No no no no, I actually didn't even realize this was an all-grain brew! I just did a search and saw this beer... Well, if that's the case, then I will postpone this brew for a while! I am still a noob and only doing partial mashes. Well, thanks for the help, I guess I need to be a little more careful before asking questions. I blame it on the noob effect, and should wear off shortly, haha.
Coming from a culinary school graduate and working with herbs alot, I know that your best best for getting FRESH basil characteristics is to dry-hop the basil and or take your basil and infuse it into your priming sugar simple syrup... when the freshly picked basil is added to the boil... all of the essential delicious oils are evaporated and you get left with just a useless, weak, and stale taste. If you are worried about contaminates which is always a good thing to think about, it most likely be okay since you have very hot wort still. But I really recommend if you are to add ANY herb, add it by dry-hopping, priming sugar, bottling (worked amazing), or into secodary.
when the freshly picked basil is added to the boil... all of the essential delicious oils are evaporated and you get left with just a useless, weak, and stale taste.
This is not accurate, at least in this beer. The amount of basil added in the boil is enough to add a distinctive nose and flavor to the finished beer. For my taste, it's right at the edge of "how much is too much". No one wants a pesto beer, after all.
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I just added a few ounces of raw lemon peel to a hefeweizen I'm brewing that's currently in secondary. The instructions from Midwest Supplies had me microwave the peel for 30 seconds to sanitize it. It was definitely steaming hot when it came out (probably the high oil content of the zest).
Would microwaving, or maybe blanching the basil be sufficient to sanitize it enough for dry hopping?
What about just dunking it in a Star San solution for 30 seconds before adding it to the fermenter?
HI Evan
Very, very intrigued by this recipe. Do you chop the basil to measure it or just grab loose leaves to approximate 0.5 cups?
Cheers!
Kay
Krashka, I haven't seen Evan! around for a while, so you may or may not get an "official" response. I will tell you that I've brewed this recipe several times now, and I think it's definitely worth your while. The first time I brewed it, I did basil by 1/4cup 1/2cup 1/2cup, but I weighed each addition as well. The times I brewed it since, I did the basil by weight and not dry measure. I used 1/4oz 3/8oz 3/8oz for a total of 1oz. The basil comes through very nicely with that amount. I've also been adding a 1/4oz citra to the dry hop to punch up the citrus just a tad.
__________________
"I can't believe how many people think Air Lock is pronounced Hydrometer." -BigKahuna
"If you gave me a beer with placenta in it without telling me I would kick you in the nuts." -ODaniel
Check out my recipe blog Acute Cuisine for beer, food, food made with beer and beer made with food.
i just had my first bottle of my Basil Blossom IPA and loved it. i brewed an extract West Coast IPA with Cascade and Centennial hops and Safale US05. Then i dry hopped in the secondary with an ounce of Cascade and an ounce of the unopened buds from basil plants that had bolted and were about to bloom. This was i think added the perfect amount of musky basil aroma without making a beer that was too vegetal in flavor.
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