Ever made 'beer' with out hops?

[Whisler85]

lambics use aged hops

aged hops give the beer no hops bitterness or aroma, but do lend a preservative value

might be something you want to look into

otherwise, i guess you could just use mid to high alpha hops w/90 minute boils for balance only- you shouldnt have much flavor or aroma left in the final product

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Since this has been covered well, let me just say:
Sounds like you want to make a bud light.
Of course you could but you may find it very sweet, or your need to make it very light. IE, bud.

 

[syd138]

Wow.. I got a lot of responses on this..

but no, I hate Bud Light. I was just wondering about the specifics of hop usage in beer.

I was thinking about whether all beers used hops or not.

 

[jmiracle]

I made a beer with yarrow and mugwort but I must have screwed something up because it was undrinkable swill.

Seriously it tasted like grape soda that had gone bad.

 

[brewmonger]

Check out this website, for making beers without hops:

gruitale.com :: Gruit Ale & Unhopped Beers, Brewing Herbs and Recipes


Also, I have posted an excellent recipe for an unhopped stout in the "spice/herb/vegetable" beer, entitled "Mugwort anti-imperial stout."

 

[IowaHarry]

Wow.. I got a lot of responses on this..

but no, I hate Bud Light. I was just wondering about the specifics of hop usage in beer.

I was thinking about whether all beers used hops or not.

So, didja get your money's worth?

And did you get an answer?

The predominant answer appears to be, anyone who would even consider making a beer without hops should be branded a heretic and burned at the stake.

My next project will be un-hopped beer right after I get done with my unflavored hooch. Bring on the heretic brand you bitdges.

 

[budbo]

How about make beer with 2 pounds of dried malt extract 2 pound of light malt extract and 1 pound of corn sugar and a pound of Rice Syrup Solids and only a 1/2 oz of bitter hops and boil for only 10 before racking to primary....I was given this recipe to make from my local brewery shop...any thoughts??

sounds like Coors

 

[madcapstudios]

My very first batch as a homebrewer more than a dozen years ago - I forgot to add hops. Well I didn't forget as much as I assumed that the can of malt extract syrup I had was hopped when it clearly said unhopped.

In any case, it was completely undrinkable and went down the drain.

Luckily, I wasn't discouraged enough to give up and went on to make a second attempt.

 

[jmiracle]

Check out this website, for making beers without hops:

gruitale.com :: Gruit Ale & Unhopped Beers, Brewing Herbs and Recipes


Also, I have posted an excellent recipe for an unhopped stout in the "spice/herb/vegetable" beer, entitled "Mugwort anti-imperial stout."

That is an interesting recipe, I think I see the problem with my mugwort beer, I put in about 1/4 the amount of mugwort your recipe calls for, plus I had no idea how much yarrow to use (I picked it fresh).

If anybody wants to know where to get mugwort try a wiccan bookstore there's all kinds of great herbs to be had there. :fro:

 

[brewmonger]

That is an interesting recipe, I think I see the problem with my mugwort beer, I put in about 1/4 the amount of mugwort your recipe calls for, plus I had no idea how much yarrow to use (I picked it fresh).

If anybody wants to know where to get mugwort try a wiccan bookstore there's all kinds of great herbs to be had there. :fro:

Yarrow is a tricky herb. Most people do not understand how to use it, including myself until recently. I had an email exchange with Stephen Harrold Buhner, author of "Sacred Herbal and Healing beers", in which I explained my struggles in making a palatable gruit ale.

He explained that yarrow leaves are exceptionally astringent, and that the best way to utilize the yarrow plant in brewing is to only use fresh flowering tops.

He suggested bringing the wort to a boil, putting the yarrow tops in it and turning off the heat, then covering and allow it to cool. (I assume the purpose of leaving the top on is to prevent the volatile aromatic floral compounds from escaping)

He also suggested simply steeping some fresh yarrow flowers in the beer in the secondary.

