Ok, here goes. No pics yet, but I should have some later.
Procedure
1. Label 4 taster glasses and 4 - 5 mL test tubes A, B, C, and D respectively
2. Cut 4 equal portions of Magnum hops, 1.1cm each (I had to do it this way since my balance does not have this tight of a tolerance. I also would rather Cascade, but Magnum was all I had in the freezer).
3. Pour 2 jiggers of Miller Lite into each of 4 taster glasses, pour remainder into control glass
4. Float test tubes in warm (probably around 120F) water and add:
A - 2mL filtered water
B - 2mL Miller Lite
C - 1mL Miller Lite, 1mL 80 proof Rum (I don't like Vodka, so I use Rum for airlocks and as my source of concentrated EtOH around the house)
D - 2mL 80 proof Rum
5. Fill a 20oz soda bottle with ~18oz of warm water (This way I have less head space, and I can float the test tubes so they all experience the same pressure cycle)
6. Add hop pellet to each test tube, swirl, and gently drop into bottle so that test tubes float at the surface
7. Attach carb cap, and apply 30psi of pressure (Took 5 min to get the tubes floated right, the cap attached, and the tank pressure set to 30psi since I forgot to set the pressure first and I screwdriver)
8. Hold at 30psi for 4 minutes (Could probably have been less, but I figured I might as well wait)
9. Quickly release pressure
10. Take aliquots from each labeled tube, and place in the respective labled taster glass (probably about 0.1mL, all portions were equal, but my pipette does not have resolution towards the bottom)
11. Taste
Results
Sample A tasted slightly hoppier than the control, barely noticeable. 1
Sample B was hoppier, but not much. 2
Sample C was significantly hoppier. 5
Sample D was significantly hoppier, but the rum flavor was also noticeable. 6
Physically, the hops were able to absorb a significant amount of the liquid. There is almost no free liquid. The 0.1mL of liquid was about all I could get out of Sample A. The amount of free liquid was A<B<C<D.
Conclusions
A 50:50 blend of beer and 80 proof ethanol provides the best extraction with the least off flavor. EtOH also seems to be absorbed by the hops less, so a 50:50 blend allows for a higher level of usable hop extract. Since hops are paper thin and the resins are on the outside, it was decided that the pressurization step was probably unnecessary.
Recommendations
1. Don't use a pressure set-up
2. Find a way to press the hops to release the liquid
3. Use a 50:50 blend, but do not blend first. Extract the hops with 80 proof EtOH to extract the most hydrophobic resins. Dilute this mixture with an equal portion of beer to increase the extraction efficiency of the hdryophilic portion.
I know you don't want to add the extra EtOH, but with such low volumes you pretty much have to in order to efficiently extract the hop resins and to keep the hops from sucking up all of the moisture.