Re: Anyone Made Hop Tea?

[Guest guest]

I'm a big hop head. I've been brewing beer for alomost 20 years. All

you read is true, it's a great herbal medicine. You can find hops at

any homebrew shop or online. Make sure to use whole leaf and not

pellets.

--- In , Tom Jeanne <t.l.jeanne@g...>

wrote:

> I was drinking a nice beer and thinking about hops and barley.

Actually, I am still drinking the beer as I type. Anyway, I decided

to look up hops on Wikipedia (fantastic resouce). I just skimmed the

article but was very interested to read about the medicinal uses of

hop. Check it out:

>

> " Hop has a mild sedative effect. Dried female buds are known to

have high content of methylbutenol, which has a calming effect on

central nervous system. Possible uses are for insomnia, tensions and

anxiety. If one has trouble getting sleep, hop tea before going to

bed may help. Hops' antibacterial qualities stimulate gastric juice

production. Hops' medically active ingredients are humulene and

lupulene. "

>

> Also interesting that " hop acids have a mild antibiotic effect

against Gram-positive bacteria which favors the exclusive activity of

brewing yeast in the fermentation of beer. " And that they are

technically bines [sic], not vines! That's a new term for me.

>

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hops

>

> So has anyone here experimented with hops? Just curious.

>

> BTW I am making my first-ever batch of kvass right now, and will

soon make stock with beef soup bones, a leftover goose carcass from

Christmas, and the head of a bird in my freezer (it's a duck head I

think).

>

> - Tom

> {Madison, Wisconsin}

[Guest guest]

>Also interesting that " hop acids have a mild antibiotic effect against

Gram-positive bacteria which favors the exclusive activity of brewing yeast in

the fermentation of beer. " And that they are technically bines [sic], not vines!

That's a new term for me.

>

>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hops

>

>So has anyone here experimented with hops? Just curious.

Well yeah, I have a whole vine of them. Or vines. They grow BIG, and

are easy to grow, and give a whole mess of little hop flowers which

you can freeze and experiment with. As for " bines " ? Wow, new Scrabble

word! They look like vines to me.

I boil my " tea " with some molasses and sugar, then let the kefir-grains

ferment the sugar part into alcohol or lactic acid, which results in ... beer!

But even without the beer part, those hops are in fact very narcotic.

And they do increase the alcohol content, which is likely why they started

using them in beer, methinks. Also the beer doesn't turn sour nearly so

fast with hops.

You can order hops " rhyzomes " (little pieces of root) on the net, and plant

them in the spring. Then just give them something to grow on. I planted my

first ones in a planter box on the deck, and they took over the deck railing,

which worked fine.

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

Heidi, is what you describe below the " kefir beer " you've mentioned in threads

past or is this something different? I want to try doing this myself, sounds

interesting at least and possibly yummy.

Tom

> I boil my " tea " with some molasses and sugar, then let the kefir-grains

> ferment the sugar part into alcohol or lactic acid, which results in ... beer!

> But even without the beer part, those hops are in fact very narcotic.

> And they do increase the alcohol content, which is likely why they started

> using them in beer, methinks. Also the beer doesn't turn sour nearly so

> fast with hops.

>

[Guest guest]

>Heidi, is what you describe below the " kefir beer " you've mentioned in threads

past or is this something different? I want to try doing this myself, sounds

interesting at least and possibly yummy.

>

>Tom

My term " kefir beer " is something less than exact, sometimes being more like a

good

apple cider and sometimes more like a good porter. The " porter " version is more

like the " hop tea " ... the recipe I used the last 3 times is:

1 cup molasses

2 cups sugar

1 gallon water

1 handful hops

boil until you get tired of boiling it (about 1 hour). Then add another handful

of hops, let it cool. (technically these are called " boiling hops " and " aroma

hops " ,

but you don't have to be that techical for kefir beer .. nor do you have to

sanitize the containers). The boiling is to extract the flavor from the hops,

kind

of like brewing coffee. You can also add stuff like parched grains or ground

coffee

for extra flavors, and fruit juice, if you want. Some beer recipes use whole

fruit

too, but it adds work in the straining department.

Then put it in a jug (strain it to get rid of the hops), add a couple of kefir

grains

(and/or the dregs from the last batch). Add a water lock (or put the lid on

loose)

and let it set for a week or more, til it stops bubbling.

After you think it is " done " , add 2 Tbls. of sugar, mix, and bottle. Drink it

after

it gets nice and fizzy (2 days plus).

However, you can drink it any time inbetween too. If you leave it too long, it

may turn into vinegar, but that's about the only thing that can go wrong, and

it's

darn fine vinegar. If it doesn't have enough fizz, mix it with fizz water, or

just

decide fizz is overrated.

