Hopping a Peach Melomel?

[Vikingarch]

Hey guys I'm making a series of lighter abv meads for this summer and I wanted to try hopping some of them. One idea I have in particular is hopping a low abc peach melomel that I currently have fermenting. It is a 5 gallon melomel 11% with 8lbs of orange blossom honey and 3 lbs clover honey. 9lbs of peaches will be added in secondary for a medium peach flavor which should go well with the honey.

My question however is how to use the hops? I got a mixture of hops including citra and mosaic along with Tropica (12.4% alpha, pineapple and mandarin orange) and Julius (8.7% alpha, creamsicle peach and sweet orange) from Mighty Axe farms in Minnesota. While I may dry hop with some of them towards the end, I want to know if anyone has tried making a hop tea to put into secondary? As opposed to dry hopping I know there is a much more complicated process of brewing with the hops involving boiling times and amounts used.

I have never brewed any beer, so I wanted to know if there were any beer brewers around who may be able to give me some advice on that process. I am also looking for any suggestions readers may have for my recipe. Based on the hops I have available, which would go well with the orange blossom honey and peaches (aroma v bittering v flavor)?

 

[CKuhns]

I know some folks have had success with boiling hops and adding the brew / tincture to their mead. I personally have found boiling tends to lend itself to more harsh flavors and for me is less effective and forgiving than dry hopping in secondary. My technique is to use whole leaves placed in a small sanitized mesh bag vs. pellets as pellets tend to turn to mush. Whole leaves are easier to extract when you hit the flavor your looking for. Full transparency here I do not prefer a heavily hopped mead, cider or beer. I personally prefer a lighter hop flavor allowing the honey to come through a bit as well.

 

[Vikingarch]

Thank you for your response! Will dry-hopping impart flavor as well as aroma? From what Ive been made to understand, I thought it would only give it aroma.

 

[CKuhns]

Also brings flavor - But again I prefer a light hop flavor.

 

[bernardsmith]

Brewers will tell you that boiling hops for 60 minutes tends to highlight the acidity of the hops and boiling for 15 - 30 minutes tends to bring out their noted flavors. Dry hopping or simply adding hops to boiled liquid that is off the heat tends to bring out the aromas. But note that both aromas and flavors are relatively short-lived so there is a tension if you intend to age your mead for any significant amount of time, so perhaps adding a tea made from the hops just before bottling will help with the possible loss of flavors and aromas over time.
That said, dry hopping for more than 10-14 days tends to highlight the vegetative and grassy flavors rather than the characteristic aroma of the hops.