Tea, Tannins, and Beer

[rc_cola]

Hey Everyone,

My buddy and I have been working on a recipe for an Earl Grey IPA. I want to use actual loose tea in the dry-hop stage.......but my partner is extremely against that due to the tannins in tea. He is worried that it will cause the beer to spoil quickly. As such, he wants to use a Bergamot Extract.


I'd like to start an open conversation on the matter in this forum. Has anyone had much experience putting tea in beer?

 

[kingwood-kid]

Tannins won't make it spoil, quite the opposite. Or else they wouldn't be used to preserve leather. Tannins are quite present in oak and hops, both of which help beer age gracefully. I'm not saying an Earl Gray beer will be good--I have no idea--but it won't spoil any faster than a beer without tea. I've never done it, but my guess would be that you'd want to back off on the bittering hops a little and use the tea as a flameout/whirlpool and dry-hop addition. Or you could brew the beer and tea separately and mix to taste.