Hop-free beer?

[max384]

My dad hates hoppy beers. He's talked about brewing a beer with no hops for quite some time. So, today we went ahead and did one. It was an all-grain budweiser clone from Midwest brewing. We brewed it normally, except that we never added any hops during the boil.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has done something similar, and how it turned out? I know there are beers that are hop-free, such as gruit, that use other herbs for bittering. But, I'm wondering if anyone made a beer without any form of bittering. Personally, I like hoppy bears, and I don't hold high hopes for this being any good... But who knows.

 

[b-boy]

I've made a yeast starter. It didn't taste very good.

 

[ortizd3]

Hey Max384
I too made a hopless brew about a year ago for my wife. She hates bitter beers. I gave it shot but I can honestly tell you I won't do that again. It was a light beer similar to what you guys brewed. It was just malty it had no balance at all and didn't taste good. Good luck.

Cheers

 

[Epimetheus]

After your dad tastes the result, he may decide it could have benefited from a little bitterness. If he likes it, great! You have found the perfect recipe for him!

Next time you may want to split the batch 2 or 4 ways, and try differing amounts of hops.

 

[FATC1TY]

It'll be a sweet mess.

Think of old scotch ales, and their weaker counter parts. Hops were expensive so they used heather and such to atleast balance the beer. They aren't hoppy, can't taste the hops in them and the IBU's are low.

I'd suggest finding beers that have a low BU:GU ratio.

 

[neo71665]

I hate hoppy beers but beer needs some amount of hops to be beer. Otherwise you are making grain wine.

 

[Mdking2]

You could try reading into Gruit beer and see what you would like to spice with, there are many ways to add a very subtle and mild bitter to your ale.

 

[DrWill]

I hate hoppy beers but beer needs some amount of hops to be beer. Otherwise you are making grain wine.

Berliner Weiße can be done with no hops and taste great. Legally in the US you've got to include hops (this may be state by state) but I've heard of a craft brewer that "forgets" to add the hops sometimes.

 

[neo71665]

Berliner Weiße can be done with no hops and taste great. Legally in the US you've got to include hops (this may be state by state) but I've heard of a craft brewer that "forgets" to add the hops sometimes.

Since this started as a discussion about a bud clone without hops that's what I stuck to. Didn't feel the need to go into what beer uses what. The point is most beers need some sort of bittering and hops are the norm.

 

[DrWill]

Since this started as a discussion about a bud clone without hops that's what I stuck to. Didn't feel the need to go into what beer uses what. The point is most beers need some sort of bittering and hops are the norm.

Absolutely correct. What was your point?

max384 asked if anyone had brewed a beer without any form of bittering. So I answered.

 

[max384]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I guess I'll know how it'll turn out in a couple of months.

Berliner Weiße can be done with no hops and taste great. Legally in the US you've got to include hops (this may be state by state) but I've heard of a craft brewer that "forgets" to add the hops sometimes.

It's definitely not a federal statute, as I found that one, and it makes no mention of hops. I can't speak for all states, but Pennsylvania also doesn't make mention of hops, so it looks like I'm good legally.

 

[torque2k]

My dad hates hoppy beers. He's talked about brewing a beer with no hops for quite some time. So, today we went ahead and did one. It was an all-grain budweiser clone from Midwest brewing. We brewed it normally, except that we never added any hops during the boil.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has done something similar, and how it turned out? I know there are beers that are hop-free, such as gruit, that use other herbs for bittering. But, I'm wondering if anyone made a beer without any form of bittering. Personally, I like hoppy bears, and I don't hold high hopes for this being any good... But who knows.

My wife is the same way, or at least she thinks she is. She'll drink Labatt, and Stella, and even Cherry Wheat, but she doesn't realize those do have hops. She hates when I brew small batches in the house because when the hops hits the boil it stinks (to her), so I have to do even those on the boiler out in the garage. I hate brewing outside in Michigan in the winter...

Anyway, I've never tried a brew without some type of bittering, but I HAVE snuck a scottish ale into her drinking regimen, and she digs that. Scottish 70/- is now one of her favorites. Just sayin', there's always options, you just have to "think different".

 

[DrWill]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I guess I'll know how it'll turn out in a couple of months.

It's definitely not a federal statute, as I found that one, and it makes no mention of hops. I can't speak for all states, but Pennsylvania also doesn't make mention of hops, so it looks like I'm good legally.

You're fine legally either way if you're just home brewing. That requirement is just for commercial brewers. A BYO article references it, and it applies to our licensing in Wisconsin. From BYO: "In fact it is a legal requirement in the United States and the UK that beer includes hops in the formulation"