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

At 09:01 PM 1/4/05 -0600, you wrote:

> " Hop has a mild sedative effect. Dried female buds are known to have high

content of methylbutenol, which has a calming effect on central nervous

system. Possible uses are for insomnia, tensions and anxiety. If one has

trouble getting sleep, hop tea before going to bed may help. Hops'

antibacterial qualities stimulate gastric juice production. Hops' medically

active ingredients are humulene and lupulene. "

>

>Also interesting that " hop acids have a mild antibiotic effect against

Gram-positive bacteria which favors the exclusive activity of brewing yeast

in the fermentation of beer. " And that they are technically bines [sic],

not vines! That's a new term for me.

>

>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hops

>

>So has anyone here experimented with hops? Just curious.

Never made tea, but I used to use it as a preservative in homemade bread.

As far as the insomnia, I also used to make little sleep-pillow things

(really just a cotton drawstring bag) filled with equal parts hops,

lavender and thyme and stuck under the pillow at night. Worked well -

as long as you didn't use it for more than a few days at a pop. After

that, the thyme really starts to do some weird things to your dreams.

MFJ

Once, poets were magicians. Poets were strong, stronger than warriors or

kings - stronger than old hapless gods. And they will be strong once

again. ~Greg Bear

[Guest guest]

>

> >Also interesting that " hop acids have a mild antibiotic effect

against Gram-positive bacteria which favors the exclusive activity

of brewing yeast in the fermentation of beer. " And that they are

technically bines [sic], not vines! That's a new term for me.

>

> I boil my " tea " with some molasses and sugar, then let the kefir-

grains

> ferment the sugar part into alcohol or lactic acid, which results

in ... beer!

> But even without the beer part, those hops are in fact very

narcotic.

> And they do increase the alcohol content, which is likely why they

started

> using them in beer, methinks. Also the beer doesn't turn sour

nearly so

> fast with hops.

>

> Heidi Jean

According to some book I read quite some time ago, hops are

supposesd to make you sleepy and were first put into beer (which

used to use all kinds of herbs including marijuana) by the European

Christian monks - this would promote sleeping and not horniness or

the munchies I guess. I mean, what would you do with a bunch of

adolescent males in a group?

In the meanwhile - what is the nutritional and/or aesthetic (sp?)

difference between kefir beer and kombucha tea? Which is better for

the GF gut? Is there a limit (other than how cheap a drunk I am)

for either?

Thanks!!

Connie H.

[Guest guest]

Tom-

> " Hop has a mild sedative effect. Dried female buds are known to have high

>content of methylbutenol, which has a calming effect on central nervous

>system. Possible uses are for insomnia, tensions and anxiety. If one has

>trouble getting sleep, hop tea before going to bed may help. Hops'

>antibacterial qualities stimulate gastric juice production. Hops'

>medically active ingredients are humulene and lupulene. "

Hops also contain a powerful phytoestrogen, 8-prenylnaringenin. The

conventional wisdom seems to be that not enough 8-prenylnaringenin makes

its way into beer to be a problem, but I'm a touch skeptical, since the

conventional wisdom is that phytoestrogens are good things for everyone, so

who knows how much 8-prenylnaringenin it would take for CW types to start

worrying.

-

[Guest guest]

>Hops also contain a powerful phytoestrogen, 8-prenylnaringenin. The

>conventional wisdom seems to be that not enough 8-prenylnaringenin makes

>its way into beer to be a problem, but I'm a touch skeptical, since the

>conventional wisdom is that phytoestrogens are good things for everyone, so

>who knows how much 8-prenylnaringenin it would take for CW types to start

>worrying.

>

>-

Hmmm ... or maybe it's a good excuse for us menopausal age

women to start drinking beer? I mean, it has a longer track

record than estrogen supplements or soy, after all ...

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

>Heidi's idea of freezing them fresh is

>a good one to try, I think. Best, Vivian

It's not just a " good " idea, it's absolutely

required. I once got hold of some hops

kept at room temp too long, and I tell you,

I have NEVER smelt anything so deadly in my

life. I had to keep them in a sealed jar, and

I couldn't for the life of me figure out why

ANYONE would add them to beer! Years later

I figured out they had " gone bad " . They spoil

rapidly. Apparently this health food store

did not know that.

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

>Heidi Jean

>Were they dried hops, or fresh ones just left at room temp? The dried ones I

bought

>seemed OK at first, but they faded a lot faster than any other of my dried

herbs.

>Usually a loss in color also signifies a loss in other properties. I had just

used

>a small amount for tea, never tried beer since it seemed so involved. But now

that

>that has changed... Vivian

These were packaged in a box from a health food store, I have no idea

how they were treated. I don't think I ever opened the box, it stank

so bad.

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

Could barley malt syrup substitute for the action of the hops if not the flavor?

Darrell

[Guest guest]

Heidi-

>Hmmm ... or maybe it's a good excuse for us menopausal age

>women to start drinking beer? I mean, it has a longer track

>record than estrogen supplements or soy, after all ...

Given that only bio-identical hormones seem to be without harm (at least if

taken in proper quantities and with due precaution) I'd say the opposite:

it might be a very good reason for everyone to eschew hops entirely. It's

a pretty recent addition to beer -- used for a few hundred to a thousand

years or so -- so it's certainly not like it has any sort of

traditional-society seal of approval.

