by steeping then adding). I had been concerned that you would need to add a significant volume in order to get something noticeable (although I've never personally tried anything like this, so I have no idea how strong a flavor it is...), so my solution was to figure on brewing with a pretty strong gravity and ABV, with the intent that it would be watered down a bit by the tea. I had figured on a lighter base beer, so as to allow the barley to shine more (although I like the idea of a porter w/ toasted sesame!)

@ dcHokie...did you ever end up trying this?
 
Based on my experience making mugicha, I REALLY don't think you need a significant volume to get a strong flavor/aroma.

Some packages have it in "pitcher-sized" tea packets. I typically reuse that packet 2-3 times whenever I make a pitcher before swapping out for a fresh one.
 
It is generally used cold, but I really like it hot. It has a very nice nutty flavor and is refreshing in the winter time.

I recently tried Shipyards Brown Ale and the first thing that came to my mind was mugicha - barley tea - in a good way though...

I'm sure you can get those flavors in there one way or another.

On another interesting Japanese tea note: there is also a roasted buckwheat tea available which is ubber delicious.
 
In Kyoto there is a shop that roasts hojicha by hand. It has a very distinctive charcoal flavor and I find it rather yummy. I was thinking of putting this into a brown ale for this winter.
 
biochemedic said:
A friend of mine (non-homebrewer, but with definite interest in the process and with beer in general) brought this thread to my attention as we had been discussing the possibilities of brewing a beer with prominent barley tea aroma/flavor...we had thought about perhaps adding the tea to late primary or secondary (either dry-hop style or by steeping then adding). I had been concerned that you would need to add a significant volume in order to get something noticeable (although I've never personally tried anything like this, so I have no idea how strong a flavor it is...), so my solution was to figure on brewing with a pretty strong gravity and ABV, with the intent that it would be watered down a bit by the tea. I had figured on a lighter base beer, so as to allow the barley to shine more (although I like the idea of a porter w/ toasted sesame!)

@ dcHokie...did you ever end up trying this?
Click to expand...

I ended using a few bags of mugicha in the grain bill for an Old Ale I brewed back in December, but I'd still like to take a run at a porter w/ mugicha and sesame, maybe i'll do some test batches this weekend.
 
I've been contemplating using mugicha as well -- anyone have a guess as to the risk of lacto infection from using the mugicha tea bags in secondary/end of primary before bottling?
We'd like to preserve the flavor as it tastes brewed cold, so I'd rather not heat it unless it runs the risk of introducing undesired organisms (moreso than ordinary dry hopping).
 
Failing_Ales said:
I've been contemplating using mugicha as well -- anyone have a guess as to the risk of lacto infection from using the mugicha tea bags in secondary/end of primary before bottling?
We'd like to preserve the flavor as it tastes brewed cold, so I'd rather not heat it unless it runs the risk of introducing undesired organisms (moreso than ordinary dry hopping).
Click to expand...

What about cold-brewing it and using that tea in secondary, or if you want to use the unbrewed tea why not open up the bags and add them to a sanitized tea-ball or hop sack?
 
Perhaps I'll try adding the bags directly or opening them and adding them to secondary in a hop sock. My concern is that the barley in the 'tea' may have bacteria on it that I don't want to introduce. However, I have no idea how mugicha is processed...
 
I just did a gallon batch of barley tea using two tea bags and 3cups brown sugar , 3 cups white sugar, and turbo yeast, im assuming it hit in the 18-20% range, i would say it would be an aquired taste , i was thinking it was a medival brew ,b ut it was not bad, i have a batch of roasted corn tea going now and will post the results. happy brewing )

just fyi. i brewed the tea, dissolved the sugar in the brew, then poured into gallon fermenter , topped off with water, then pitched the yeast. i put 2 tablespoons of the turbo yeast,
 

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