How to make a hop tea?

[StudentBrewer]

A brewing buddy of mine recently made a pale ale that tastes very under hopped (coming from the primary). I told him he may be able to add hop tea to the secondary. I was thinking maybe an ounce or two of cascades? How long should these be boiled and in how much water in order to impart a little more bitterness and aroma on a 5 gallon batch.

I've also got some centennials and chinooks in the freezer, but not sure which will work best.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Rechecking my notes...I made a hop tea using 1/2 gal water and 1/2 oz of Cascade whole hops @ 7AA. I boiled it for 1 hour.

In the end I added 3 cups of the tea to a Helles Bock I called a "10# Bock Beutel".

It tastes great now.

 

[david_42]

Boil 1/2 oz of centennial for an hour in one quart of water. Add. That should take care of the bittering. Dry hop with 1/2 oz of cascades.

 

[StudentBrewer]

Sounds great, thanks guys!

 

[The Happy Mug]

Actually, this sounds like a safer way to dry-hop.

 

[El Pistolero]

Actually, this sounds like a safer way to dry-hop.

Not really the same...boiling the hops in tea extracts the bittering compounds...dry hopping doesn't.

 

[StudentBrewer]

I was under the impression that If I don't boil it, just steep for a while, this will not extract a lot of bitterness. I was planning on using cascades...

 

[homebrewer_99]

You are correct.

By just steeping it a short time and adding all of it to the brew you are basically re-hydrating the hops before adding so IMHO, it would be comparable.

 

[TyrannyBrewing]

I made a hop tea last night for the first time to help give some hop presence to my DFH 60 minute clone. Not sure why, but the batch resulted in something of a malt bomb with very little bittering or aroma from the hops. Question: if I added the hop tea to the keg last night and stirred it up, how long should I give it before I can hopefully expect an improved beer profile?

 

[Dave the Brewer]

When I make my hop tea, I take into account, whether I need more bitterness or more hop flavor. I bring a half gallon (or less) of water to a boil, add hops and taste it every few minutes. When the flavor and bitterness match the profile I am trying to achieve I stop the boil and cool it down quickly to stop isomerization.