Reading the Leaves: Do Tea Beers Have a Bright Future?

Three Taverns is one of my favorite breweries and I love their sours. I can't WAIT to get home from Afghanistan next month and grab some of this!

 

The only tea beer that I would go back to without a second thought, was a one-off 8.4%ABV Earl Grey Saison that Anthem did 4 years ago as a test. After that I would say Crane's Tea Weiss, and after that I would say Mother's English Tea Pale Ale.

 

I feel like a green tea pilsner could be really good. For the most part, though, I'm not a huge fan of tea, (except for iced tea or half-and-half in the summer) and don't find it to be a particularly compelling ingredient for beer.

 

I actually REALLY enjoyed the Stone green tea IPA. Much better than I expected.

 

I've enjoyed the chai russian imperial stout from Stone but didn't like the green tea IPA. I don't think i've had other beers using tea but i imagine it would be pretty hit or miss. The flavors need to compliment the beer and not take over. Chai Nitro milk stout will be in the fridge soon so i'm open to the idea.

 

I'm assuming you're deployed as a soldier right? Because if so may God keep you safe bro, thank you for all you do. And if I'm wrong, well God bless you anyway man.

 

Crane makes a beer named Tea Weiss. It's exactly that - a weiss with a good tea flavor. It's a little sour with a balanced tea flavor profile. It's my go-to bottle to pour for someone when they say they don't like beer.

 

I served 8 years in the Marine Corps but I got out and started working for the Department of Defense (hence the beard!), so I'm deployed with the DoD on a year long deployment. I wear a uniform every day and I carry a sidearm at all times so it's kind of like I'm back in the Corps but my year is almost up. I actually leave here headed to Germany in 20 days! I can't WAIT! It's been a LONG, booze free, year!

 

Oh awesome bro!! Hope you get to Germany smoothly with no problems. I actally have a friend in the DoD and bro in the Navy (neither of them can tell me what they're dking for obvious reasons). Make sure to get some good beers when you get out. Thank you for your years of service.

 

No mention of Ardent's Earl Grey Brown Ale and how it started out as a homebrew batch 8 years ago? Or its connection to Charlie Papazian?

 

That certainly sounds like an example worth including, thanks for pointing it out—and for reading. As with all trend pieces however, it's virtually impossible to mention every beer that fits the bill. Our goal with this article was to highlight the proliferation of tea beers in recent months.

 

Great Leap in Beijing has some pretty interesting beers that use Chinese influenced ingredients including tea. All very drinkable with the tea flavors coming through without being too overbearing.

Definitely worth checking out if you ever find yourself there. http://www.greatleapbrewing.com/

 

I love tea, but mainly only unsweetened tea. So when I tried an Owl's Brew Radler That's My Jam. It was way too sweet for me. Being a blend of beer and tea probably doesn't qualify it for this thread anyway.

 

I like tea and I like beer but not at the same time of day and not in the same glass

 

May be off point but you could just drink SN Northern Hemisphere which 2017 version tasted like bitter orange, bitter grapefruit in my AM tea. So good, and been around how many years?

 

I'd love to try more tea beers.

 

I've been making an Earl Grey saison for years, have had a couple requests to make it for weddings.

 

I've tried a couple and didn't think tea improved the beers but it didn't hurt them either.