Hop Teas

I've always wanted to do this but never made the time. I have a bunch of hop pellets in my freezer from brews I have done over the summer. They are going on 2 months old since I bought them. I have no idea when they were harvested and packaged.

Instead of throwing them away or waiting until my next brew that calls for these, I decided to do some experimentation with them. I am going to make a bunch of hop teas. I will used RO water and do a boil just like I were doing a brew. I will add various hop additions along the way. Once cooled, taste the teas and experience the hops all by themselves.

I will post the results here.

My first one is almost done. It is a 60 minute boil of 9.7% Centennial that I bagged in June of 2012. I am aiming for about a 70 IBU. I will post all results here.

Next will be a 60 minute boil, same hops with a 5 minute aroma addition.

hmm. Cool, I'm interested to hear the results. I'm thinking of adding a bit of hop tea to my bottling bucket for my next batch.

That sounds quite tasty. Let us know!

Ok, the Centennial bittering hops didn't really have any flavor and no aroma (no real surprise there). They did give a very bitter aftertaste that lasted several minutes. Difficult to describe any taste at all just a bittering "sensation". I will try the Cascade next as bittering only and see if I can tell a difference.

Maybe hop tea will turn out to the a cure for cancer or something. Wouldn't that be cool?