iced tea pale ale

[rewster451]

I've noticed that a lot of IPA's have a bite sort of similar to the bite of iced tea. Does anyone know what might happen if tea is added to the wort, or how I might go about this if I decide it's a good idea. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this, but I haven't seen any info on it.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Never tried Tea Beer, but I have made several Tea Meads successfully.

 

[Lost]

That bite is astringency. A mash temp that is too high can cause astringency. However, large quantities of hops can also create a bit of an astringent bite. Of course, in an IPA you just can't use enough hops..

I don't think you want to add tea to the brew.. that's certainly not why the IPA has a tea like taste. It's the hops..

If you brew one just load it up with some cascade toward the end of the boil.. then dry hop it with some more cascade. If you want it very bitter as well then use chinook for bittering.

edit: I should add that in most brews astringency is considered a flaw. In an IPA I'm not sure.. you seem to like the taste and that's all that matters. Here's a nice little article from the wizard at BYO on astringency in hoppy beers. I hope it's helpful..

http://www.byo.com/mrwizard/1366.html

 

[rewster451]

cool. Thanks for the link. I still think I might try it in a small batch or something, but I never realized that the flavor I like is considered to be a flaw. Something to mull over for a while I guess.