Terpene oil in homebrew

[bbrewn]

So recently I have been hooked on Sweetwater's Mango Kush Wheat Ale. I highly recommend you giving it a try if you like the aromas of dankness. Every time I get a glass at the bar people think someone has busted out a bag of the chrondo.

Of course other breweries have their hemp infused brews but most of them are just that... infused with hemp products. I do not care for the taste of hemp but rather the dank aroma and flavors. Mango Kush does not contain any hemp nor taste like it.

Sweetwater says that they seek out hop varieties that contain terpene profiles found in the stickyist of the icky to create this aroma and flavor profile. I could definitely see that working but there is a big trial and error process that you may have to go through to nail the terpene profile, plus where would you find a data source that would tell you the terpene content in different hop varieties?

So I am wanting to create my own version of a "dank" brew. I have been doing some research and looking into terpene oils. There are companies that sell terpene oils isolates and recreated terpene profile blends that mimic certain strains of herb. By adding terpenes to a homebrew somewhere in the brewing process you could produce a product that has some of those aromas and flavors. There are many questions and thoughts that follow this idea:

Do any of ye fellow homebrewers have experience doing this?

At what point in the brewing process would you add the terpene oil?
I would guess during a hop stand or sometime during fermentation?

How would you add the terpene oil to the beer? Would you mix the terpene oil with an emulsifier before adding to the brew? Maybe you could blend the oil with some crushed pellet hops?

How much terpene oil would you use in say a 5 gal batch?

 

[Dgallo]

So recently I have been hooked on Sweetwater's Mango Kush Wheat Ale. I highly recommend you giving it a try if you like the aromas of dankness. Every time I get a glass at the bar people think someone has busted out a bag of the chrondo.

Of course other breweries have their hemp infused brews but most of them are just that... infused with hemp products. I do not care for the taste of hemp but rather the dank aroma and flavors. Mango Kush does not contain any hemp nor taste like it.

Sweetwater says that they seek out hop varieties that contain terpene profiles found in the stickyist of the icky to create this aroma and flavor profile. I could definitely see that working but there is a big trial and error process that you may have to go through to nail the terpene profile, plus where would you find a data source that would tell you the terpene content in different hop varieties?

So I am wanting to create my own version of a "dank" brew. I have been doing some research and looking into terpene oils. There are companies that sell terpene oils isolates and recreated terpene profile blends that mimic certain strains of herb. By adding terpenes to a homebrew somewhere in the brewing process you could produce a product that has some of those aromas and flavors. There are many questions and thoughts that follow this idea:

Do any of ye fellow homebrewers have experience doing this?

At what point in the brewing process would you add the terpene oil?
I would guess during a hop stand or sometime during fermentation?

How would you add the terpene oil to the beer? Would you mix the terpene oil with an emulsifier before adding to the brew? Maybe you could blend the oil with some crushed pellet hops?

How much terpene oil would you use in say a 5 gal batch?

Have you found a source of terpenes that aren’t vape juices or oils? If you do find them. Add them as late as you can. Like the keg or bottling bucket. You just want the flavor and aroma.

If you’re looking to use hops to achieve this, here is a list of common compounds hops have, I’ve highlighted ones I know cannabis to have. Then there is a list of hops with those compounds. You can probably google for hops with the other compounds not listed.

The hops I personally get the greatest dankness from are Columbus, Apollo, Summit, Idaho7(hotside) and then Mosiac and citra depending on the specific batch.

 

[Amahl2442]

This might be of interest as well.

 

[Amahl2442]

You can buy isolated terpenes online from companies like Elevation Terpenes in California...linalool, carophylene, myrcene, etc. Problem is, it only takes a tiny amount in a 5-gallon batch to make a huge difference. Not to sat it hasn't been done...The brewers over at Telluride Brewing have met with a lot of success doing this: see this podcast.

Second problem is that you need a carrier. Pure ethanol or everclear works, but obviously dries the beer and can cast a haze. Vegetable glycerin also works, but adds a sweetness and viscosity to the beer. I think you are looking for about a 1 to 8 ratio of terpene to carrier. Then, as noted above, add to your beer at kegging and force carbonate to disperse the terpenes.

Third problem is that these are just the main terpenes among many at work for any given hop, so coming up with your own blend and expecting to smell/taste like any identifiable variety is at best wishful thinking. Though you might get some component of the signature flavor and aroma that's favorable.

These guys in Maine are breaking out isolated hop terpenes using fractional distillation and gas chromatography, and coming up with their own varietal blends. Here's a brief explanation of their project on their Facebook page. They are also selling these blends to pros and homebrewers on their website. They are not inexpensive, but a little goes a long way, and I'm curious about their claim that they have isolated maybe 50 different compounds per hop for their blends. I've ordered their Citra blend and plan to experiment with it...I'll report back. Most of their blends are sold out, but if you do manage to nab a bottle of Nelson Sauvin, Simcoe, Galaxy or Mosaic, please report back on your results!

 

[Loud Brewing]

I have some experience with blending terpene isolates in order mimic particular cannabis strains.
It can be very tedious and time consuming to create blends that do not smell artificial, but it can be done.
A better option, and the one that most likely Sweetwater employed is to purchase a proprietary blend from a reputable company.
Floraplex has been around for awhile now and has a page regarding blending terpenes with beer and can be found here;
https://www.buyterpenesonline.com/knowledge-center/terpenes-and-beer/

 

[verboten]

And on that note, the chocolope stout is amazing