Hop sampler for taste tests?

[gannawdm]

I'm fairly new to homebrewing and want to taste various hops without brewing a bunch of 5 gallon batches. My plan is to buy a 12 pack or 2 of commercial beer, add different hops to each bottle, cap them for a week, and then start tasting.

Does anybody know of anyone that offers a hop sampler package? If not, where can you buy a very small quantity?

 

[celts]

couple different options...

1) You could just taste and smell the hops directly. You should get a decent idea of the hops flavor and aroma

2) You could brew very small batches (1-3 gal)

I haven't seen anything less than 1 ounce and you can get that from your LHBS or any website.

Good luck.

 

[mojotele]

I'm starting to do 1 gallon SMaSH beers. I can do them on my stove top, and I have a small 2 gallon bucket fermenter. I have three big Grolsch-type bottles that previously contained Mad Elf that hold 0.8 gallons each, so one batch should be enough to fill up one bottle once everything is racked off trub and such.

My first will be Maris Otter with Cascade hops. The next will probably be Maris Otter and some other hop. That way I can taste how the hops come through in the final product.

 

[artguy]

I don't know whether you're doing extract or all grain, but if it's all grain another option is doing split batches. I had been brewing 3-gallon batches for hop experimentation purposes, but now that I've gone mostly AG, I sometimes do one mash and split it into two boils with a different hop in each. Most recently, I brewed a special bitter with First Gold in one boil and Fuggles in the other.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

A pellet is going to add a lot of hop gunk.

Bottoms Up!

that said, sometimes, a cone in a bottle or a glass is a nice compliment.

 

[BreckBastion]

I wouldn't do that. I taste ever hop i come in contact with. I have done so since I started brewing and it does help. Start buying in lbs and surround yourself with a few buddies who brew so you can split the bags. That makes it very affordable.