Using tea in beer

[Collab Bros]

Hey all, just throwing a few ideas around.

Wondering if there's anything I need to know if I'm going to use tea in my brew?

When to add, how to add, do I brew the tea first and just add the liquid in?

Cheers!

 

[Liam_snorkel]

you might find some suggestions in this thread:

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/72271-yeastie-boys-gunnamatta-tea-leaf-ipa-clone/

 

[jphowman]

Chop and Brew also did an episode on brewing beer with tea. Some pretty good info.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SuJeNKIKGTU

 

[Collab Bros]

Thanks guys. Damn, I did a search before I posted and couldn't find anything.

Appreciate it.

 

[Bribie G]

Using tea, lemon, sugar and yeast nutrient you can make a fizzy beer like drink that's sort of wine like and ginger beer like as well. Fragrant with a bit of tannin in the background.

Tea wine used to be a big favourite with wine making grannies when I was a kid, used to get them legless faster than the elderflower champagne or the rhubarb wine.

 

[eMPTy]

I used store bought lipton peppermint tea bags in my latest brew as a small experiment. I added them like a 10min hop addition into a choc mint stout. Unfortunately I only bottled yesterday, so can't personally say as yet how good or bad the technique may be.

 

[TimT]

We got a kombucha SCOBY a couple of months back from my brother and he had been apparently told by the friend *he* got it off that the yeast gets nitrogen from the tea. Seems legit, lots of plants have it. And kombucha is basically just tea and sugar and culture, and people have been fermenting with it for yonks. So might make an interesting yeast nutrient - sounds from Bribie's account above that yeast does like it.

 

[pajs]

Could be interesting to take some pu-erh tea, do a couple of short washings/infusions like you do for the most red extractions of it, then add that to an ale ferment. Could get a red ale with some interesting flavours. Tempting, actually.

 

[mosto]

HopDog BeerWorks at Nowra did a chai tea-infused Pale Ale a while ago called Chai Fighter, which was quite tasty. If you google up HopDog and send the brewer, Tim, an email, he may give some advice. He's always been happy to talk all things beer when I've been in there.

 

[Mardoo]

pajs, what is it about the pu-erh that draws your interest?

 

[mwd]

tea in home winemaking is common an easy way to add tannins to fruit wines which are a natural part of grape wines.

Not sure how effective in beer though.

 

[Bribie G]

Before hops became common in British ales a mixture of herbs was used for bittering. At the end of the period tea was just becoming available but was shockingly expensive.
There was actually an antique tea caddy on Antiques Roadshow last night that had a lock.
Hypothetically if tea had been as cheap as today one wonders if breweries might have been attracted to it as a beer ingredient.

 

[roastinrich]

interesting video on it here.

 

[motman]

I'm inspired! Thanks!

 

[pajs]

pajs, what is it about the pu-erh that draws your interest?

The red colour, first and foremost, but it's interesting, complex stuff to drink as well.