Hop Tea with pellets

[tropicalpalmtree]

Can they be put straight into boiling water and then strained off through a sieve? or is it best to put them in muslin cloth and dip them in like a teabag?

 

[Clint]

Bag them I'd say...but not in boiling water...80c..

 

[Slid]

Can they be put straight into boiling water and then strained off through a sieve? or is it best to put them in muslin cloth and dip them in like a teabag?

65C is maybe the best bet. Or at least a bit less than 100C. You want flavour and aroma, I assume, and not the bitterness boiling releases?
Leave the hops in a jar of some sort for 30 mins or so, at least. A sieve will be fine to get rid of the debris.

 

[tropicalpalmtree]

https://uk.diybeer.com/recipes/index/view/id/56/

this is the recipe i will be following, so just add the hops to hot water and leave it?

and yes flavour/aroma is what i'm after

 

[terrym]

Wot I do:- Sanitised jug. Add the hops, then water at 85*C at the ratio of 10:1 e.g, 250ml water to 25g hops. Cling film over the jug. Allow to steep and slowly cool( I wrap the jug to keep the heat in) . Add to the brew. Then proceed as for a dry hop.
P.S. Calypso hops seem to have mixed reviews. Are you really sure about using them?

 

[tropicalpalmtree]

cool, i will do that then.

whats the issue with the calypso hops? just following the recipe to be honest

 

[tropicalpalmtree]

reviews i read people seemed to like them a lot

Wot I do:- Sanitised jug. Add the hops, then water at 85*C at the ratio of 10:1 e.g, 250ml water to 25g hops. Cling film over the jug. Allow to steep and slowly cool( I wrap the jug to keep the heat in) . Add to the brew. Then proceed as for a dry hop.
P.S. Calypso hops seem to have mixed reviews. Are you really sure about using them?

following that recipe, would you reccomend doing the full 25g of hops in this stage, then not bother putting any in dry after 5 days?

 

[terrym]

If you feel confident about using Calypso hops, don't let me put you off, go for it. Then tell us what you think.
And my hop tea method is carried out when the primary has all but finished, so its a 'wet hop'. I have no experience of using Calypso hops so really cannot say whether 25g is the right amount or not, so just follow the recipe. Someone thought it was OK.

 

[Drunkula]

I sometimes use a flask with 65c water and then after half an hour tip it into a cafetierre and stomp it down and you get this hugely compacted cake with all the juice set free. Sometimes I don't do the flask bit and just do it in the cafetierre.

 

[tropicalpalmtree]

so you would add your hops after the initial fermentation? then leave for a while longer (1-2 weeks), then bottle up? aunsure....

and definitely i will keep it updated, i honestly know nothing about the hops so just hoping it turns out okay

 

[Nicks90]

Definitely wait till primary fermentation has just about finished after 5 days before doing anything with hops
Then either dry hop with them in a muslin bag for another 3 to 5 days or a hop tea.
Ps. If you are doing a hop tea, make sure you have boiled the water you are going to use to sterilise it. Then let it cool to 60-80c before adding the hops to it.

 

[terrym]

Tap water does not need to be boiled to sterilise it for brewing purposes. Its is good to go straight from the mains supply. Many folks including me make up kits and extract brews with cold mains water. However water from a cold water header tank supply is not the same and should be boiled.
And hops themselves are supposed to have anti-bacterial qualities which is ones of the reasons they are used in beer to act as a preservative.

 

[DavieC]

Hi TropicalPtree, looks like your recipe is boiling the 10g hops for added bitterness, so if youre sticking with it, follow what is says, all depends how bitter you like it really but maybe suits the style and taste you're after.

 

[Sandimas]

+1 on following the recipe, there are 2 stages: a 10min boil for added bitterness, and a dry hop later on for aroma. You can make a hop tea as you suggested, but it isn't following the recipe and so the result will be different.

I've not heard of Calypso hops before, never seen them fro sale here in the UK. Nelson Sauvin or Cascade would be good substitutes that are readily available.

 

[terrym]

+1 on following the recipe, there are 2 stages: a 10min boil for added bitterness, and a dry hop later on for aroma. You can make a hop tea as you suggested, but it isn't following the recipe and so the result will be different.

I've not heard of Calypso hops before, never seen them fro sale here in the UK. Nelson Sauvin or Cascade would be good substitutes that are readily available.

Crossmyloof sell them:-
CALYPSO - 2017 crop • 11-14% AA • Pleasant, fruity aroma with a hint of pear & apple (some say :-/)

I would have thought boiling 25g of 11-14%hops for 10mins will definitely add bitterness. Too much for the style?

Anyway more here
http://www.hopslist.com/hops/dual-purpose-hops/calypso/

 

[tropicalpalmtree]

really i would like more on the side of flavour/aroma from the hops than all out bitterness (although i'd still like some) so would it be worth doing 10g hop tea, then dry hopping the remaining 15g later for best results?

or would this be achieved just following the recipe aunsure....

 

[terrym]

really i would like more on the side of flavour/aroma from the hops than all out bitterness (although i'd still like some) so would it be worth doing 10g hop tea, then dry hopping the remaining 15g later for best results?

or would this be achieved just following the recipe aunsure....

Nearly all beer kits are supplied with what the manufacturer believes suits the style in terms of bitterness. Homebrewers add hop teas or dry hops to kits to 'freshen them up' or to introduce additional flavours and aromas say by using another hop not included in the can. Changing the bitterness level is not normally carried out, there is usually no need.
So without trying the kit made up almost 'as it comes' (i.e with minimal additions), you really have no idea what it tastes like, and cannot really judge what to do with it.
That decision making process will come with experience.
In this case it may be exactly right 'as it comes' to suit your tastes, it may not. In my view no-one can really advise you exactly what to do. What I think is OK may not suit you, and what you think is OK may not suit the next person, and so on.
In the end you will have to decide what to do and go with it, right or wrong. Either way you are building your own brewing experience database.

 

[Drunkula]

really i would like more on the side of flavour/aroma from the hops than all out bitterness (although i'd still like some) so would it be worth doing 10g hop tea, then dry hopping the remaining 15g later for best results?

Hop teas are best added late. I did a three way split with a dry hop, early hop tea and hop tea near bottling and the early hop tea was near pointless. The dry hop I liked slightly more than the late tea for a few weeks then they both became similarly nice.

 

[Peter Scandlyn]

I sometimes use a flask with 65c water and then after half an hour tip it into a cafetierre and stomp it down and you get this hugely compacted cake with all the juice set free. Sometimes I don't do the flask bit and just do it in the cafetierre.

I do the same Drunks.

 

[tropicalpalmtree]

Hop teas are best added late. I did a three way split with a dry hop, early hop tea and hop tea near bottling and the early hop tea was near pointless. The dry hop I liked slightly more than the late tea for a few weeks then they both became similarly nice.

whats the protocol for adding the hop tea late then mate? would i add hop tea and dry hops to the FV after about 5 days?