Infusing Vodka or Gin With Hops?
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Diaperload
Well-Known Member
Not sure about vodka or gin. At the beer club I'm in we took some sipping rum and ran it through a randal. It took us about 3 tries to get the right amount of hops. Our first attempt was MEGA hoppy. Too hoppy. The second and 3rd attempts were very tasty although I don't remember much of that brewing Sunday.
Vodka and hops sounds so wrong, but depending on the combination, I could go for gin infused with a nice floral hops.
jhorgan1
Well-Known Member
I agree that gin would be best but really gin is just vodka infused with other botanicals. I did a bit of googling and i found this The Ultimate Hophead treat……Hop Extract from Vodka (Lupulin Extraction) | Barleypopmaker's Beer Blog
I know what I'm doing next time I order more hops :rockin:
I have done this several times. It was part of my job as a mixologist/beverage consultant. I have done it mostly cascade hops. It is great if you do the right amounts. I did 2 cups vodka and half ounce of hops for 5 days. I then strained it through a bar strainer so some of the hops made it through. My favorite recipe I did was:
3 oz hop infused vodka
House made sour mix
.5 oz house made simple syrup
3 strawberries
Muddle the strawberries and simple syrup. Add vodka and sour mix. Shake with ice. Strain into chilled martini glass. Dangerously delicious!!!
3 oz hop infused vodka
House made sour mix
.5 oz house made simple syrup
3 strawberries
Muddle the strawberries and simple syrup. Add vodka and sour mix. Shake with ice. Strain into chilled martini glass. Dangerously delicious!!!
Pretty tasty stuff. Next time, I'd definitely use less hops, as the vodka plus hop oils gave it a somewhat solventy-cleaning fluid taste, but it definitely has potential. Definitely only for hopheads, but if you are one, this is a good way to get a hop fix even if you're not in the mood for beer.
jhorgan1
Well-Known Member
Awesome! I just threw half an ounce into 1.5 cups of vodka. How long did keep the hops in the vodka for?
Rivenin
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had this on the rocks a few weeks ago
http://www.mcmenamins.com/879-edgefield-distillery-spirits
"monkey puzzle whiskey"
it's whiskey, infused with hops
sounds weird, but dear lord, it was amazing.... and SWMBO who hates whiskey said it was good.
http://www.mcmenamins.com/879-edgefield-distillery-spirits
"monkey puzzle whiskey"
it's whiskey, infused with hops
sounds weird, but dear lord, it was amazing.... and SWMBO who hates whiskey said it was good.
A few weeks. I didn't taste it during that time, though, which might be useful. Just threw the hops in and forgot about it until a friend came over.
Sounds interesting. I'll keep an eye out for this / I may mix some in the near future.
It's pretty good stuff, though I haven't really done one myself. I like malt(well... maltish) flavors rather than the hop flavors. I did manage to taste one before I started brewing and will have to try it again soon. Check this one out as well, it's a hopped whiskey.
http://newhollandbrew.com/spirits/hopquila/hatter-royale/
http://newhollandbrew.com/spirits/hopquila/hatter-royale/
BrewDifferent
Member
At The Library Bar in Hollywood, I had a hops-infused gin. Served over rocks in a pint glass. Filled the pint glass with ice, added about an ounce of an IPA, then filled the rest with the hops-infused gin. Added a sprig of fresh rosemary. Would've sworn I was drinking an IPA, but was almost all gin. Amazing.
jhorgan1
Well-Known Member
I just thought I would follow up on this. I followed mccann's proportions for the hop vodka mixture and let it soak for about 2 weeks. After I strained it right away I tasted it with some friends and they all hated it and although I kinda liked it, it was a bit too strong and dare I say it brought out the burn in the vodka more. I then sat it on a shelf and didn't do anything with it for a month. I decanted the bottle and carefully poured out the hop vodka into a new bottle while disturbing very little of the sediment in the bottle. I just took a whiff of it tonight and it smells delicious. It aged and mellowed very very well. Even my roommates who hated it said that it smells really good now. I'm going to try a hop martini in the coming days but I would say this experiment was definitely a success. Next step: try it with Citra or Amarillo 
I just thought I would follow up on this. I followed mccann's proportions for the hop vodka mixture and let it soak for about 2 weeks. After I strained it right away I tasted it with some friends and they all hated it and although I kinda liked it, it was a bit too strong and dare I say it brought out the burn in the vodka more. I then sat it on a shelf and didn't do anything with it for a month. I decanted the bottle and carefully poured out the hop vodka into a new bottle while disturbing very little of the sediment in the bottle. I just took a whiff of it tonight and it smells delicious. It aged and mellowed very very well. Even my roommates who hated it said that it smells really good now. I'm going to try a hop martini in the coming days but I would say this experiment was definitely a success. Next step: try it with Citra or Amarillo
I made some more recently. I put a lot less in - I was drunk and didn't measure, unfortunately - and I didn't sit on it, but had it the next day. It was really good; a nice, not at all overpowering hop flavor and aroma. Might be interesting to try some 'fresh' vs 'aged' to see how they compare. I agree, definite success, thanks for the OP, Jhorgan!
d_ozz68
Well-Known Member
New Holland makes an awesome hop infused "Hopquila" called Hatter Royale.
http://newhollandbrew.com/spirits/hopquila/hatter-royale/
http://newhollandbrew.com/spirits/hopquila/hatter-royale/
agentEhrman
Well-Known Member
Just put a half ounce of leaf cascades in about 2 cups of vodka today. I will report back in a week. I have some other hops I want to try if this turns out.
Very cool idea...I have a couple of random small amounts of hops left over from various recent brews, so I'll have to try this...I'm kind of torn as whether to use a whiskey, vodka, or gin!
tdogg
Well-Known Member
I know this is an old thread, but i recently had a discussion with a bartender about this, and I'm intrigued. He used 1/2 ounce of leaf hops per 750ml of whiskey, steeped for only a day or two. Then he ran it through a filter (coffee filter i think) and made hoppy manhattans. I NEED to try this.
This is an old thread, I know. However, I've been intrigued with fir infused gin so tonight I picked some fresh Doug Fir and Hemlock tips and put them in a quart mason jar with about a 1/3 of an ounce of Cascade leaf hops. We'll see how it ends up.
secondbase
Well-Known Member
I worked at an experimental local distillery that did a ton of hopped whiskey experiments. They released a few that were great: Citra, Centennial, and Galaxy. They loaded the hops in the vapor basket and distilled it through. Killer stuff.
imasickboy
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lucybrobins
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Are the hops you use fresh or dried?
