exBEERiment | Hop Water: INCOGNITO vs. T-90 Pellets At Yeast Pitch

Author: Ryan Hansen

Over the last few years, there’s been a rather notable spike in popularity of non-alcoholic beverages, many of which are analogues of their boozy brethren. While never considered an adult beverage, flavored sparkling water has also become rather trendy and has served as a less boring option for those refraining from drinking alcohol.

Originally developed in 2014, hop water aims to meld the delectable characteristics so many enjoy from hoppy beer with the refreshing quality of sparkling water, providing consumers with a unique alcohol-free option. Considering the vast array of hop varieties that exist, brewers… ahem… hop water makers have a rather broad flavor spectrum to choose from. Moreover, many modern hop products were specifically designed to provide a higher concentration of desirable components in hops while reducing vegetative matter, which some contend reduces the risk for certain off-flavors.

I’ve been on the hop water bandwagon since the first time I tried it a few years ago, and in addition to keeping some Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher on-hand, I’ve also had success making my own. I recently picked up some Citra INCOGNITO, which is a relatively new product that Haas describes as “an all-natural hop flavor product specifically designed to be used in the whirlpool and to deliver the impactful, variety-specific flavor outcomes brewers want.” As excited as I am to use this in a beer, I was curious how hop water made with INCOGNITO would compare to a batch made with T-90 pellets of the same variety and designed an xBmt to test it out!

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between hop water made with INCOGNITO and one made with T-90 pellets of the same variety.

| METHODS |

Making hop water is almost too easy, requiring very few steps, and for this xBmt, I went with a simple all Citra recipe.

Apparitions

5.5 gallons/21 liters water (1:2 sulfate to chloride)
56 grams/2 oz Citra T-90 – 10 minute boil
56 grams/2 oz Citra INCOGNITO or 112 grams/4 oz Citra T-90 dip hop
Imperial Yeast A01 House

I started off by collecting two 5.5 gallon/19 liter sets of RO water in separate Clawhammer Supply 120v kettles then adjusting them to my desired mineral profile with calcium chloride.

I also used citric acid to achieve 3.0 pH in each water.

When the waters were at 170°F/77°C, I pulled approximately 2 liters/0.5 gallons off of each and added 4 oz of Citra T-90 pellets in a fabric bag to one while 20 g/0.75 oz of Citra INCOGNITO was added to the other. These amounts were determined based on each product’s alpha acid content. I prefer my hop water to have a nice bite to it, so I boiled each batch with 56 g/2 oz of Citra T-90 for 10 minutes. Note– INCOGNITO is a product designed to be added post-boil, hence the use of T-90 for both batches during the boil.

When the 10 minute boils were complete, I added the INCOGNITO and T-90 solutions to separate empty fermenters while chilling the waters, after which I transferred identical volumes of water to each vessel.

At this point, I pitched a pouch of Imperial Yeast A01 House into each batch.

The filled fermenters were connected to my glycol unit set to 68°F/20°C and left alone for 4 days, at which point they were cold-crashed to 34°F/1°C overnight then pressure-transferred to CO2 purged kegs. The kegs were placed in my walk-in where they were burst carbonated for approximately 16 hours before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. After a few more days of conditioning, the hop waters were ready for evaluation.

| RESULTS |

A total of 20 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt. Each participant was served 1 sample of the hop water made with Citra INCOGNITO and 2 samples of the hop water made with Citra T-90 pellets in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the unique sample. While 11 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to accurately identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, just 6 did (p=0.70), indicating participants in this xBmt were unable to reliably distinguish a hop water where Citra INCOGNITO was added at yeast pitch from one where a dip hop solution of Citra T-90 was added at yeast pitch.

My Impressions: Out of the 6 semi-blind triangle tests I attempted, I correctly identified the odd-beer-out every time. Despite this consistency, I felt these hop waters were nearly identical, the only difference I perceived was a subtle floral note in the T-90 batch that I didn’t get in the INCOGNITO batch. Overall, I was very pleased with how both batches turned out and didn’t have a preference for either.

| DISCUSSION |

As consumers continue to seek more non-alcoholic beverages, some clever brewers are relying on what they know from making beer to produce unique options. By melding the refreshing quality of sparkling water with the familiarity of hops, hop water has become a favorite of many choosing to reduce or eliminate their alcohol consumption. Interestingly, tasters in this xBmt were unable to reliably distinguish a hop water where Citra INCOGNITO was added at yeast pitch from one where a dip hop solution of Citra T-90 was added at yeast pitch.

Haas markets INCOGNITO as a flowable hop product that’s specifically designed to be added post-boil, and given its concentration, less is required to achieve a similar effect as using T-90 pellets. The fact tasters couldn’t tell these hop waters apart seems to support Haas’ claims, though it’s possible any differences between INCOGNITO and T-90 pellets were somehow covered up by other factors.

I was quite happy with how both of these hop waters turned and had no preference despite the consistency with which I was able to tell them apart, but I struggled to get the INCOGNITO to fully dissolved into the hop water, which was sort of annoying. Even following fermentation and transfer to kegs, the INCOGNITO left a noticeable oily film on my fermenter, which made me wonder if it would have the intended impact. I’m glad to say it did, and while I would happily use this product in future batches of hop water, I’m more inclined to reserve it for beer where I think other factors may help it to more readily dissolve.

If you have any thoughts about this xBmt, please do not hesitate to share in the comments section below!

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