Infusing basil into beer

Recently I had a homebrew beer with infused basil. I was wondering what you thought was the best and easiest way to do it. I'm kind of new to the homebrew thing so here is what I've heard suggested..
-Add an oz of basil to the wort last five minutes
-Boil an oz of basil making a tea, the add to fermenter
Could you boil the basil with the priming sugar and add before bottling?
If added in last 5 minutes, do you leave the leaves in the fermenter? Should leaves be cut up or whole leaves?

I have made a basil saison before. I don't have the recipe in front of me but, I'm fairly confident that 1 oz is way too much. 1/2 oz should be more than enough. I used fresh leaves and scoured them with a fork. I then added them real late in the boil. Like 5-10 min left.

Basil is a strong flavor and should come through fine. You should consider some lemon peel or even a lemony hop. I used sorachi ace.

Osedax said:

I have made a basil saison before. I don't have the recipe in front of me but, I'm fairly confident that 1 oz is way too much. 1/2 oz should be more than enough. I used fresh leaves and scoured them with a fork. I then added them real late in the boil. Like 5-10 min left.

Basil is a strong flavor and should come through fine. You should consider some lemon peel or even a lemony hop. I used sorachi ace.

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Do I leave the basil in the fermenter or take it out? Why do you suggest the lemon? Just for flavor?

I checked my notes. Basil at flameout. I used 1oz and it was way too much. 1/2 oz should be enough kick. I wouldn't recommend basil in the fermenter. You could try dry hopping basil but I would use new basil.

Lemon goes great with basil. I used paradise seeds and lemon peel. Really brought the tastes together.

Hmm, I used a little less than an ounce for my first basil saison and it was undetectable. I added it at flameout. For the next try at it, I upped it to an ounce and a half. At first I thought that the flavor of basil might be damaged by heat so this time I waited until 140 degrees (minimum pasteurization temp) and added it then. In retrospect, I think you guys are getting more basil flavor through higher heat, which is why I haven't gotten the degree of flavor that I want. I noticed the leaves were still bright green and had a strong aroma of basil-ly goodness, which makes me think they didn't add much to the beer. Mine is still in primary right now but I will get back to you on how it turns out. If I do not get the basil flavor I want, I'll try boiling some in a bit of water for a minute and adding that at kegging. Will post results.

It would be interesting to see. I used very fresh basil. I picked the leaves of the plant 30 min before the brew. I guess it matters how much basil taste you want. An ounce, to me, dominated the flavors. Freshness matters a lot with basil. If you use store bought basil, an ounce might be fine.

Osedax said:

It would be interesting to see. I used very fresh basil. I picked the leaves of the plant 30 min before the brew. I guess it matters how much basil taste you want. An ounce, to me, dominated the flavors. Freshness matters a lot with basil. If you use store bought basil, an ounce might be fine.

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I work at a hydroponic vegetable farm The basil was alive right until it went into the pot.

I really think it's a matter of heat. When I added the basil the first time at flameout, by the time I had chilled it the leaves were grayish green and had no flavor. When I added it at 140 degrees, the leaves were still bright green at the very end and had flavor and aroma still. I had incorrectly assumed that the basil flavor compounds were volatile aromatics and kept the heat down. I think you want to let them boil for a bit.

Your probably right. My notes say flameout but, knowing myself, it was in the last 10 min more likely.

Osedax said:

Your probably right. My notes say flameout but, knowing myself, it was in the last 10 min more likely.

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So what I'm hearing is put 1/2 oz, whole leaf basil in the pot with ten minutes left to boil. Then take them our before putting in fermenter, right?

I would recommend treating this delicate herb like a honey addition. Mead makers don't boil their honey or add it even close to boiling temps. But say a 110 F or so infusion with 120 proof everclear or vodka + pre-boiled, chilled water + fresh sliced basil (don't bruise it).

I think the alcohol will help to pull out the oils while effectively sanitizing everything. You could let this infuse for a day or two and then pitch on brew day when the wort is chilling and approx. 100 F.

EyePeeA said:

I would recommend treating this delicate herb like a honey addition. Mead makers don't boil their honey or add it even close to boiling temps. But say a 110 F or so infusion with 120 proof everclear or vodka + pre-boiled, chilled water + fresh sliced basil (don't bruise it).

I think the alcohol will help to pull out the oils while effectively sanitizing everything. You could let this infuse for a day or two and then pitch on brew day when the wort is chilling and approx. 100 F.

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Ever used it before?

2 times. One time on it's own. The other time I mixed it with cilantro and parsley for a Saison. I still wanted more flavor so upping the additions to more than you think is necessary is key.

EyePeeA said:

2 times. One time on it's own. The other time I mixed it with cilantro and parsley for a Saison. I still wanted more flavor so upping the additions to more than you think is necessary is key.

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How did you go about it before?

Another option is making a sugar syrup with the basil and add at bottling (if you bottle carb). Works great for martinis ... You'd just need to up the concentration significantly.

You might want to email Bison brewery - they have a basil ale

A few months ago, the AHA recipe of the week was the raspberry basil porter aged with Palo Santo wood. In erred in judgement and made it. My biggest problem was that it was my first attempt with my single tier stand. I didn't watch it close enough and my mash boiled. That was problem 1. The recipe called for "a handful of Thai basil" as a sort of dry hop with palo santo wood sticks. Anyway, I don't know if it was the sticks of the basil, but I seriously have to forced that beer down.

I'm not against basil, but 'a handful' was WAY too much.

I just did a lime and basil hefe. I'm surprised to see you guys say that 1 oz was too much. I used 3 oz at flameout and got great flavor from it. Not overpowering, but probably because the lime and the hefe yeast gave strong flavors too. My homebrew club loved the beer as well as myself. I steeped it for about ten min before I chilled it. I didn't score the leaves though, which may be a good idea.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bison-brewing-company-honey-basil-ale-clone-264689/

Scoring basil helps release all that basily goodness.

Name for your beer: Basilly Goodness