Tea Craft Inspiration: Dogfish Head’s She Means Business

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Per Dogfish Head‘s website: “A culinary inspired and fabulously food friendly Belgian-style White Ale brewed from grain and spices from women owned businesses celebrating the amazing Women Of Hospitality. Regenerative organic certified malt and grain meet responsibly sourced spices, organic and white tea to create a delicate balance of complex citrus, herb and spice notes.”

 

INGREDIENTS

The elements of this beer include:

BELGIAN WHITE ALE: As many Belgian whites are, this one is clean and light. A great canvas for the other elements to come out and play.

SPICES: Spices provide the citrus and herb notes.

ORGANIC WHITE TEA: White teas often provide subtle notes of meadow flowers with a light peppery note.

 

WORTH NOTING

Ratings on Untappd show this beer is crisp and clean with good nuance.

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DOs & DON’Ts OF USING TEAS AND BOTANICALS

DO: use about 1-2 lb tea per BBL. Start with 1 lb per BBL, and taste as you go. If not strong enough, add the 2nd lb per BBL.

DON’T: use the tea in the boil. This will overcook the leaves and create an overly bitter and astringent mess. Use tea leaves as you would dry hop or as you do with other adjuncts. Tea is high in antioxidants as are hops used for dry hopping.

DON’T: steep the tea leaves in water and then try to use the tea liquor in your process. It will be either over-steeped and bitter, or too weak to notice in the final product.

DO: let the tea steep longer than you think it should. The effects of serving a chilled, carbonated final pour will dull the tea taste and aroma.