Hop tea in lieu of dry hopping

[HighVoltageMan!]

Increase water to 1quart per ounce of hops.

Wow, 1 quart per ounce. Do the hops swell that much? The beer should probably be brewed stronger so it doesn't dilute it too much when using this method.

 

[Donoroto]

Wow, 1 quart per ounce. Do the hops swell that much? The beer should probably be brewed stronger so it doesn't dilute it too much when using this method.

I think the assumption is an ounce or so of hops. Wayners uses about a pound?

 

[Megary]

@Bubba Wade

Thanks for sharing this info.
So the hop tea was made 1 week prior to kegging?

Just a couple of thoughts...

What affect on aroma would the following have:
Making the tea the night before adding to the keg
After hitting room temp, the tea was stored cold
Simply doubling up on the quantity of hops

I might have to give this a shot in the near future. I like the idea of adding a liquid to the keg as a "dry hop". No gunk to foul up the works.
Thanks again for running the experiment.

 

[Bubba Wade]

Wow, 1 quart per ounce. Do the hops swell that much? The beer should probably be brewed stronger so it doesn't dilute it too much when using this method.

I reduced the water in the beer so that I could add the quart of hop tea back in at legging.

I also think that I’ll get additional solubility of the hop oils in a larger volume of water. Maybe help retain a bit more aroma.

 

[Bubba Wade]

@Bubba Wade

What affect on aroma would the following have:
Making the tea the night before adding to the keg
After hitting room temp, the tea was stored cold
Simply doubling up on the quantity of hops

As far as making the tea the night before, I sealed up the hops immediately after adding the hot water, thinking that I could trap and re-dissolve any volatile oils. I might try it again using room temperature water and seeing if that retains more aroma.

Also, I think if I increase the water volume, solubility may increase. I’m concerned that if hops were increased without a corresponding increase in water, the solubility limit would be hit without increasing the hop flavor or aroma.

 

[Mark Farrall]

Interesting, thanks for this. I'm assuming you added boil hops as well, is that right?

 

[Bubba Wade]

Interesting, thanks for this. I'm assuming you added boil hops as well, is that right?

Yes. This recipe uses Centennial additions at 30 and 5 minutes for a target 35 IBU. I did not notice any additional bitterness from the hop tea.

 

[Box of Rocks]

Pellet or whole hops?

 

[soccerdad]

Question for Bubba - when you say that next time you will use 1Q water per 1OZ hops, will you then add to the keg the 1Q minus the water absorbed by the hops?

 

[Bubba Wade]

Question for Bubba - when you say that next time you will use 1Q water per 1OZ hops, will you then add to the keg the 1Q minus the water absorbed by the hops?

Yes, that’s the plan. One ounce of hops wil absorb somewhere around 1/2-3/4 cup of water.

 

[soccerdad]

Yes, that’s the plan. One ounce of hops wil absorb somewhere around 1/2-3/4 cup of water.

10 Q