-

[Guest guest]

>Could barley malt syrup substitute for the action of the hops if not the

flavor?

>

>Darrell

No ... malt feeds the yeast, but it doesn't suppress bacteria, nor does

it have the narcotic effect. But sheesh, if you can get barley malt, you

should be able to get hops, no?

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

>Given that only bio-identical hormones seem to be without harm (at least if

>taken in proper quantities and with due precaution) I'd say the opposite:

>it might be a very good reason for everyone to eschew hops entirely. It's

>a pretty recent addition to beer -- used for a few hundred to a thousand

>years or so -- so it's certainly not like it has any sort of

>traditional-society seal of approval.

Hmm. Well, that is a good " theoretical " possibility to keep in mind.

Since I am faced with so many " actual " problematic effects

from various foods, I'll worry about the pharmalogical effects

of hops later. They don't seem to have any side effects at

all that I can tell, other than making me sleepy and making

beer taste really good. I love bitter flavors though ...

>

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

Re: Anyone Made Hop Tea?

>

>

>

>>Given that only bio-identical hormones seem to be without harm (at least

>>if

>>taken in proper quantities and with due precaution) I'd say the opposite:

>>it might be a very good reason for everyone to eschew hops entirely. It's

>>a pretty recent addition to beer -- used for a few hundred to a thousand

>>years or so -- so it's certainly not like it has any sort of

>>traditional-society seal of approval.

>

Hops do contain a potent antioxidant however....

-Terry

[Guest guest]

[TerryB] Hops do contain a potent antioxidant however....

[MAP] Just like a bazillion other whole foods and herbs do...

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay

[Guest guest]

Heidi-

>Hmm. Well, that is a good " theoretical " possibility to keep in mind.

Is there *any* actual sound science in favor of phytoestrogens? Given the

horrible effects of soy, I'd rather just avoid them all. Perhaps it's less

important for women, but soy didn't seem to spare either sex, so I'd be

cautious if I were you. Sometimes the damage doesn't show up for a long

time, and I'd imagine that would be more true for women.

-

[Guest guest]

Terry-

>Hops do contain a potent antioxidant however....

So does soy -- the very isoflavones which do so much damage, in fact.

-

[Guest guest]

If all these estrogens, phytoestrogens, and estrogen analogs do

not break down in the environment, or even fermented products,

how come we are not swimming in an estrogen soup? Isn't the

suggested age of the earth about 4 billion years old?

Darrell

[Guest guest]

Darrell-

>If all these estrogens, phytoestrogens, and estrogen analogs do

>not break down in the environment, or even fermented products,

>how come we are not swimming in an estrogen soup? Isn't the

>suggested age of the earth about 4 billion years old?

Phytoestrogens aren't eternal or anything! They're constantly being

metabolized, broken down, etc... and formed anew.

That said, we are swimming in an estrogen soup (well, an estrogen-analog

soup, anyway) like never before, because of modern breeding techniques

which have, for example, dramatically upped the isoflavone content of soy,

and because many modern chemical pollutants act like estrogen. That seems

to be one reason human fertility has declined dramatically, and it's also

apparently behind many of the problems other species are having too.

-

[Guest guest]

Heidi-

>place ... and if a person is avoiding hormones, would raw milk

>be the place to start? I mean, cows are FULL of hormones when

>they are lactating. But raw milk seems to help people.

That's a very good question, and I wish we had a better clue about the

answer. Certainly yellow/orange *butter* is an outstanding health food,

and *fermented* dairy has a long enough history that it seems to be cool,

but plain raw milk? I'm less sure of that, though hormones are only one

possible issue, and one that might apply to butter and fermented dairy

too. But inasmuch as cows' milk is meant to feed young of both sexes, it

doesn't seem like (good) milk could be *that* heavily tilted towards

estrogen, or I'd think there'd be lots of effeminate or at least

androgynous bulls wandering around incapable of reproducing.

-

[Guest guest]

[Darrell] If all these estrogens, phytoestrogens, and estrogen analogs do

not break down in the environment, or even fermented products,

how come we are not swimming in an estrogen soup? Isn't the

suggested age of the earth about 4 billion years old?

[MAP] Based on what I've read in the distant past, ordinary food

fermentation (e.g. natto-making) does *not* in any way reduce the

effect of phytoestrogens, and may in fact increase their

bioavailability. I don't have refs for this, but it's on my list of

things to research a bit sooner than later. It's why a lot of folks

have the soy story wrong despite feeling enlightened on the topic.

(And despite the many times I've made this point on this and other

email lists...) However, I wouldn't be surprised if there were

fermentations that did indeed consume them; I mean, if you have the

right mix of microbes, you can decompose pretty much *anything*. The

actual microbes used in food fermentations is only a tiny slice of the

fermentations that can happen in nature.

But anyway, I take it as self-evident that estrogens and

phytoestrogens, like practically any other substance part of

biological life, are chemically converted somehow somewhere!

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay