Can regular tea be used instead of bittering hops?

[goin2brew]

I was just thinking of what I can brew with that's in my cupboard. If you boil tea too long it gets very bitter, so I assume you can use it for bittering? maybe?

Then what about flavored teas to substitute for the aroma and flavoring hops.... has anyone tried this?

 

[pkeeler]

I haven't. Tea has been used to bitter mead. Wine makers use tannic acid to make their must more bitter; which is what long steeped tea is full of.

 

[Mermaid]

I've been thinking of using this wonderful German hibiscus/rosehip tea i(in my cabinet) in a saisson, but well - it's for a saisson. Probably wouldn't brew this until next spring when temps start to warm up.

I suppose you could experiment with using tea as an adjunct, but I think you would still need some bittering hops to make "beer".

 

[malkore]

search for 'gruit'. That's what you're trying to make. boil tea too long and its bitter from the tannins in the tea, which is an astringent flavor and not real great for a beer.

but you can use strong teas in a gruit to develop other flavors to balance the maltiness, since that's what hops do for beer is create a balance of flavors.

 

[goin2brew]

Gruit... hmmmm. I will check this out.
Thanks malkore.

Gruit seems to be the "anti-hop" version of beer. Kinda like McGyver beer in a sense.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Gruit... hmmmm. I will check this out.
Thanks malkore.

Gruit seems to be the "anti-hop" version of beer. Kinda like McGyver beer in a sense.

More like "cave man beer". There is a reason people use computers instead of stone tablets.

Sometimes something comes along that just makes too much sense.

Tea in beer?....................

 

[CaptainCoconut]

I keep seeing people say that tea gets bitter "if you boil it too long." It should be "if you boil it." If you end up doing this, remember that tea gets very bitter if it even sits at below-boiling temperatures for more than a few minutes (like when you're cooling your wort). If you want it for flavoring instead of bittering, don't add it until the wort is already cool (don't try to add it at 5 minutes like you might do with aroma hops, because 5 minutes of boiling will make tea very bitter).