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Last updated
Kyle Brown
Owner of Clawhammer Supply
Trying to figure out what to drink for dry January? Trying to find a non-alcohol drink to guzzle for sober October? Look no further. We present to you, hop water. It's a non alcohol (or low alcohol, depending on how you make it) drink that is super easy and inexpensive to make.
Check out our video here:
What is hop water?
Hop water is simply lightly hopped water that has been carbonated. A small amount of sugar and yeast may be used to carbonate the beverage. However, the primary ingredients are hops and water.
Hop Water Ingredients
- 5.25 gallons of water
- A small amount of lemon juice or lactic acid (optional)
- 4-6 ounces of hops
- Priming Sugar (optional)
- Yeast (optional)
How is hop water made?
To make hop water, complete the following steps (our recipe is for 5 gallons):
- Add 5.25 gallons of water to a kettle
- Adjust pH (if you have a pH meter) using lactic acid or lemon juice to somewhere between 3.5 and 4.5
- Bring to a boil for 10 minutes
- Cool to 170 degrees
- Add 4-6 ounces of hops and let steep for 20 minutes
How is hop water carbonated?
The next steps in the procedure depend on whether or not the hop water will be kegged or bottled. First we'll describe kegging hop water. After that we'll describe bottling hop water.
How is hop water kegged ?
After step 5 in the first section, transfer hop water to a keg and chill to 40F or less. Attach a CO2 tank to the keg and set pressure to 50psi. Gently shake for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce pressure to 12psi and serve.
How is hop water bottled and carbonated?
After step 5 above, chill hop water to 70F and transfer into a bottling bucket. Once the hop water is transferred, add a pack of yeast to it. We used Lalbrew Kveik Ale Yeast. It's important to rehydrate the yeast before you add it to the bucket. To do this, add some hop water to a jar, sprinkle the yeast into the jar, and shake it up. Add this mixture to your bucket of hop water.
Next, prepare your bottles by first cleaning and sanitizing them. Next add enough priming sugar tablets for "high carbonation" and use a bottling bucket and bottling wand to fill each bottle, leaving about an inch of head room. Seal with sanitized caps using a capper. Do not refrigerate at this point. The bottles must remain at room temperature for 1-3 weeks to allow yeast to eat sugar and produce carbon dioxide. Once carbonated, chill to 40F and serve.
Is hop water non alcohol or low alcohol?
Hop water that has been kegged and carbonated using a CO2 tank is zero alcohol. Hop water that has been bottled and carbonated using priming sugar and yeast contains a small amount of alcohol.
Kyle Brown is the owner of Clawhammer Supply, a small scale distillation and brewing equipment company which he founded in 2009. His passion is teaching people about the many uses of distillation equipment as well as how to make beer at home. When he isn't brewing beer or writing about it, you can find him at his local gym or on the running trail.
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I would suggest an aromatic hops and shy away from bittering hops used to attenuate sweetness in beer.
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In the video they used Lalbrew Voss Kveik ale yeast but I’m guessing something like US-05 would also work well.
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Hey guys great videos! In the first hop water video it was suggested 2 grams of hops per gallon and the 2nd video 4-6 oz per 5.25 gal batch. I used 1 oz for 1 gal and it seems really bitter. Also in the 2nd video,which I watched first before making my first batch of hop water, didn’t filter the water before kegging. Is this suggested? My hop water is pretty green with some hop material and hop burn. Keep up the great work!
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Christian, it should be added after you have boiled and cooled the hop water, and placed into your bottling bucket. The intent is to rehydrate the dry yeast, then pour it into the bucket so that some yeast gets into every bottle (along with the sugar drops).
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It looks like you left out when the yeast should be added, and it wasn’t entirely clear in the video either?
Cheers – I look forward to trying this recipe!
