Hop Tea in the Keg

[jasonfitzg]

I've got a really nice IPA in the keg (similar to Maine Beer Company's Lunch in taste profile). I dryhopped with 2oz (simcoe and centennial) during secondary. After carbonating, at first, there was no real nose...It came out a little bit at the end of week one, but seems to dissipate after the first sip of beer. This is a great brew and deserves a big fragrant smell to accompany it. What are people's thoughts on adding a hop tea to the finished, carb'd keg? I was thinking about using 1/2 qt. water, bringing to a boil, and then cooling to 170°-ish, and adding .5-1oz. of simcoe to stand, filtering in a french press, and then adding to the keg. Thoughts? Has anyone had similar situations? I just feel like dryhopping has been hit or miss (almost all miss) for me (I use a bag and pellets in secondary).

 

[Jim311]

Have you considered dry hopping IN the keg? I think I've read that will make for a pretty tasty IPA but have no kegging experience and like you, have had trouble making a good "aromatic" IPA. Someone here told me the flameout additions were important in that regard and to try letting the wort sit at 160 degrees for 20 minutes after flameout hop addition before chilling would help with aroma but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[scottballz]

Next time you dry hop, don't use a hops bag. I have noticed that every time I use a bag I never achieve the "hopiness" I want. This may do the trick. As far as the hop tea bag idea goes, I'm not sure. It is an interesting experiment though. Keep us posted if you try it.

 

[Wynne-R]

That is almost exactly what I do. I tried dry hop and I felt like it didn’t do much.

Now I make a hop tea that I add with the priming sugar when I bottle. I use some acid and a little bit of alcohol with ½ oz of leaf hop and a pint of 170F water in a French press.

It works great. Be careful, it’s easy to use too much hop.