Anyone ever make "hop water"?

[CascadesBrewer]

I've read that you should use 2 grams hops per gallon of water. Add the hops at 170f and let them steep for 10-15 minutes or so. Also I read that lemon juice should be used to drop the PH down to 4.6.

I made some hop water on Saturday morning since my plans were cancelled due to the snow. It is not bad. It is mostly carbonated by now and some say that hop water improves over a week or two. I feel like the level of hop flavors and bitterness is about right. I do get a bit of a "cut grass" kind of character from the hops. I am not sure if that flavor will lessen with time, is something I could fix in the future, or just a character of hop tea.

My process:

• Treat 2.5 gallons of water with campden (for chlorine/chloramine) and lower the pH with Phosphoric Acid. My target was a pH of 4.5, but after my second addition of acid I measured 4.2.
• Bring 1 gallon of the treated water up to 180F.
• Add 1 oz (28 g) of Azacca hops (in a hop bag) into the heated water.
• Steep for 20 minutes stirring a few times. The ending temp was 162F.
• Transfer into my 10L keg with the other 1.5 gallons of water.
• Move to my fridge to chill and carbonate.

I wonder if some lemon or lime juice would improve the flavor. When I first tried a batch a few years ago I used 8 oz Lemon Juice in a 5 gallon batch. It tasted more like "lemon water with a touch of hop character", but I also only used 20 g of hops for a 5-gallon batch.

I am also curious about adding hops to the keg. I am just a little worried about either adding more grassy flavors, or ended up with hop particles in each glass. I do have a floating dip tube I could use though.

 

[rtstrider]

I made some hop water on Saturday morning since my plans were cancelled due to the snow. It is not bad. It is mostly carbonated by now and some say that hop water improves over a week or two. I feel like the level of hop flavors and bitterness is about right. I do get a bit of a "cut grass" kind of character from the hops. I am not sure if that flavor will lessen with time, is something I could fix in the future, or just a character of hop tea.

My process:

• Treat 2.5 gallons of water with campden (for chlorine/chloramine) and lower the pH with Phosphoric Acid. My target was a pH of 4.5, but after my second addition of acid I measured 4.2.
• Bring 1 gallon of the treated water up to 180F.
• Add 1 oz (28 g) of Azacca hops (in a hop bag) into the heated water.
• Steep for 20 minutes stirring a few times. The ending temp was 162F.
• Transfer into my 10L keg with the other 1.5 gallons of water.
• Move to my fridge to chill and carbonate.

I wonder if some lemon or lime juice would improve the flavor. When I first tried a batch a few years ago I used 8 oz Lemon Juice in a 5 gallon batch. It tasted more like "lemon water with a touch of hop character", but I also only used 20 g of hops for a 5-gallon batch.

I am also curious about adding hops to the keg. I am just a little worried about either adding more grassy flavors, or ended up with hop particles in each glass. I do have a floating dip tube I could use though.

This is mainly why I wanted to try lowering the ph with lemon juice. That way it's a bit more flavor than just hops and water lol

 

[rtstrider]

Ended up making a batch of this last night. Treated 5 gallons tap water with campden and got the ph down to 3.9 with lactic acid. Boiled for 10 minutes then let cool to 170f. Used 50 grams mosaic and let sit for 20 minutes. Chilled in ice bath and racked into a cleaner/sanitized keg. Ended up a gallon short due to leaving the hop “crud” behind. Boiled another treated gallon of water and just dumped that into the keg. The keg was warm to the touch but not “hot”. Put gas on the keg, purged a few times, and off into the kegerator it went. Going to give it a few days to a week to carbonate and condition before doing a taste test. The mosaic was old so not too sure how flavorful it’ll be. Either way I’ll post results on sample day!

 

[rtstrider]

I'm getting impatient here. The keg is at serving pressure and it's getting rolled on it's side for a few minutes every half hour until the gas stops. Want to try the hop water today! It'll most likely be a tad rough around the edges but figure it will smooth out over the next week or so.

 

[rtstrider]

Well I'm drinking the hop water now. It's not bad but it's not out of this world amazing either lol It's La Croix with hops

 

[sibelman]

Well I'm drinking the hop water now. It's not bad but it's not out of this world amazing either lol It's La Croix with hops

Thank you for your tasting notes. Now I don't have to clear a space in my kegerator to try this myself!