I have not had a chance to try these techniques yet, but I can say from experience that yarrow is a potent herb. I have ruined two brews because I did not know how to use it properly.

Mugwort, on the other hand, is pretty straightforward. I find that it makes a great hops substitute, though it doesn't have much in the way of aromatics (you can get that from other herbs and spices) it is a powerful preservative and bittering agent (it is in the same family as wormwood) with a slightly spicy flavor.

I strongly recommend that Mugwort stout recipe as a first step into brewing without hops, assuming you already have experience with All-Grain brewing. It turns out quite excellent and ages nicely.

I bet if you gave it even to a beer judge without telling them it is totally hop-less, they wouldn't know the difference. They would probably be able to tell it has other spices and herbs for flavor and aroma, but the mugwort does just as good a job as the hops at bittering, you'd never know.

 

[jmiracle]

Yarrow is a tricky herb. Most people do not understand how to use it, including myself until recently. I had an email exchange with Stephen Harrold Buhner, author of "Sacred Herbal and Healing beers", in which I explained my struggles in making a palatable gruit ale.

He explained that yarrow leaves are exceptionally astringent, and that the best way to utilize the yarrow plant in brewing is to only use fresh flowering tops.

He suggested bringing the wort to a boil, putting the yarrow tops in it and turning off the heat, then covering and allow it to cool. (I assume the purpose of leaving the top on is to prevent the volatile aromatic floral compounds from escaping)

He also suggested simply steeping some fresh yarrow flowers in the beer in the secondary.

I have not had a chance to try these techniques yet, but I can say from experience that yarrow is a potent herb. I have ruined two brews because I did not know how to use it properly.

Mugwort, on the other hand, is pretty straightforward. I find that it makes a great hops substitute, though it doesn't have much in the way of aromatics (you can get that from other herbs and spices) it is a powerful preservative and bittering agent (it is in the same family as wormwood) with a slightly spicy flavor.

I strongly recommend that Mugwort stout recipe as a first step into brewing without hops, assuming you already have experience with All-Grain brewing. It turns out quite excellent and ages nicely.

I bet if you gave it even to a beer judge without telling them it is totally hop-less, they wouldn't know the difference. They would probably be able to tell it has other spices and herbs for flavor and aroma, but the mugwort does just as good a job as the hops at bittering, you'd never know.

That's interesting, yeah I used the stems, the leaves, and the flowers so that might have had something to do with how the beer turned out.

I'm going to try something like your recipe, although I lack AG capability right now and can only PM.

 

[brewmonger]

That's interesting, yeah I used the stems, the leaves, and the flowers so that might have had something to do with how the beer turned out.

I'm going to try something like your recipe, although I lack AG capability right now and can only PM.

Just buy some dark extract and mini-mash with some flaked oats, wheat malt, and crystal 120L malt, and you'll get a fairly similar result.

The honey isn't necessary, but it is historically accurate and boosts the strength of the beer, plus adds preservative power in two respect 1) because of the higher ABV, 2) Because honey in itself is a powerful preservative.

I use the honey a little differently though, and don't add it before the boil (like the recipe suggests) but in the last 10 minutes while stirring to make sure it doesn't scorch on the bottom of the boil kettle. When you boil honey for a long time you lose alot of the delicate aspects and aromas of it, that's why I like to boil it as little as possible (just enough to sterilize it). Some people say you don't even need to boil it at all, and add it once the wort has started to cool down.

The molasses at bottling is also a historical thing, and adds to the complexity of flavor.

 

[brewmonger]

Another thing about making your own gruit ales:

Its best to try making a simple tea out of the herbs before you make an entire batch of beer out of them. See how the tea tastes, and try to get to know each herb individually, what parts of the plant are good and what are bad, should they be fresh or dried, what flavors it works with and doesn't work with, how it responds to short boils, longer boils, etc...

 

[humann_brewing]

that's why many people add a hop pellet or two to it, so it doesn't go bad...

I think I am going to try this on my next starter and see if it tastes any better. My lawn got sprayed with the last one.