CAN YOU ADD HOPS TO MEAD?

[estherholt]

fanta wine please i want to see the radioactive orange colour.

[enduringstone]

this is what we brewers call a dry hop! good strategy to mediate just how much flavor they impart.

[ProbsMagobs]

Put some sanitized marbles in the bag to keep the hops from floating 😉

[corywashere]

The great thing about dry hopping is that the hops don't impart much bitterness and release oils which give you some great flavour and little to no bitterness. Good Luck!!!

[jonophant]

the bitterness in hops comes mostly from a group of compounds known as alpha acids.
alpha acids are not water soluble but when boiled isomerise into a soluble molecule (referred to as iso-alpha-acids).
Since you add them as flavour in the cold part of the process almost no alpha acids will get solved into the mead itself and mostly the aroma oils.
additionally you bring in some of the resins that can impart a harsh stinging astringency. Cold crashing and letting it clear out completely should mostly remove that "hop burn".
additionally many brewers like to add their dry hop addition a bit later in fermentation or after main fermentation/ripening/aging. That is due to "biotransphormation". The yeast interacts with the aromatic hop compounds and changes them into something that sometimes is wanted and sometimes is unwanted. Different types of yeast cause different levels of biotransphormation.
I think a chinook dry hopped beer would taste very good
Huell Melon also sounds very interesting for mead
as do copious others tbh

[padthai]

I use that exact kitchen scale! Although it’s not used for cooking often…

[tomashernandez]

I honestly thought this was a different kind of “flower” for a second

[LunaRayArclight]

From first glance, almost thought that the forbidden pet food mead was gonna be made 😅

[Phytobiogenes]

I’ve actually had a hopped mead and while I don’t normally like hops, it was actually quite pleasant, it added an almost wheat-y flavor and a bitterness that balanced well with the sweet mead.

[Ajibolaa]

Good on you for branching out. Time to try new things. Maybe a beer next

[RedOrm]

I love hoppy beer. Craft beer is what you call it over there, I believe.
German purity law states German pilsner beer may only contain water, barley, yeast and hops. No other additives. Some pilsners have more hops, some less.
With mead I find the bitterness of the hops perfectly balances out the sweetness of honey.
For me this is the right combination. Sadly mead is not a common beverage in my country and thus it's hard to come by.
It's more common in Scandinavia, though also more expensive.

[injuredsmurf]

Professional brewer here. Hops arent as straightforward as that. They give off different characteristics depending on when they're added to the brew. The longer you boil them, the more of the bitterness you'll extract. Boil them for a short time and you'll get the flavour notes (grapefruit, lavender etc)

If you steep them during cooling or dry hopping (what you've done here) you're going to get the aroma. Reach out if you want more info on infusing hops to your mead 👍

[TheBlueRazor]

I have already done this, and I have found that it is better to use less than you think. Another way to do it is to soak the hops in some water while boiling it, and then once it's cool and a little each day to the mead until it's at the desired taste.

[arianesfandiari]

I use hops on my mead too. I use it like when I’m making beer, kinda. I make a tea out of it and add it in the beginning of fermentation. Personally I prefer the kind with lower percentages of alpha acids

[patrickstar]

was literally going to look up what are hops from your most recent short. saved myself a search

[josephmazor]

Hoppy beer is amazing so I’m excited for this

[VukCubrilovic]

What hops did you use here? BTW I recommend using some fruity hops to your mead while fermenting to get biotransformation varieties like citrus mosaic galaxy simcoe would all go great

[MCNinjaDJ]

There's a mead I love called "Oden's Skull." It's flavored with apple, cinnamon, and hops. It's absolutely fantastic.

[Ry_J_Guts]

I recently had a mead that had hops added to it and it was delicious!

[michaelgibson]

For dry hopping my beer, I find whole hops (i.e. not pellets) produce better aromatics.