'Catnip'/mint hop note

Jai Alai?
I'll be wondering about that for months.('til I see fresh Jai Alai again.)

 

Interesting topic here...I read that the original Kentucky Mint Julep contained cat-nip, at least according to Kentucky statesman, Henry Clay. I know this is not related to beer, but it could be an interesting topic at a party. Maybe

 

I dry hopped a pale ale with Chinook and it had a distinctly lemon balm quality to it. From what I've read, catnip is kind of minty/lemony/earthy. Maybe that's a big part of what you're getting.

 

Probably not. But I do think people have a harder time picking up certain things in beer and wine, myself included. Just hadn't heard cat nip before.

 

I agree, not saying it cannot be done just thinking do breweries want the hassle of it. With the hops available is there really a need?

 

I know. That shit makes me crazy. I grow catnip and every spring and summer my cats go roll around in the fresh leaves and then go find nice places to sleep. until they get the munchies.

 

Last summer our Bengal and a cohort were trashing our kitchen while we were out, opening drawers and cabinets until they found the catnip under the sink, which ended up all over the first floor. But catnip in beer? Has anyone done that? I see some with catnip in the name, but doesn't look like they actually list it as an ingredient.

 

It's not a flavor or aroma that is powerful. I've crushed leaves in my hands and rolled them around to feel and smell oils. It is subtle. I really never knew how much cats were drawn to it from previous experience. Now I know. I do feel that it would work well in saisons or farmhouse ales lurking within the rich, dry and sparkling malty finish.

 

Had this year’s Hopslam on draft and a lot of high notes of the hoppiness registered as minty. Thought it was pretty fitting and smooth, though.

 

I'd agree with the Chinook bit, but I've never had mint or catnip from CTZ. I guess I could relate "herbal" and/or "dank" with "catnip", but not mint, by any stretch of the imagination.

 

It's always good to remember how complicated aroma is.

The business I owned used to do work for a company in Buchanan, NY that made artificial aroma for industry, and the eccentric man who owned it gave me a tour (after a small fire he wanted us to clean up) and showed me the different crazy base aromas you'd never believe that go into what we perceive as "the smell of things".

Another thing I always think about is an article I read describing how a certain phenol is perceived as smelling floral by some folks, and fecal by some other folks.

 

A few years ago I always got the catnip/cat pee impression from Cumbre's Elevated IPA. Never bothered me, as a cat owner. Then again, that probably means my cat secretly controls my mind.
Must.
Feed.
Cat....

 

Sorry to get way off topic here, but this makes me wonder. Everyone I know thinks jasmine flowers smell wonderful but I've always perceived them as smelling like fresh shit. Even stranger to me is that a hint of jasmine wafting around the room is just fine to me but up close and personal smells like ass. I wonder how many of the people who cannot get a taste for IPAs no matter how many they try smell 'poopy' in them vs 'dank, citrus, mango, weedy, etc?'

 

Thresholds being very different person to person is definitely a thing.

 

This is due to your sensitivity to and perception of a group of compounds called indoles.

I wouldn't say "poopy" as far as IPAs go, but there are definitely enough variations in how people perceive terpenoids and thiols to make them like hoppy beers less. Same goes for phenolic beers.