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Date: 19 Sep 2007 15:31:17
From: Alex
Subject: hop tea to spice up an extract-kit brew?
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I'm planning on doing a quick brew from a bitter kit (LME) I have. I'm
afraid the kit doesn't quite pack the hoppy punch I want in a bitter, so
I thought I'd add some hop tea. Do I just boil water with a basically
normal hopping schedule (bittering, flavouring, aroma), or do I need to
take something else into consideration?
Alex
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Date: 19 Sep 2007 16:47:47
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: hop tea to spice up an extract-kit brew?
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On Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:31:17 +0300, <check.sig@for.email.invalid > wrote:
> I'm planning on doing a quick brew from a bitter kit (LME) I have. I'm
> afraid the kit doesn't quite pack the hoppy punch I want in a bitter, so
> I thought I'd add some hop tea. Do I just boil water with a basically
> normal hopping schedule (bittering, flavouring, aroma), or do I need to
> take something else into consideration?
Hops contain tannins just like grains do. There are some restrictions you
need to watch out for regarding the pH, etc, when boiling them in order to
avoid extracting the tannins. The easiest way is to boil the hops in
wort (IE with some extract) instead of plain water.
If you're already planning on boiling the LME in the kit, then I'd add
your hops then. If it's a no boil kit, then I'd probably boil at least
some of the LME with the additional hops when you make the tea. The issue
with boiling hops in plain water to make a "hop tea" is that it can leach
out some harsh flavors that you normally don't get when boiling the hops
in wort.
John.
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Date: 20 Sep 2007 08:57:46
From: Alex
Subject: Re: hop tea to spice up an extract-kit brew?
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> If you're already planning on boiling the LME in the kit, then I'd add
> your hops then. If it's a no boil kit, then I'd probably boil at least
> some of the LME with the additional hops when you make the tea.
Yes, it's a no boil kit, which is why I'm asking. I'll use some DME if I
can find some in the house, otherwise I'll boil part of the extract. I
was just trying to take the easiest route. The loss of flavouring and
aroma in the extract is a non-issue, since my hopping schedule will make
up for it.
> The issue
> with boiling hops in plain water to make a "hop tea" is that it can leach
> out some harsh flavors that you normally don't get when boiling the hops
> in wort.
Just out of curiosity, could this be prevented by altering the pH with
an addition of eg. citric or lactic acid?
Thanks for all the answers!
Alex
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localpart = alext
domain = iki dot fi
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Date: 20 Sep 2007 09:22:27
From: Mark R
Subject: Re: hop tea to spice up an extract-kit brew?
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"Alex" <check.sig@for.email.invalid > wrote in message news:uZnIi.225807
>
> Just out of curiosity, could this be prevented by altering the pH with
> an addition of eg. citric or lactic acid?
>
Not without the wort. The hops react with the wort and chemically combines.
IIRC someone did a dissertation on this quite a while back and used some 25
cent words like isomer. ;-)
Mark R
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Date: 19 Sep 2007 15:11:22
From: Ebbe Kristensen
Subject: Re: hop tea to spice up an extract-kit brew?
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Alex wrote:
> I'm planning on doing a quick brew from a bitter kit (LME) I have. I'm
> afraid the kit doesn't quite pack the hoppy punch I want in a bitter,
> so I thought I'd add some hop tea.
Why not dry-hop it? Add the extra hops to the secondary fermenting wrapped
in sterilised gauze bag. You won't get much extra bitterness but lots of
flavour.
Ebbe
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Date: 19 Sep 2007 16:38:55
From: Alex
Subject: Re: hop tea to spice up an extract-kit brew?
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Ebbe Kristensen wrote:
> Why not dry-hop it? Add the extra hops to the secondary fermenting wrapped
> in sterilised gauze bag. You won't get much extra bitterness but lots of
> flavour.
Sure, that too! ;-) But I really want more bitterness as well.
Alex
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localpart = alext
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Date: 19 Sep 2007 09:22:04
From: Mark R
Subject: Re: hop tea to spice up an extract-kit brew?
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"Alex" <check.sig@for.email.invalid > wrote in message
news:ND9Ii.225562$ms5.223541@reader1.news.saunalahti.fi...
> Ebbe Kristensen wrote:
>
>> Why not dry-hop it? Add the extra hops to the secondary fermenting
>> wrapped
>> in sterilised gauze bag. You won't get much extra bitterness but lots of
>> flavour.
>
> Sure, that too! ;-) But I really want more bitterness as well.
>
I think you'll need to boil it with the extract. For proper extraction from
the hops you need the lower PH that the extract gives you. The problem with
that is you will boil off most of the flavor and aroma that was in the
extract so you'll need to do flavor and aroma additions. When I first
started brewing I did this with an APA that used hopped extract. But then
again, by doing it this way you get more control over the profile of your
brew.
Mark R
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