Tag Archives: cascade hops

bill's hop soda

Bill’s Hop Soda

bills hop sodaWhilst doing a casual ramble around the web searching for natural dyeing I found Donna Kallner’s Site.   In it she mentioned her husband’s hop soda which he makes as well as his home brew beer.   I was fascinated, all thoughts of dyeing quickly receded.   I had never come across hop soda.   I contacted Donna to ask her about it and she kindly came straight back with Bill’s recipe, which I pass on below.

I made my first batch with Cascade hops, the result was lovely, a refreshing light grapefruity-flavoured drink, exactly as Donna described.   My main criticism of this first attempt is that I did not leave the hops to steep quite long enough.   Not wanting to mess it up I was too tentative hence had erred on the side of caution…. it could be a teensy bit stronger in flavour.

The hops are not boiled so I think this is what helps make it so fresh tasting.  Next time I will be braver, add a few ‘marmalady’ Admiral hops to the Cascade hops and leave the them to infuse for a little longer than 2 days.   Well just as per Bill’s instructions, ‘until the mix tastes right’ – exactly right, if all else fails follow the instructions!!

Thank you and Cheers to Bill and Donna – this recipe is definitely a keeper.

bill's hop soda

Bill’s Basic Hop Soda
(produces 1 gallon)
1-3 oz. hops (fresh or dry-packed and frozen)
2 cups sugar
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon champagne yeast
One Step No-Rinse Cleanser
8-10 16-oz. plastic bottles and caps

Method
In a large non-reactive kettle (stainless steel)   combine 1-3 oz. hops  (fresh or dry-packed and frozen) in 2 cups water + 1 cup sugar + 1 T. lemon juice +1 T. lime juice and let soak for a few days until it tastes right (yep, that’s the recipe).

After soaking, use cheesecloth or a straining bag to filter out the solids.

Add 2 quarts water.  Add lemon juice and lime juice and remaining 1 cup sugar now to taste.

Warm the liquid to 120-140 degrees for 10 minutes to kill any wild yeasts.

Cool the mixture to below 90 degrees. Add champagne yeast per packet instructions.

Use One Step No-rinse Cleanser to sterilize bottles, caps and bottling equipment (funnel and measuring cup)

Fill bottles with the cooled mixture and cap. Dent the plastic.

After 24 hours, start checking the bottles. When the dent is pushed out and the bottle feels firm, move the bottles to the refrigerator to slow the fermentation.

Cascade and Citra hop varieties make a grapefruity soda.  Centennial has a bit more bite. I generally prefer a mixture.

load of cascade hops in the kiln

Traditional Charcoal Drying of Cascade Hops

In preparation for this first traditional charcoal drying of the Cascade hops,  locally made charcoal had already been sourced and collected during the summer.     All other hop varieties had been picked  and dried with an oil fired drying unit in the usual way used by growers today.   The late variety Cascade hops had been ear marked for this initial trial drying traditionally with charcoal.

When the hops were picked last weekend, the weather turned out to be perfect for this first trial drying, it was a dry and clear day with a light breeze running.     After the preceding wet week this felt like a good omen.

cutting the hop bines

There is only so much you can pick up from old books and hearsay from the very few remaining people who can remember  cascade hops being dried with coal and charcoal kilns. Basically it had to be a practical hands on, ‘go for it’ , learning on the job experience.   Of course it will take several burns before I become familiar with the many aspects of the furnace and the nuances of how the new oast behaves in different atmospheric conditions.

levelling the load of hops in the kiln

The hops were loaded very shallowly compared to their oil dried counterpart loads but carefully raked level in the same way.   I use a solid fuel rayburn to cook with so was hoping that this would stand me in good stead here.   The fire was lit and because this was a venture into unknown territory, the size and heat gradually increased until the correct temperature was reached.  Literally testing the temperature!  It was a surprise how quickly the temperature in the kiln responded to any alterations with the draft.

keeping watch of the charcaol kilnAs the hops were approaching being dry the fire was allowed to die down before unloading them onto the cooling floor then as for any other load left for a time before being pressed.

dried cascade hops cooling on the floorHave I already learnt masses?  Yes of course and would I try things a little differently next time?    Well again yes, I will make a few small changes,  but certainly nothing dramatic especially for another year yet.   And as for the finished article I am very happy with how things turned out with this initial trial drying.

pressing dried cascade hops by hand

If you’d like to try some of these traditionally dried Cascade hops in your next brew, visit the Hop Shop now as we only have a very limited quantity this year.