Will This Work????

So i brewed a beer for an event this weekend and i feel as though it does not have enough hop flavor. I made a blonde ale because i wanted more of a crowd pleaser beer for the BMC drinkers, but i think it really needs some more hop flavor. I think it needs it to balance the malty aftertaste. The beer has already finished fermenting and is in the keg, so here is what i was thinking... Could i boil a quart or two of water with, say, 0.25oz of hop pellets for 10-15 mins, cool, and add to the keg for more flavoring hops? I have also heard of people steeping spices in vodka to extract the flavor, but something tells me steeping the hops in vodka would extract and contribute more aroma. Any input or suggustings? I think the beer as is is OK, but i really think some added flavoring hops would make it much better.

Thanks!

Live and Learn Man, I wouldn't go messing with anything like that other than maybe dry hopping it. Not saying it wouldn't work, but maybe all you need is more hop aroma to bring out the flavor some.

I would try dry hopping in the keg first and see if that gets it to the point that you are looking for. Just get a mesh bag or some cheese cloth and put about 1/4 to 1/2 OZ of hops in it, tie it up with some dental floss and sanitize a couple of big stainless washers and tie them to the bag as well and drop it in the keg, wait a couple of days and try it.

Cheers

Are you looking to add just flavor/aroma or do you want to increase the bitterness too? Have you thought about dry-hopping in the keg? You can put some hops in a bag and put that in your keg. That will add a nice hop aroma to the brew, but won't increase the IBUs. As for the hop tea, well I've never tried it but I know it's been discussed here before, I'm sure someone will come along any minute now with some more info....

Dry hoping will give him more aroma. If you want hop flavor the hops must be boiled for 15-20mins. Then cool and add to your fermenter.

If you're serving it to a BMC crowd you don't need to add any hop flavor or aroma. You could probably just add more water to thin it out.

HarvInSTL said:

Dry hoping will give him more aroma. If you want hop flavor the hops must be boiled for 15-20mins. Then cool and add to your fermenter.

Click to expand...

yea, but the beer is already fermented and kegged.

I'd just add dry hops into the keg and call it day.

I haven't used it (and frankly, I don't find it appealing) but this seems to be a product designed for your situation.

IsoHop Bitterness Extract

HarvInSTL said:

Dry hoping will give him more aroma. If you want hop flavor the hops must be boiled for 15-20mins. Then cool and add to your fermenter.

Click to expand...

That's not completely true. You'll get hop flavor from such an addition, but you can get some good hop flavor by boiling for as few as 5-10 minutes (or even just in a hopback). It's more along the lines of fresh hop flavor, but it's there, it lingers into the finish, and it's different from a 15-20 minute addition. Of course, the aroma you get is a large part of that flavor perception (as in anything else)

Dry hopping certainly will bring out hop flavor that is already in there. I agree with Wop31 to "live and learn," not mess around with a hop tea right now, and try an additional late hop addition in a future brew. You can easily toss in an ounce of hops at around 5-10 minutes to go and see how it affects the final beer. Be sure and account for the higher IBUs in your bittering addition, though. Even 5-10 minutes can affect bitterness.


TL

HarvInSTL said:

Dry hoping will give him more aroma. If you want hop flavor the hops must be boiled for 15-20mins. Then cool and add to your fermenter.

Click to expand...

That's not completely true. You'll get hop flavor from such an addition, but you can get some good hop flavor by boiling for as few as 5-10 minutes (or even just in a hopback). It's more along the lines of fresh hop flavor, but it's there, it lingers into the finish, and it's different from a 15-20 minute addition. Of course, the aroma you get is a large part of that flavor perception (as in anything else)

Dry hopping certainly will bring out hop flavor that is already in there. I agree with Wop31 to "live and learn," not mess around with a hop tea right now, and try an additional late hop addition in a future brew. You can easily toss in an ounce of hops at around 5-10 minutes to go and see how it affects the final beer. Be sure and account for the higher IBUs in your bittering addition, though. Even 5-10 minutes can affect bitterness.


TL