So, everyone is crazy about Hops. More hops, extra hops, extra extra hops. So what would we get without the hops? What comes out the carboy when you brew with little or no hops? Just a crazy question thats been itching at me. Anyone have experience brewing with out? I had a special treat a few months back and got to taste a brew that used dandy-lion greens instead of hops and it was a darn tasty brew.
No Hops
- Thread starter Dinbin
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I like them to suite the style of the brew.
In some beers massive IBU stands out and is not right.
In others they are obviously under hopped and the beer needs more.
One of my favouite beers was my BIGIPA and that made my mouth go funny/numb with the ampunt of hops. I loved it.
In some beers massive IBU stands out and is not right.
In others they are obviously under hopped and the beer needs more.
One of my favouite beers was my BIGIPA and that made my mouth go funny/numb with the ampunt of hops. I loved it.
Whatever you use, you need something to balance out the sweetness and help preserve the beer. Before hops, brewers used other herbs and spices. Depending on where you were, you might have used wormwood, heather, spruce, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, or any number of other things. Dandelion greens certainly could work.
Once hops came along in Europe, they gained quite a bit of popularity because they were easy to cultivate, they did a great job, and they weren't really used for anything else (i.e., they weren't all that precious). I'm sure there were some other reasons, as well, such as they tasted good.
I've never brewed a beer without hops, but I've had many good ones! I can't say I've had one with dandelion greens, though. I bet that was good.
TL
Once hops came along in Europe, they gained quite a bit of popularity because they were easy to cultivate, they did a great job, and they weren't really used for anything else (i.e., they weren't all that precious). I'm sure there were some other reasons, as well, such as they tasted good.
I've never brewed a beer without hops, but I've had many good ones! I can't say I've had one with dandelion greens, though. I bet that was good.
TL
Most, if not all, sour beers are extremely constrained in their use of hops. Berliner Weisses, for example, are usually around 5 IBUs. Lambics use hops that intentionally have been allowed to go stale and have AA% of 0% (they still contribute some preservative properties).
