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March 29, 2019
Last updated

Hop Water Recipe - Soda Water with Hops!

Owner of Clawhammer Supply

how to make hop waterThis is a hop water recipe, which is like LaCroix flavored with hops. It's super light and refreshing and tastes a bit like beer. However, it doesn't contain any sweeteners, gluten, or alcohol. This means that you can chug hop water without getting tipsy or tired. Some people want to get tipsy, and those people should check out one of our homebrew recipes. For those who don't, read on.

Hop Water Ingredients

The beauty of this hop water recipe is how simple it is to make. Here's what you need to get started.

1. Water
2. Hops

    lemon drop hop label

    We used Lemon drop hops, feel free to use any hop variety you prefer.

    3. Lemon juice

    lemon juice

    Equipment Needed 

    Our hop water recipe is super easy to make, but make sure you have the right equipment before starting. Don't have a home brewing system? Check out our brewing equipment.

    1. Brew Kettle

    2. pH Meter

    3. Cheesecloth or Mesh Bag

    4. Carbonation Equipment

    How To Make Hop Water - Full Recipe Video

    Watch the below video to follow our recipe step by step. You'll see how easy it is to make your own hop water at home. (LaCroix, who?)

    Making The Hop Water Recipe

    1. Add water to brew kettle.
    2. Boil for 10 minutes.
    3. Chill to 170F (76.7C).
    4. Lower pH by adding lemon juice (to 4.6 or lower) - just a small squirt of lemon juice should be enough.

    adding lemon juice to hop water

    Adding lemon juice while monitoring pH with a meter.

    5. Add hops (2g per gallon) and let stand for 20 mins (FYI: We used lemon drop hops).

    hops in water

    Your hops will start dispersing and dissolving after a while.

    6. Filter out hops with cheesecloth or a mesh bag.

    straining hop water with a mesh bag

    7. Cool to serving temperature.
    8. Carbonate.
    9. Drink!

    pouring finished hop water

    The final product was surprisingly clear and extremely refreshing!

    Final Thoughts

    This hop water recipe is super easy to make and is a great alternative beverage for folks who either don't want to or can't drink alcohol. We highly recommend making some of this stuff! Let us know how your hop water turned out!

    Kyle Brown is the owner of Clawhammer Supply, a small scale distillation and brewing equipment company which he founded in 2009. His passion is teaching people about the many uses of distillation equipment as well as how to make beer at home. When he isn't brewing beer or writing about it, you can find him at his local gym or on the running trail.

    • hola!!
      creo que el bajar el ph, aparte de servir para acidificar y que no se contamine nuestra agua, puede ser para que los alfaacidos no se isomericen, lei en algun lugar (si mi memoria no me falla), que es mas facil isomerizar y solubilizar en medios mas alcalinos!
      saludos desde Chile :D

      Posted by Anita Díaz on February 01, 2024
    • I made this recipe. Fizz the water in my soda stream then stir in hop water gently. If you reverse that and fizz after adding hop water,you’ll get a large overflowing mess.
      Question:
      How long will my hop water keep in the fridge? I just found my 3rd quart jar in the back of the frig. It looks good. I can’t smell it cuz of Covid. Wife says it’s bad and smells swampy. It has thickened. It’s about 5 months old. Trying to get a tablespoon it is like trying to get a spoon of egg yolk. The mass pulls back into the jar what I spooned up. I used the 1st 2 quarts within a month, all good.
      Thanks

      Posted by Wayne on January 30, 2023
    • late to the party, but 170 F is to extract flavor and aroma but less bitterness… It’s the way hops work with temperature. If you don’t have a way to force carbonate, You can carbonate with a bit of sugar and yeast but it will leave dregs in the bottle that you’ll have to pour carefully to avoid. let’s say 1/2-1 teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of yeast per 12 oz bottle… Cap and let sit at room temp (70-ish F) for a week or two,

      Posted by TR on January 18, 2023
    • What ratio of pellets vs flower for gallon?

      Posted by Dave R on August 30, 2022
    • The Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher has Nutritional Brewer’s Yeast (and some mystery natural flavors). When would you suggest adding the nutritional brewer’s yeast and what quantity (there’s is listed after the dried hops so less than the hops)

      Thanks!

      Posted by SAM on June 02, 2022
    • I’VE DONE THIS RECIPe numerous times with different hops. low alpha “citric” hops work best.
      styrian golding, tettnang worked well..
      azacca ctz summit did not.
      i think its hard to dial in the appropriate bitterness on high alpha hops.
      grassy non citric hops dont do well either. fuggle was awful! thanks for the recipe!
      i want to try huell melon, hallertau blanc and that french one that tastes like cherry (loral?)

      Posted by swarthout on March 01, 2022
    • What about hop oxidation? Is the co2 carbonation enough to get rid off oxygen?

      Posted by Arturo on February 07, 2022
    • I used about 1/8 lime per liter to get ph to about 4.2. I used 2 grams whole hops (cascade) for a one liter batch. I hooked a liter bottle to a carbonation cap. Will be doing bigger batches in the future. You could do a lot with this recipe: flavorings, sweeteners, fruit, etc. skies the limit!

      Posted by Mike Longo on February 23, 2021
    • Do you hold the temp at 76.7 for the whole 20 mins?

      Posted by Carl on January 04, 2021
    • If I was to use fresh hops ,how much do you think is needed per gallon of water ?

      Posted by BRUCH Gretsch on December 02, 2020
    • Two questions:
      • What’s the purpose of boiling the water for 10 min?
      • Is the lowered pH for any reason other than flavoring?

      Thanks,
      Irv

      Posted by Irv on December 01, 2020
    • Instead of a ph meter I’m going to use ph paper, and use dry ice (ie. solid carbon dioxide) From the grocery store to carbonate. Just need to carefully figure out how much is needed… lol

      Posted by MIke on August 06, 2020
    • Would lime juice work the same as lemon juice? I’d much rather have lime flavor than lemon

      Posted by C-Law on March 31, 2020
    • Anyone struggling to use lemon juice can use phosphoric acid for a fairly neutral/soda like way to drop ph. This can be bottle carbonated but like any bottle carb, will require a pinch of yeast and priming sugar at bottling and will result in some bottle lees.

      Posted by SHawn B on March 16, 2020
    • The amount of lemon to use varies based on your water profile. Here in Florida my starting ph for filtered water is 7.65. I added 1/8 cup of lemon and it dropped by 1pt. So I added an additional 1/4 cup and got to 4.3-4.4. I used organic pure lemon juice not from concentrate (which didn’t have any extra ingredients- just Lemon. As for hops I used German saphir and had to use 6 grams per gallon to get even the slightest hop presence. The lemon is just too overpowering

      Posted by LIz on January 09, 2020
    • I wonder if there is a way to charbonize if I don’t have a co2 machine? Regards from croatia:)

      Posted by Ivana on January 02, 2020
    • I wonder if there is a way to charbonize if I don’t have a co2 machine? Regards from croatia:)

      Posted by Ivana on January 02, 2020
    • I made this with 4 grams of hops per gallon instead of 2. I also added the juice of 1/2 of a medium lime. I carbonated it in my Sodastream. It came out nice especially if you like it a little hoppier.

      Posted by Steve on December 16, 2019
    • it looks like there are several questions, regarding how much lemon. Go to the 3:50 mark in the video. The just squirt some from a “Plastic lemon,” then measure the PH.

      Posted by Mark on November 04, 2019
    • Also curious how much lemon juice to ause

      Posted by Dane on October 14, 2019


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