Adding a hop tea to the finished beer?

[seanppp]

I want to make a hoppy Imperial Pilsner, which after lagering for 3 month needs to be dry hopped instead of late-hopped or even hopstand/whirlpool because that hoppiness will fade through the lagering period.

But, I don't like the grassiness that I'd get from a heavy dry hop addition, especially in a pilsner where it's harder to hide that sort of thing.

So my question: Is it possible to boil 4-8 cups of water, drop it down to 170, and then do a hopstand? Will the water be hoppy in flavor/aroma? And if so, can I just add that to my finished beer?

It seems like if this was possible it would be superior to dry hopping and thus everyone would do it. But I'm wondering why it's not possible.

 

[Wynne-R]

People say it doesn’t work, but I do it all the time. I forget the complaint, I think they say it’s ‘grassy’.

The twist is, I do it a little differently. I put 1 oz of leaf hops in a French Press with a shot of vodka and a little acid. I then add about three cups of 170F water and let it sit until it’s cool.

I mix it with the already dissolved priming sugar and let the magic begin. This gives me fresh dry hop flavor with much better extraction efficiency.

I used to mix beer with hot water, which I now simulate with the alcohol and acid. It seems to work better and saves me half a beer.

 

[rossi46]

I dry hopped one keg and hop tea'd the other. French press, 170 down to room temp. The tea keg was a little more bitter and less aroma. Still great but not the same.
I may give Wynne-r method a try.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

Hop tea works. There is a section in my book about it.

 

[eastoak]

i find that hop tea success varies with the type of hop i use and how fresh they are. one notable failure was with amarillo leaf hops which surprised me since they had been in my freezer for only 2 months or so.

 

[Wynne-R]

Interesting that you would mention bitterness. Bear in mind that your extraction with the tea is way higher than dry hop, my guess is 300-400%.

I think I’m going to go to ½ oz and see what happens.

 

[eastoak]

Interesting that you would mention bitterness. Bear in mind that your extraction with the tea is way higher than dry hop, my guess is 300-400%.

I think I’m going to go to ½ oz and see what happens.

i agree. i see here and there that bitterness is not extracted below (some temp) but i've made bitter hop teas all the way down to 140 degrees. i bet bitterness is extracted below that too. just something to take into account.

 

[ultravista]

I have about 4.5 gallons of Double Bastard that has little or no flavor or aroma but plenty of bitter. I would like to do a hop tea with Chinook to add flavor and aroma.

Perhaps I could draw some of the beer off, heat it up, make a hop tea out of it, chill it, then dump it back into the keg.

Does this sound like a good or bad idea? If good, how much beer and hops? The pelletized Chinook is approximately 12 AA.

 

[eastoak]

I have about 4.5 gallons of Double Bastard that has little or no flavor or aroma but plenty of bitter. I would like to do a hop tea with Chinook to add flavor and aroma.

Perhaps I could draw some of the beer off, heat it up, make a hop tea out of it, chill it, then dump it back into the keg.

Does this sound like a good or bad idea? If good, how much beer and hops? The pelletized Chinook is approximately 12 AA.

i assume it's in a keg, how long has it been in the keg?

 

[ultravista]

i assume it's in a keg, how long has it been in the keg?

About three weeks, it is carbonated. Does the age matter?

 

[eastoak]

About three weeks, it is carbonated. Does the age matter?

i wanted to be certain it was not green beer. when i was experimenting with hop teas i thought about using room temp beer but never did go through with it. i'll be interested in your results.

 

[ultravista]

I am not sure how much fermented beer and hops to use ...

 

[WoodlandBrew]

Dry hopping 5 gallons of beer with 1 oz of hops will add a distinct flavor. 2oz or more and it will be more like the flavorful American IPA. (as opposed to the bitterness of a strong bitter IPA)

If you want to add a little bitterness as well you can make a hop tea of 1 oz of hops in 1 quart of water. Adding 1 tsp of this tea to a 1oz sample is equivalent to adding the whole lot to a 5 gallon batch.

 

[SanPancho]

I put 1 oz of leaf hops in a French Press with a shot of vodka and a little acid. I then add about three cups of 170F water and let it sit until it’s cool..

is this lactic acid? do you measure the pH or just wing it? and this is for 5gal batch correct?

 

[Ninoid]

Dry hopping 5 gallons of beer with 1 oz of hops will add a distinct flavor. 2oz or more and it will be more like the flavorful American IPA. (as opposed to the bitterness of a strong bitter IPA)

If you want to add a little bitterness as well you can make a hop tea of 1 oz of hops in 1 quart of water. Adding 1 tsp of this tea to a 1oz sample is equivalent to adding the whole lot to a 5 gallon batch.

My beer in fermenter have too little bitternes.
Do I can boil some high AA hops in a bit of water and add it together with gelatin two days before bottling?

 

[JohnSand]

I think so. I have bittered a beer by adding hop tea.

 

[Ninoid]

I think so. I have bittered a beer by adding hop tea.

Can you write how you did it, how much beer, and how much did you get in bitterness?

 

[JohnSand]

I used .5oz citra in 2.5 gallons of beer that was already hopped, but not enough. I boiled it for 15 minutes in two cups of water. This helped, though the beer still needed more bitterness. I also tested the tea by adding a teaspoon to a measured sample of wort to find the ratio.

 

[Ninoid]

I used .5oz citra in 2.5 gallons of beer that was already hopped, but not enough. I boiled it for 15 minutes in two cups of water. This helped, though the beer still needed more bitterness. I also tested the tea by adding a teaspoon to a measured sample of wort to find the ratio.

Do you squeeze hop or only pour fluid (tea)? Do you wait to cool down this tea?

 

[JohnSand]

I don't think I squeezed, just used the tea. I probably let it cool to protect the yeast.