I have been steeping at 170ºF as measured in the press. Last time I used RO water on a whim and instead of cooling the near boiling water, just poured it in. I just sampled that batch and it is really amazing. The late hops dominate until the end, when the malt and bittering lingers. I definitely used too much, but the result is intriguing. I think the higher temperature increased the hop utilization and turned my pale into a hop bomb. Its only two weeks old, I wonder what it will be at six weeks.
I found this from the OP on the old thread:
The only exception was my first experiments where I added boiling water and let it sit for a long time. That experiment is now a couple of months old and it has aged into the most hoppy beer that I have. But it does have a lingering grassy undertone to the flavor. I still like the beer. When I want to drink a tongue-numbing hop-bomb, that's the beer I go to. In that experiment's defense, it is the same hoppy and grassy flavor that you will find in Russian River's Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger. I took all of my beers to the bar at RR and compared them side-by-side and confirmed that this technique can be used to achieve super hoppy beers.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/big-hop-flavor-1-3-hops-55721/index5.html#post648017
I've been getting a little grass, but much less this last time, I think it's the RO water, nothing to react with.
On the same page is a post about some people experimenting with hop tea infusion temperature.
http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/hunts-hop-tea/#comments
Thats what I was looking for when I found the boiling thing. Note theyre talking about tea, not beer. The tannin they got in the tea might not be noticeable in five gallons of beer. Also they had fresh cones, not dried hops.
Also I wonder about the effect of the pH and the mineral content of the water. My local water is hard and alkaline. I know I changed two variables (water and temperature), not very scientific, but the result is so striking I think Im going to stay with it. Next time I will reduce the amount from a full oz to 2/3 and put the odd 1/3 in at flame-out. I hope to broaden the finish and get better balance. Two more variables, Im such a mess.