Fresh Hop Aroma Tea

A "tea" made with fresh hops and nearly finished wort.

In the Best of Brew Your Own - Hop Lover's Guide, Chris Colby & Don Million have an article on fermenting & conditioning that describes making a hop aroma tea in place of dry hopping or kraüsen hopping. The resulting "tea" is supposed to contribute a more intense hop aroma and flavor than dry hopping would, with no bitterness, since the hops do not boil. One would normally use the hop aroma tea technique during secondary fermentation. But with about 5 oz of fresh hops left over from my one pound order, a tea should be a good way to capture as much aroma and flavor as possible before the hops begin to fade.

Here are the steps to making a hop aroma tea:

1. Normally you would make 2 qts. of wort, SG 1.005 - 1.015 for a 5 gallon batch. In my case, I tapped boiling wort directly from the brew kettle with 10 minutes left in the boil. I ran the wort into a sanitized French press coffee maker filled with fresh hops.
2. Normally you would let the hops steep, then press and let cool before adding to a beer in secondary fermentation. In my case, I let the cones steep the remaining 10 minutes of the main boil, then pressed and poured into the brew kettle at flameout.