'course, to get closer to amazing, you could try adding some malted barley and yeast

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Well I'm drinking the hop water now. It's not bad but it's not out of this world amazing either lol It's La Croix with hops

Yeah, that is kinda what Hop Water is! A light and refreshing carbonated beverage with a touch of hop flavor. Overall I am pretty happy with how mine turned out. I have tried adding lemon juice to a glass. It is nice, but changes the character and covers up a lot of the hop flavors. If I was going to add lemon, lime, or other fruit/citrus I would increase the amount of hops.

The question that I don't yet have an answer to is: Is hop water better than other flavored carbonated water? For a while I had a keg of carbonated water on tap. I would mix that with a glass of lemon + lime with some zest and it was quite nice. I then swapped over to mostly using some of the "water enhancers" (this one from Target is good and cheap, but has artificial sweeteners like most of these products: Strawberry Watermelon Liquid Water Enhancer - 1.62 fl oz Bottle - Market Pantry™).

There is some food, maybe a burger or tacos, that I find go really well with a beer. The carbonated hop tea seem to fit into that spot nicely (especially during lunch). I have significantly reduced the amount of beer that I drink with dinner or food, and instead focused more in enjoying beer by itself.

 

[rtstrider]

Coming back to this. It's been 6 days and this is much more palatable. The carbonation is right where it needs to be and it is holding. This has definitely helped as a beer replacement for a bit. Would definitely consider making a keg or two of this every once in awhile. It's dirt cheap, or in my case free, so it's worth it! This is not something I went into and said...Whoa this is can't have stuff! It's been a developed palate for sure. Can say I wouldn't go out of the way for this but since it's there it's nice. 10 grams of hops per liter was definitely the right call here. Any less and it'd just be La Croix

 

[marc1]

The hopped tea is a great change up from seltzer water. I've been enjoying it.
I would recommend more high beer levels of carbonation, though, rather than seltzer levels. It has amazing persistent foaminess, unlike seltzer.

 

[Dexlor]

I did the Brulosophy recipe but added some wine tannis and substituted Citric Acid for the lactic acid since I did not have lactic. We found some hoplark in the grocery store and I was surprised how similar they were in flavor.

The hop water definitely needs a week or two to mellow out but is extremely refreshing.

 

[rtstrider]

I did the Brulosophy recipe but added some wine tannis and substituted Citric Acid for the lactic acid since I did not have lactic. We found some hoplark in the grocery store and I was surprised how similar they were in flavor.

The hop water definitely needs a week or two to mellow out but is extremely refreshing.

Have you tried using whirlpool hops instead and compare the keg hop/whirlpool recipes? I'd be curious to see what the differences are. The amount of hops used in 10 grams per gallon is a bit less than the Brulosophy recipe.

 

[Dexlor]

Have you tried using whirlpool hops instead and compare the keg hop/whirlpool recipes? I'd be curious to see what the differences are. The amount of hops used in 10 grams per gallon is a bit less than the Brulosophy recipe.

I have not yet. I love how quick I can throw it together without heating up water. It would be interesting to hear if someone has done a comparison between the methods but I would assume it may be comparing apples to oranges.

 

[rtstrider]

I have not yet. I love how quick I can throw it together without heating up water. It would be interesting to hear if someone has done a comparison between the methods but I would assume it may be comparing apples to oranges.

Me too! Mainly because the amount of hops in the whirlpool hop water are less. I do like the quicker "brew" day with the Brulosophy recipe though so it's essentially an even trade off for me

 

[QuadConPana]

Before I got rid of my kegerator, I used to fill a keg with 180⁰+ water and drop in a nylon hop bag tied to a string. By closing the keg immediately, the water stayed hot long enough for isomerization, but the evaporated oils couldn't escape. I would also add a little low carb monkfruit sweetener.

Once the keg cooled to room temperature, I would pull the hops out by the string and force carb.

Easy.

 

[rtstrider]

Before I got rid of my kegerator, I used to fill a keg with 180⁰+ water and drop in a nylon hop bag tied to a string. By closing the keg immediately, the water stayed hot long enough for isomerization, but the evaporated oils couldn't escape. I would also add a little low carb monkfruit sweetener.

Once the keg cooled to room temperature, I would pull the hops out by the string and force carb.

