H0U5ECAT
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I've been reading alot of late about adding hop tea instead of dry hopping during second fermentation or adding a sock to the keg etc etc etc.
There are pros and cons for either option.
The main thing I have noted is that when people add a "hop tea", the process that involves steeping your hops for 10 -20 mins in water that is generally around the 70 deg mark, is that it may tend to give of a more grassy flavours and not be aromatic as it should.
Vs Dry hopping or adding a sock to a keg is that it can possibly introduce the possibility of contamination from the sock etc.
Please note, before there is a backlash of people saying "I do it all the time and it's fine", I would like to stress the point I said POSSIBILITY. Not always.
So somewhere between schooner 4 and 5, I thought has anyone steeped hops in water at pitching/fermentation temp?
To reduce the risk of contamination, I would bring 200mls (around abouts) of water to the boil and let it simmer for 5 mins.
Secondly I would boil my hopsock in a different saucepan to sterilise that.
Letting the water cool down in a sealed container by either forcing it in a tub of ice, down to 18 deg, I would add the sock and hops to the water and let it steep for a period of time.
Then after that, I would add this to my keg/fermenter during racking.
Has anyone else thought this would be a viable option, or has anyone done it in a similar fashion?
There are pros and cons for either option.
The main thing I have noted is that when people add a "hop tea", the process that involves steeping your hops for 10 -20 mins in water that is generally around the 70 deg mark, is that it may tend to give of a more grassy flavours and not be aromatic as it should.
Vs Dry hopping or adding a sock to a keg is that it can possibly introduce the possibility of contamination from the sock etc.
Please note, before there is a backlash of people saying "I do it all the time and it's fine", I would like to stress the point I said POSSIBILITY. Not always.
So somewhere between schooner 4 and 5, I thought has anyone steeped hops in water at pitching/fermentation temp?
To reduce the risk of contamination, I would bring 200mls (around abouts) of water to the boil and let it simmer for 5 mins.
Secondly I would boil my hopsock in a different saucepan to sterilise that.
Letting the water cool down in a sealed container by either forcing it in a tub of ice, down to 18 deg, I would add the sock and hops to the water and let it steep for a period of time.
Then after that, I would add this to my keg/fermenter during racking.
Has anyone else thought this would be a viable option, or has anyone done it in a similar fashion?
