Juniper Saison suggestions

So, a while back I went to a bar in here in Stl and a few of my friends were drinking Boulevard Tank 7 Saison with a shot of gin. Apparently the owner suggested it to them. I had a sip and thought it would be a good direction to take a homebrew. So my question: when is a good time to add juniper berries to the brew? Boil? Secondary? All suggestions welcome.

Crushed, in a grain bag, in the boil at 20 mins for flavoring. Juniper berries have a very distinct gin flavor and they are quite common in some Scandinavian beer styles. They can also be a little overpowering, so I might suggest about a half ounce per 5 gallon batch and then adjust for flavor from there. Or, you can take the easy way out and do a gin wash, which is to add shots of a good gin to your beer before bottling. This is the easiest method as you can mix it to your own tastes.

PS: You can't order a beer in a traditional bar/restaurant in the Netherlands (ex: Amsterdam locals bar) without being offered a "camel," which is a shot of gin. They drink gin the way Americans drink shots of whiskey (with a beer back).

I ended up using about 15g(1/2oz) of Juniper Berries per 5 gallons for the Black Saison I brewed yesterday. I hopped it with Chinook and Simcoe, shooting for a piney theme.

I put the Juniper Berries in when I added my 5 minute addition. However, I no-chill in a sanke keg so the berries are still in there cooling. If that doesn't end up being enough, I read making an infusion with vodka and juniper berries and adding it when you add priming sugar works to add yet more flavour.

Why bother making a juniper infused vodka? That's really all gin is- there are usually a couple other ingredients, but generally, neutral grain spirit + juniper = gin. Why not just use a gin that you like (or a gin that has a flavor that you think would compliment the beer) instead of making your own infusion?

Gin usually has a lot more than just Juniper as far as flavouring ingredients, it's also nowhere near as strongly flavoured per ounce compared to a homemade infusion.

BigRob said:

I ended up using about 15g(1/2oz) of Juniper Berries per 5 gallons for the Black Saison I brewed yesterday. I hopped it with Chinook and Simcoe, shooting for a piney theme.

I put the Juniper Berries in when I added my 5 minute addition. However, I no-chill in a sanke keg so the berries are still in there cooling. If that doesn't end up being enough, I read making an infusion with vodka and juniper berries and adding it when you add priming sugar works to add yet more flavour.

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How'd this turn out? 15g Juniper Berries sounds like a metric crap ton for 5 gallons.

It actually turned out very nicely, the juniper is very subtle, but I've noticed the flavour actually coming out the longer it ages. I didn't grind my juniper, I smashed it in a mortar and pestle, so they were all broken up, but not fine like I'd grind pepper.