Easy.

You know that's actually a really good idea! Could just use one of those keg hop tubes for that. Now my question is did you have issues with a "vacuum" forming in the keg as this cooled?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Coming back to this. It's been 6 days and this is much more palatable. The carbonation is right where it needs to be and it is holding. This has definitely helped as a beer replacement for a bit. Would definitely consider making a keg or two of this every once in awhile. It's dirt cheap, or in my case free, so it's worth it! This is not something I went into and said...Whoa this is can't have stuff! It's been a developed palate for sure. Can say I wouldn't go out of the way for this but since it's there it's nice. 10 grams of hops per liter was definitely the right call here. Any less and it'd just be La Croix

I have been quite happy with how mine turned out (a 2.5 gal batch with 1 oz of Azacca hops steeped at 180F). After about a week in the keg, the green grass types of character faded, and now I just get a nice subtle hop character.

I am thinking of trying to bottle condition some. The motivation would be 1) that maybe the small amount of fermentation would impart a touch of beer character and 2) it would be interesting to have a variety of different hop combos around. So I might do them a 12 pack at a time. I would probably use a little DME (with some yeast). I have some concerns that this might introduce some food safety concerns, similar to NA and Low Alcohol beers. It might also mean the "water" will be in the 0.5% ABV range. In the Clawhammer video, they bottled using carb drops.

 

[rtstrider]

I have been quite happy with how mine turned out (a 2.5 gal batch with 1 oz of Azacca hops steeped at 180F). After about a week in the keg, the green grass types of character faded, and now I just get a nice subtle hop character.

I am thinking of trying to bottle condition some. The motivation would be 1) that maybe the small amount of fermentation would impart a touch of beer character and 2) it would be interesting to have a variety of different hop combos around. So I might do them a 12 pack at a time. I would probably use a little DME (with some yeast). I have some concerns that this might introduce some food safety concerns, similar to NA and Low Alcohol beers. It might also mean the "water" will be in the 0.5% ABV range. In the Clawhammer video, they bottled using carb drops.

Can't have alcohol for two weeks. Short of it is there's bi-annual normal check ups with the doc. They say to stay dry for two weeks before labs so they can keep an eye on liver enzymes. They know I'm a homebrewer and enjoy the hobby so they just keep an eye on them to make sure we can fix it if it starts getting out of whack. So far so good! Will most likely make 2 kegs next bi-annual checkup. This one will be gone by the weekend I'm afraid lol

Next go around I'll probably do another keg of Mosaic and then play with Mosaic/Nelson that was mentioned in a previous post. This definitely has to sit in the keg for at least 5 days for the "crud" to settle out and flavors to mesh.

 

[NewJersey]

I'm making the brulosophy version of this right now. I'm using 1/3 each of cascade, Chinook, and centennial (some hops I had around) for a total of 4.2 oz
I slightly upped the lactic acid to 3ml as the brulosophy post had advised increasing it.
I haven't brewed since early last summer, so I had to clean kegs, the space, basically everything lol.
I am putting the hops in a SS mesh tube and was planning to leave them in there as I carb
Is there absolutely a need to remove them?
Happy Saturday, y'all!

 

[Dexlor]

Is there absolutely a need to remove them?

I removed mine since they were in a bag that I assumed would block the dip tube. I have left dry hops in a keg for the life of it to no ill effect. I would say give it a try.

 

[NewJersey]

I removed mine since they were in a bag that I assumed would block the dip tube. I have left dry hops in a keg for the life of it to no ill effect. I would say give it a try.

Same with a few IPAs I've made but in the back of my mind I wondered if the "vegetal" taste that many describe would be more pronounced in just treated water. (I've never picked up on this vegetal taste tbh)
Also I was gonna throw this directly into kegerator, but would it better to dry hop and room temp for a few days first?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I had a grueling double batch "brew day" today! I made up two batches of hop water.

The first one was following the same process as my last batch. Basically steeping 1 oz of hops for 20 minutes in 1 gallon of treated 180F water, then topping up a 2.5 gallon keg. The only real change was I used Amarillo hops instead of Azacca, and I used Citric Acid to adjust my pH vs Phosphoric Acid.

