Improvisatory Hopback

A few weeks ago the annual "Gadgets Issue" (35(1)) of Zymurgy appeared in my mailbox, an issue that I have always eagerly anticipated since I became a member of the American Homebrewers Association. There are often some very clever, effective, and cost-efficient homebrew-improvement ideas contained within, and besides, it's simply fun to read about what other homebrewers have thought of to experiment with improving their system, their methods, or both.

The idea that caught my eye most was the "Hop-Squasher", submitted by Courtney Tyvand. Her idea centers on creating a hopback out of a French coffee press. As she writes:

"I just pour a carafe full of my favorite beer and add a teaspoon or so of hop pellets...and insert the press screen, making sure that the vents are in the 'closed' position, and stick in the fridge for a few minutes. When I'm ready to pour, I twist to the 'open' position and very slowly depress the plunger to clear the hop debris and pour a great tasting pint of uniquely hopped beer. It's nothing fancy, but it is cheap and fun and allows you to play around with a lot of different hop and beer combinations." (p. 23)

When I read that I thought to myself, "Hey, I have a coffee press...I have hops...I have beer...I should do this!". And so I did. I decided to use New Glarus' Hop Hearty Ale as my first experiment, with a couple of teaspoons of Mt. Hood hop pellets as my experimental addition. For those who are unfamiliar with the Hop Hearty Ale, it's in the style of an American IPA and is dry-hopped with Cascade and East Kent Goldings. I decided to take tasting notes on a pint without the addition, and then notes on the beer with the addition. I chose Mt. Hood since it's fairly unobtrusive, mild, and wouldn't mess too much with the hop profile of the original. Below are my notes:

Hop Hearty Ale

Appearance: Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a 6 ounce tasting glass. Color is amber trending towards the red side of the spectrum, with a sticky foam that leaves lacing down the side of the glass.

Aroma: Not too aggressive, and very well-balanced. Some citrus and mint with a bit of a floral scent as well. Caramel, as the label states, is also present.

Taste: Very clean, and extremely easy to drink due to its balanced flavors. Citrus is more present in the taste up front, followed by some mint and ending with a grassy note. The caramel intertwines throughout. I don't think that it is too present at any point of the tasting.

Mouthfeel and thoughts: Definitely a medium body with plenty of carbonation, but not an overwhelming amount. Very, very easy to quaff, what with the balance and flavors present.
Now for the beer, plus Mt. Hood additions. Below are some pictures:

Hops:

Carafe:

Hops with carafe:
Hop Hearty Ale, Mt. Hood addition

Appearance: Same, with some small bits of hoppy goodness.

Aroma: The aroma has a much sweet floral-ness to it. Obviously the beer is now slightly out of balance and trending towards a floral nose; while not a bad thing, I don't think I'd make a dry hop addition out of it.

Taste: Very similar to the original. This is expected, obviously, as the AA% contribution should be near or at zero.

Mouthfeel and overall: Mouthfeel is obviously similar. The balance is slightly out of whack, of course, but I think it is a huge success as an experiment. The aromas contributed from this amount allowed me to see a hop profile in an entirely new light.

This is something that I think every homebrewer should try. Hop profiles can be a difficult thing to anticipate, and this is a cheap, quick, and fun way to experiment with different hops without losing a bunch of money on a failed batch of beer. In the future I think that I'll try it with multiple varieties of hops, as well as experimenting with length of time in the carafe as well as using more aggressive hops. For the record, I did not refrigerate the beer once the hops were added, but simply kept it out for observation. I think a warmer temperature will help profile the aromas a little bit better. I apologize for the formatting. Something happened to the latter half of this post, and currently I'm too lazy to fix it.