Earl Grey IPA (using tea vs. bergamot oil)

[BrettV]

I would like to brew an Earl Grey IPA, and I'm wondering the best way to go about getting that great bergamot aroma. I've seen a few threads on the forum, but I'm wondering what people's opinions are on brewing with loose leaf Earl Grey tea, vs. adding oil of bergamot before bottling. My instinct would be to add an ounce or two of tea when I add my finishing hops. Has anyone tried this? Which method would likely produce a more pronounced Earl Grey flavor?

 

[machinelf]

Here's a thread along the same lines:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/bergamot-beer-147228/#post1680523

 

[neovox]

I be inclined to use some tea late in the boil and perhaps some more in a secondary if you want a more pronounced aroma. Never brewed w/ tea before though. So just my $.02

 

[BrettV]

Yeah, I PMed Aviciouswind after reading that thread. I'd like to chew his ear a bit, since it seems he successfully brewed an Earl Grey beer that was a hit amongst his friends and family.

 

[oswiu]

I brewed an Earl Grey pale ale a while back. I brewed up 1L of strong Earl Grey tea (5 bags, steeped for about 5 mins) and added it to a half batch (10L) of pale ale.

At first taste it was very difficult to taste the bergamot/tea flavours in the beer, and they only faded with age. I really like this idea, and will probably try it again, with quite a bit more tea, so I'd be interested to read how things go with yours.

 

[BrettV]

Yeah, he did 7 teabags, and that was WITH adding bergamot extract, too. He said next time he'd ditch the extract and just do more tea. I'm thinking maybe a dozen teabags might do it. If I do it as an extract beer (which I might since it will only be my second time) I'm reserving 2 gallons of water at the beginning anyway, so I'd probably steep the tea in that water before pouring it in the fermenter to cool. Then I could just make the wort as usual, and pour it right on top of the tea in the fermenter.

 

[BrettV]

So I brewed my Earl Grey IPA last night. Looked like this:

6 lbs. Briess Gold LME
1 lb. Briess Pilsen Light DME
1 lb. Weyerman Carahell
4 ounces flaked wheat
~2 oz. Earl Grey tea (20 tea bags, plus some loose leaf)
1 oz. Columbus (60 mins)
1 oz. Northern UK (45 mins)
.5 oz. Cascade (30 mins)
.5 oz. Cascade (15 mins)
1 oz. Amarillo (flame out)
Wyeast 1056 American Ale

Basically, I made a 2 gallon batch of really strong Earl Grey tea, which I cooled in the fermenter, made a 3 gallon batch of wort, cooled it and poured into the fermenter with the tea, and topped off with some water. The color is quite dark, due to the LME and the tea, so it will be interesting to see what the color on this actually turns out to be. The brewing software tells me it should be a yellow/gold color, but it's not taking the tea into consideration. Gonna let this ferment in the primary for 3 weeks, and then bottle condition for 3-4 weeks.

 

[SumnerH]

I did a bergamot-ginger wit that I just tapped yesterday. I added 1 Tbsp of bergamot oil at flameout; after 3 weeks it seemed way too strong, but by the time I tapped it 2 1/2 months after brewing it was really at a nice level.

In an IPA, I might go with the same amount; you won't age it quite as long, but with the hops there you probably want a little more robust presence anyway.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I was thinking of making a Belgian Wit with some Jasmine Tea. I got a pound of Jasmine Tea from China.

 

[bovineblitz]

I have some coca tea, I was thinking that'd make for a really interesting beer. It's pretty bitter so I was thinking I'd do an IPA but with pale ale levels of hops, assuming that the coca will contribute bitterness.

 

[BrettV]

I bottled my Earl Grey IPA the other day. When I took my final gravity reading, I finally had a taste. Much to my delight, the Bergamot shined through. I was afraid the hops might overpower it, but that was not the case. We'll see how it holds up during bottle conditioning. It's very dry, with a lot of citrusy hops up front, but so far lacking the slightly sweet finish I was hoping for. We'll see what a few weeks in the bottle does.

 

[prosper]

I made a bergamot saison a while back. I used (I think) 5mL of bergamot essential oil - it was PLENTY, perhaps even too much. And it seemed to come out stronger over time as the yeast esters and phenolics faded.

 

[user 47131]

Have you popped a few open and tasted them by now BrettV? I have been toying around with the idea of bergamot in a beer for a while now and really like the idea of it coupled with an IPA...

 

[BrettV]

I have! In fact it's mostly gone now. The results weren't bad. You can definitely taste the bergamot from the tea, but I think it might be a bit too bitter. I think if I were to try it again I might go for a style that's not so bitter to start with (like an IPA,) and opt instead for perhaps a wheat or Amber.

 

[mjap52]

I'm just throwing together a Earl Grey Pale Ale this weekend. I also got 2# of Aramis hops last week, they apparently have a lemon flavor to them, so I thought of this:

9# 2 Row
1# Honey malt
15 bags (opened) in the mash

mash at 152 for 90 minutes

90 minute boil
Hops:
30 IBUs Aramis @ 60
5 IBUs Aramis @ 15
1 IBU Aramis @ 3

Thinking about adding some Juniper in secondary.

EDIT: Sorry to res this thread.

 

[Abdul_Hassan]

How did this recipe work out. i'm thinking about using it.

Thanks

 

[RMP]

My brewing partner and I made a variation of BrettV's recipe. We wanted an APA more than an IPA, and made some minor adjustments based on what we had available.

6 lbs. Briess Gold LME
1 lb. Briess Pilsen Light DME
1 lb. Weyerman Carahell
4 ounces flaked wheat
15 high quality Earl Grey tea bags (the stuff you buy at specialty tea shops)
1 oz. Columbus (60 mins)
.5 oz. Cascade (30 mins)
.5 oz. Cascade (15 mins)
1 oz. Cascade (flame out)
Wyeast 1056

We bought 2 gallon jugs of water and cold steeped 6 teabags per gallon for 24 hours before brew day. We brewed 3 gallons of wort, chilled it, and topped it off with the tea. After a week in the primary, we transferred it, and based on an initial taste, threw in 3 more tea bags to dry-hop for about 2 weeks.

This has been in the bottle for about a month now and is really a very tasty beer. The tea balances perfectly with the hops. You get a nice subtle tea flavor without in being overwhelming.

The one quirk about this is that it's not really a 'pale ale' in that the color is really dark. Like it was mentioned earlier, that's the result of mixing black tea with concentrated wort. Not sure there's any way around it...

 

[jbergamini]

I made a pretty standard oatmeal stout, and put 20 bags of Earl Gray from Trader Joe's (minus the tags and strings) into the keg at kegging time, after about 3 weeks in primary. It was pretty good after a week, really nice after 2, and is a bit overwhelming in tea/bergamot after 3 and 4 weeks. Maybe it will settle down now, if I leave enough to do so.

 

[Regulators]

Hi
im new here.
im also planning on making an Earl Grey IPA. but as i don't yet have the experience of being able to make beer from scratch. im going to adapt a kit!

ive got Bulldog brews, Evil Dog double IPA. it makes 23 liters at 7.1%.
my plan is to make it with 5 liters of Twinings Earl Grey tea. thats 10 tea bags per liter.

any comments would be welcome.

regards
Richard P