Author: Jordan Folks
Largely inspired by the gaggle of beer lovers who are opting for healthier choices, a number of low and no alcohol beverage options have been introduced to the market. While quite a bit of progress has been made when it comes to producing near-beer that tastes much closer to actual beer than what was available decades ago, hop water is a novel option that has essentially no negative health consequences, as it’s simply hop-laden sparkling water.
As hop water has grown in popularity, so too have methods for producing the best examples. Similar to beer, some producers of hop water have found it appears to be susceptible to oxidation, leading to muted or even unpleasant hop flavors, and one presumed culprit is the dissolved oxygen naturally present in water. One method for reducing this involves pre-boiling the water, which in addition to pasteurizing the water, reduces the dissolved oxygen level from around 7 ppm to nearly 0 ppm, while purportedly having the secondary effect of increasing the water’s carbonation potential.
I’ve been a fan of hop water since I was first introduced to it a few years ago, and while I’ve made some excellent batches, a few haven’t turned out as well as I’d planned. While I can’t say for sure the issues I’ve had with hop water were due specifically to oxidation, given what we know about hoppy beers, I found the idea of pre-boiling compelling enough that I designed an xBmt to test it out for myself.
| PURPOSE |
To evaluate the differences between a hop water made with water that was boiled prior to being used and one where the water was not pre-boiled.
| METHODS |
For this batch of hop water, I relied solely on a modern hop product from Haas called Euphorics, opting for Cosmic Guava as my flavor of choice.
Magical Bubbles
5 gallons/19 liters distilled water
1 g calcium chloride
3 g citric acid
1 mL Euphorics: Cosmic Guava
For each batch, I collected 5 gallons/19 liters of filtered tap water in separate Clawhammer Supply kettles, opting to hold the non-boiled water in a kettle to keep the batches as similar as possible.
I then boiled one batch of water for 15 minutes while the other was left at ambient temperature.
When the boil was completed, I gently chilled the water with my JaDeD Brewing SS Coil Hydra back down to the same temperature as the water that wasn’t boiled.
Boiled off half gal, stopped chilling to 61, put chiller into other and brought to 61At this point, I added identical amounts of brewing salts and Euphorics to separate sanitized and CO2 purged kegs.
Next, I gently transferred the waters from either kettle to the kegs, making an effort to reduce oxygen exposure as much as possible.
After capping each keg and purging the headspace with CO2, I shook them to ensure sufficient incorporation of the salts and Euphorics then placed them on 25 psi of gas in my cool keezer for a week before they were ready for evaluation.
Left: pre-boiled water | Right: non-boiled water| 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 pre-boiled water and 2 samples of the hop water made with non-boiled water 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, a total of 14 did (p=0.0009), indicating participants in this xBmt were able to reliably distinguish a hop water made with pre-boiled water from one made with water that was not boiled prior to use.
The 14 participants who made the accurate selection on the triangle test were instructed to complete a brief preference survey comparing only the samples that were different. A total of 8 tasters reported preferring the hop water made with pre-boiled water, 3 said they liked the version made with non-boiled water more, 2 had no preference despite noticing a difference, and 1 person reported perceiving no difference.
My Impressions: Out of the 5 semi-blind triangle tests I attempted, I correctly identified the unique sample just once. Both the flavor and carbonation levels between these hop waters were identical to me, which wasn’t a bad thing, as I absolutely adored these hop waters! The Cosmic Guava Euphorics tasted incredibly true to its name, though it was almost more like a standard fruit-flavored sparkling water than other hop waters I’ve had made with actual hops.
| DISCUSSION |
Whether for the purpose of sobriety or occasionally desiring a hoppy elixir without the inebriating effects, hop water is an option that has grown quite rapidly in popularity over the last few years. While on the surface, hop water is rather easy to make, some producers have experiment with various methods including pre-boiling the water, which is intended to reduce the risk of oxidation while increasing carbonation potential. Indeed, tasters in this xBmt were able to reliably distinguish a hop water made with pre-boiled water from one made with water that was not boiled prior to use.
While no specific information on what exactly tasters perceived as being different between this hop water was collected, considering the effort taken to isolate the variable in question, it would appear something about pre-boiling is the culprit. Interestingly, in follow-up conversations with tasters who had already completed the triangle test, nobody mentioned anything about oxidation or carbonation levels.
When brewing beer, I make every effort to reduce potential oxidation as possible, and given how easy it is to do with my setup, I’d have no issue implementing similar methods when making hop water. Obviously, my personal triangle test performance was not consistent with the blind taster results, which leaves me even more curious about the impact pre-boiling has on hop water. For now, my decision to pre-boil will be largely based on convenience, as it’s just easier to collect water directly in the serving keg.
If you have any thoughts about this xBmt, please do not hesitate to share in the comments section below!
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3 thoughts on “exBEERiment | Impact Pre-Boiling Has When Making Hop Water”
My concern with this method is that you chilled the water prior to placing it in the keg. As water cools and contracts it is my understanding that it becomes much more susceptible to taking on dissolved gases. When I’ve done this in the past, I boiled the water for 15 minutes and transferred it to the keg at near boiling temperature, filling the keg completely before sealing it off. I then place the keg on CO2 at a few PSI as it cools so that it does not take on oxygen or cause the lid to collapse as it cools. I’m willing to bet that your boiled batch still had less Oxygen in it than the non boiled batch but you might be able to reduce it further with the above method.
Thanks for the exbeeriment! I’ve made a few batches without any boiling, just filtered water and hops straight to the keg followed by a QuickCarb. (with salts for flavor and a bit of acid to lower pH) A few of these sat for over 6 months after serving partially at a festival and none have had any evidence of oxidation. I wasn’t even trying to keep oxygen low. I’d say I was curious how other folks are ending up with oxidized batches, but if my process isn’t broken…Also, I haven’t noticed any issue with carbonation. I aim for about 3-volumes of CO2. The result is soda-pop level carb—nice and spritzy.
What about a trial of non-boiled water + hop product sitting for a week vs charged water + hop product served immediately ?