SteakGrisel
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Soooo... Is it safe to smoke hops, and not in the bbq way.
Smoking hops?
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BuddyWeiser
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It's safe. It's also highly unpleasant with none of the effects you're thinking of.
BrewingViking
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......magnum is not pleasant..... Thats all im gonna say lol
hungry4hops
Hop to it!
I know these are really really good! http://www.tedscigars.com/hopz-craft-beer-cigars/
A friend of mine was here one night. I told him hops and marijuana were in the same family. he grabbed some aluminum foil and twisted up a pipe somehow and mashed up some centenniel pellts and smoked em... said it was harsh....nasty...and completely ineffective.
Clann
Well-Known Member
Hops belong in beer not bongs!
BBL_Brewer
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ColumbusAmongus
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Although related, hops don't contain cannabinoids so they won't get you high. The closest you can get in that aspect is that here has been a study that shows marijuana can be grafted onto a hops plant and it will still produce normal levels of THC. At that point, you might as well just plant them and use your hops to hide your weed garden.
OP
OP
SteakGrisel
Well-Known Member
Well I think im going to smoke some hops in the pit and put them in my next brew!
Clann
Well-Known Member
Not so fast now....what about beer bongs?
I didn't know the beer you put in those had hops
BBL_Brewer
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Touche
bovineblitz
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Well, foil is harsh, nasty, and completely ineffective, so... kinda hard to judge there.
exactchange
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10 years later, hopefully I can add a more definitive answer: Yes, you can smoke hops in a joint and yes you can receive pleasant, calming effects from it. The same heat that decarboxylates humulone in hop tea to calm you down is applied when lighting it on fire. Just be careful not to burn off the active ingredient that gives you that calming GABA response.
Normally when we dry hop in secondary fermentation, we are effectively substituting heat for time, and it will naturally decarb over time, that's why it works in brewing if you let it sit long enough. Decarboxylating is just a fancy way of saying "decaying" - and it means what it sounds like:
"de" remove "carb" carbon "oxylate" via oxygen aka break down carbon-based living material releasing co2 in the process, this is a layman's understanding what "decay" is! Many plant-based compounds and foods require decarboxylation to get the maximum desired effect - even broccoli.
You usually need to decarb herbs delicately and over as much time as possible, as with cannabis, mushrooms, etc. to get the most out of the ingredient; for example with Amanita Muscaria you can never get more than 30% decarb conversion from ibotenic acid -> muscimol I don't know the % with hop but it seems lossy (anecdotally), it's feels 3x stronger when brewed as a tea.
But if you're determined to smoke it, if the smoke smells just like a hop - bitter and stinky, you're smoking it correctly, that means the humulone is decarboxylating nicely and imparting the chemistry you're looking for. If your hop is dried when you got it, it's already mostly decarbed so burn it very gently from far away! Toast it, with a light golden brown on top, don't burn it black.
Because the effects are so subtle and it doesn't burn that well, I would either A) If in a joint mix the hops with other herbs like chamomile, damiana, rose petal, and/or cannabis to get a more even burn and a fuller psychedelic effect or B) Smoke it in a glass cannabis style pipe holding the flame 2 inches or so above the finely ground hop petals, as the edges burn easily and it won't work if it's burned. Just lightly toast it! It totally works though, it feels calming like hop tea if you've ever made that, or tried Celestial Seasoning's Tension Tamer - the effect is nearly identical.
Normally when we dry hop in secondary fermentation, we are effectively substituting heat for time, and it will naturally decarb over time, that's why it works in brewing if you let it sit long enough. Decarboxylating is just a fancy way of saying "decaying" - and it means what it sounds like:
"de" remove "carb" carbon "oxylate" via oxygen aka break down carbon-based living material releasing co2 in the process, this is a layman's understanding what "decay" is! Many plant-based compounds and foods require decarboxylation to get the maximum desired effect - even broccoli.
You usually need to decarb herbs delicately and over as much time as possible, as with cannabis, mushrooms, etc. to get the most out of the ingredient; for example with Amanita Muscaria you can never get more than 30% decarb conversion from ibotenic acid -> muscimol I don't know the % with hop but it seems lossy (anecdotally), it's feels 3x stronger when brewed as a tea.
But if you're determined to smoke it, if the smoke smells just like a hop - bitter and stinky, you're smoking it correctly, that means the humulone is decarboxylating nicely and imparting the chemistry you're looking for. If your hop is dried when you got it, it's already mostly decarbed so burn it very gently from far away! Toast it, with a light golden brown on top, don't burn it black.
Because the effects are so subtle and it doesn't burn that well, I would either A) If in a joint mix the hops with other herbs like chamomile, damiana, rose petal, and/or cannabis to get a more even burn and a fuller psychedelic effect or B) Smoke it in a glass cannabis style pipe holding the flame 2 inches or so above the finely ground hop petals, as the edges burn easily and it won't work if it's burned. Just lightly toast it! It totally works though, it feels calming like hop tea if you've ever made that, or tried Celestial Seasoning's Tension Tamer - the effect is nearly identical.
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