The second batch was closer to the Brulosophy approach. I basically topped up a 2.5 gallon keg with treated water and added 2 oz of Amarillo hops. The hops are in a hop sack that is suspended from the lid of the keg, with a few marbles in the hop sack. I just added cool tap water, and then moved the keg into my beer fridge to chill and carbonate.

I am curious how these will compare. I still want to try bottle conditioning a batch, with either sugar or DME and some yeast.

 

[mashpaddled]

I made one last week. Four ounces of European hops (opal and aramis) in five gallons of water. No mineral or acid additions like the brulosophy recipe but I didn't want to make something that tasted like beer so much as a flavored water. Came out exactly as expected. I can't help but think beer when I taste hops so I thought going with more gentle European hops would give it more of a lager feel which it did.

 

[matt_m]

I just made a 1.25 gallon batch today. I followed the Brulosophy recipe for mineral/acid additions, but steeped 28g of Azacca at 160 for 10 minutes. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.

 

[NewJersey]

I'm enjoying mine. I wanna do it over with different/fresher hops

 

[BAF]

I did the Brulosophy recipe a couple months ago. It was fine. I tried it side by side with the Lagunitas hop water and the Lagunitas was definitely better. Mine had a harsher "edge" to it from the hops, not sure how to smooth that out. The Lagunitas was more smooth and more floral as well.

I followed Brulosophy's mineral additions, but I did not adjust pH. I'm doubt making it acidic would help the harshness I was perceiving.

If I do it again, I definitely need to smooth it out (maybe a touch more gypsum?) and reassess the hop bill -- probably will use a little less and try to get some "lighter" / more floral hops in there. Probably will carbonate a touch higher as well. I was getting a ton of foam that stuck around at first, which made it difficult to pour, even with a 25ft line, but that seemed to subside after a week or so. But it definitely was holding a more beer-like head in comparison to plain seltzer or soda.

 

[Elric]

I did the Brulosophy recipe a couple months ago. It was fine. I tried it side by side with the Lagunitas hop water and the Lagunitas was definitely better. Mine had a harsher "edge" to it from the hops, not sure how to smooth that out. The Lagunitas was more smooth and more floral as well.

I followed Brulosophy's mineral additions, but I did not adjust pH. I'm doubt making it acidic would help the harshness I was perceiving.

If I do it again, I definitely need to smooth it out (maybe a touch more gypsum?) and reassess the hop bill -- probably will use a little less and try to get some "lighter" / more floral hops in there. Probably will carbonate a touch higher as well. I was getting a ton of foam that stuck around at first, which made it difficult to pour, even with a 25ft line, but that seemed to subside after a week or so. But it definitely was holding a more beer-like head in comparison to plain seltzer or soda.

If yours already had a large edge to it, the last thing you want to do is add gypsum as that will accentuate hop bitterness and make it sharper. You would want to reduce gypsum and have more calcium chloride if you want a softer, juicier hop presence.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I had a grueling double batch "brew day" today! I made up two batches of hop water.

I put together a video on my two batches. My basic approach is explained in my prior post (both were 2.5 gallon batches; one batch with 1 oz Amarillo hops steeped at 180F, and one batch with 2 oz Amarillo hops added directly to the keg).

I find that I enjoy the combined flavor of these two batches so I mostly fill a glass 50/50 from each keg. In the future I will probably combine both steeping hops and adding them to the keg. For a 5 gallon batch, 2 oz steeped and 3 oz in the keg feels about right.

 

[matt_m]

Mine was really good after about a week. I need to make another batch. Maybe a full 5 gallons.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Last time I was brewing I dropped one small hop pellet into 8 oz of hot water, maybe 160 F. Stirred and let it sit until it cooled to room temp. It was unpalatably bitter. A couple tablespoons of that added to a pint of club soda was pretty good though.

One hop from one of my arcadian plants was enough for a mug of hop tea. A small hop. I originally did a few and it was way too bitter.

 

[rtstrider]

Welp I’m making hop water now. The kettles are currently whirlpooling the following for a 5 gallon batch

23.6 grams Simcoe pellet
26.4 grams Mosaic pellet
23 grams Amarillo whole cone

This was more or less a freezer clean out hop water. 10 grams per gallon wasn’t strong enough for my tastes so wanted something a bit stronger. This will DEFINITELY need some cold conditioning. May end up keeping hop water in the rotation since it’s just hops and water