[micsager]

Hi folks -

Well, as I'm in charge of the "educational portion" of our club meeting this saturday, I figured I would make a bunch of hop tea for tasting.  I have 10 varieities, so it may work out well to compare them. 

I planned on just using my coffee maker, puting about a cup of whole leaf hops in the brew basket, and go for it.  Then just bottle into some 22 ouncers, cap, label, and "bob's your uncle."

Any thoughts?

[denny]

I've tried making hop tea 3-4 times and each time it's been some of the nastiest, most disgustingly vegetal stuff I've ever tasted.  My thoughts would be "don't do it!".

[micsager]

hmmmm.......

On a Modern Marvels episode once, they showed the folks from DFH doing this to get an idea of the differences.  When you DID make it, how did you do it?

[denny]

I steeped the hops in water just off the boil.  A couple times I tried adjusting the water pH, but it didn't seem to make much difference.  I've heard that maybe my water was too hot.  Or maybe it's just my tastebuds.  I'll modify my advice to "try it and see what you think before you serve it to others"....how's that?

[EHall]

I have to agree with Denny, its nasty stuff... but you will get educated if you do it. Just make sure you have something that can 'clean' your mouth out between and after and cleanse the palate inbetween... it truely is nasty tasting.

[tomsawyer]

Maybe it'd be better to dry hop individual bottles for a week prior to the meeting.  Use a cream ale or something fairly neutral.  Then you'd get an idea of the flavor/aroma.  It'd work better with pellets, and of course it'd probably foam like a banshee as soon as you dropped one in.

I'd love to try a bunch of single-hop brews.  They had a tasting in St Louis last year, I think there were fifteen different brews.  I didn't find out about it till the day of, and couldn't make it down there.  I keep thinking I'll line up some small fermentors and mash five gallons of wort, then boil 1gal batches with single hops.  But that'd take effort.  I do currently have at least a dozen different varieties in the freezer.

Wonder if it'd be better to brew the "tea" using wort?  Might be slightly closer to the actual thing.

[denny]

Making a tea using wort would be much better..it's called "beer"! 

[tomsawyer]

Making a tea using wort would be much better..it's called "beer"! 

Not if you don't ferment it.  But then it would be called a darned shame.

[micsager]

Well guys, I'm gonna try it in my coffee maker tonight.  Don't have time to dry hop.  Meeting is Saturday.  I'll do it after our annual elections.  LOL.