Jasmine Honey Kolsch (PM)

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SeaMonster

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I've been toying with this recipe for awhile in my head and finally decided I might as well give it a go. My hope is to make a light, refreshing brew with that initial, intoxicating aroma of jasmine and floral citrus(from the honey).

The jasmine would come from here. It's really expensive but, again, I think the aroma would really be nice. I may go with one of the cheaper options for the first batch to see if the brew will be any good before I jump in and spend the extra money.

Here's the recipe ala Partial Mash

3# Munich Malt (steeped at 150F for 60min)
4# Briess Pilsen DME (60min)
1# Clover Honey (15 min)

1.5oz Pearle for (60min)

1oz Jasmine (10min)
1oz Jasmine (flameout)
1oz Jasmine (secondary dry hop)

Wyeast 2565 Kolsch Yeast


What do you think? Any suggestions would be welcomed. This is only my 2nd or 3rd recipe I've made up myself (and only my 5th batch made).

Thanks.
 
My thoughts are this. Don't spend the money on the jasmine just yet... that's going to be an expensive batch of light beer... And without it being proven, not sure if its worth the risk.

You may want to do some research on using tea in your brew, instead. Brewtopia and some others (even commercial brewer Dogfish Head) have successfully used black, green, or white bulk tea steeped in the brew-water to get certain flavors or aromas. The beer I am thinking of is a peach-ginger weizen (obviously different from what your brewing), but I know they make jasmine teas. This would be a more affordable and easy option?

Otherwise looks good IMO. Just make sure you keep the temps down with the Kolsch yeast for the cleanest profile...
 
I did do some internet searching and didn't find a whole lot. I know Evan's done some basil beer but I would guess that's more for flavor than aroma.

I think I may try one of the cheaper loose leaf Jasmine Green Teas (like $5 for 4oz) available at some specialty tea shops in the area first.

Thanks for the advice.
 
Yeah, you can find jasmine green tea for cheap. I think from what I've read 3-4oz. steeped in wort prior to boil is what most have done...

Green tea is about as bland/mild as it comes, so I don't think the tea itself should contribute much flavor... hopefully the jasmine will be quite strong though and come through in the final product.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. It's through experimentation of folks like yourself that we get content/experiences related to this on the web! If there isn't much out there now, it's just calling for you to be one of the few who takes the shot!
 
There is a book for brewing with herbs.... pretty much has all of them. I know it has jasmine in it, which I do love jasmine tea. I will take a look at it later when I get home to see what the qty is of jasmine is.
 
RoaringBrewer said:
Is this that "Homebrewers Garden" book or something? Saw it at borders once and it looks pretty cool... I will need to pick it up sometime.

Thats more on the growing of everything from malt to hops to herbs and using them. Its the Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers is the one about pure herbal beers sans hops. But some recipes in there speak of hops.

but hmm im surprised its not in any of the books I have.
 
Well...I'm definitely going to go ahead with this one. Ordering all the ingredients today. I will definitely keep this thread updated throughout the brewing process.

I really think this will turn out to be good, if not on the first try then maybe the 3rd or 4th. :)
 
SeaMonster said:
Well...I'm definitely going to go ahead with this one. Ordering all the ingredients today. I will definitely keep this thread updated throughout the brewing process.

I really think this will turn out to be good, if not on the first try then maybe the 3rd or 4th. :)
Do keep us updated! :D I am looking at trying a few herbal beers out this year I think.
 
between boiling for 15 min and fermentation, you're going to lose all the flavor from the honey. if you want some honey flavor, add 6-8 oz of honey malt. i'm drinking a kolsch that is all pilsner malt and 6oz of honey malt (5g batch) and it's delicious.
 
Update!

I finally brewed this. Here's the recipe I used.

3# Munich Malt (Mash at 154F for 60 mins)

3# Briess Pilsen DME @ 60min
1# Briess Wheat DME @ 60min
1.5 oz Perle Pellets (8% alpha) @ 60min

1# Clover Honey @ 15min
.5oz Perle Pellets @ 10min
1oz Jasmine Pearls @ 5min
2oz Jasmine Pearls @ flameout

Pitched a 32oz starter of Wyeast 2565 Kolsch

OG was at 1.060


I got the Jasmine Pearls at Wegman's. They sold them for $8 for 3oz which is definitely reasonable. They had a really strong aroma jasmine to them which is what I had wanted.
18_winter08032.jpg



Mashed in a 2 gallon cooler with a straining bag. Worked really well on a budget.
18_winter08037.jpg



Also, I cut the end off of the plastic mash paddle that came with my starter kit and hooked it up to the drill for aerating the wort. Doesn't fit in a carboy but it's good for a bucket.
18_winter08039.jpg



Excited to see how this will turn out. I'll keep this updated throughout the fermentation and bottling.
 
I'm checking in to see how this is turning out.
I thing jasmine would go great in a belgian wit.
 
Holy crap, Jasmine tea is that expensive???? I was rich and didn't even know it!
jasmine%20tea.jpg

100g of goodness. Mmm. It's SWMBO's though, I should probably buy my own to brew with. ;)
 
Kinda curious how this turned out as well. Why not just brew a really strong batch of tea and add it to the wort?
 
Very cool thread. I have used Jasmine rice as an adjunct before. I really like the results. Maybe a Jasmine CAP, using both jasmine and jasmine rice?

I will have to keep this one in the hopper.
 
On a semi-related note, my next batch of beer will be an IPA that I'll be brewing with earl grey tea to get Bergamot orange notes in it. I'm excited to see how it turns out, and I'll be sure to share the results, for better or for worse.
 
Mmmm, please keep us posted with the tasting results.
Would love to try some Jasmine in my next beer!
Thanks!
 
Wanted to turn this back into a honey kolsch thread since that's how I found it and that's what I'm brewing today ;)
2lb 2-row
3lb german pils malt
3lb pils DME
8oz honey malt
WY2565
1.6oz hallertau 4.1%

Can't freakin wait...love the rogue honey kolsch so I hope this tastes similar. Was going to add in real honey but doesn't seem like it will do anything to the taste but just give it a drier finish. I think the above recipe will be quite dry so I'm not worried about it, plus I'm looking forward to the honey taste from the honey malt :)

Brewing as I type this!!!
 
Back to the jasmine cost and sourcing thing,

If you're going for jasmine aroma, I'd avoid the expensive pearl teas. In fact, I'd avoid all teas altogether, unless tea flavored beer is your goal. :)

I would just go straight for the dried jasmine flowers (4-8 oz). Put some in at the end of boil, and I'm a fan of dry hopping with them again a few days before bottle (you could boil the flowers down for a few minutes or soak them in a little grain alcohol, but we are HOMEBREWERS and we like to live on the edge! ;)

I use these guys when I want jasmine. I found it thanks to a thread I found here on HBT about a guy who did up a blonde jasmine for his wedding:

http://www.glenbrookfarm.com/herbs/jasmine.htm

Call them instead of ordering online, you'll save quite a bit on shipping if it's a small order going USPS instead of ground. (5 or 6 bucks for me, versus 11 for ground). Online tries to default to ground.

$5.99 for 4 oz $11 for 8oz, or $22 for a full pound.

The aroma is subtle and seems (to me) lost fairly quickly, so the closer to bottling and drinking time, the more aroma.

I'd love to hear about other's experiences
 

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