Heather
- Thread starter Painter
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
WileECoyote
Well-Known Member
Hello, I have been experimenting with herb brews, I have not done a heather brew yet but I would guess about 1oz would be a good starting point on your first try using heather, I use about 1 1/2oz total herbs in my herb wheat, .33oz mugwort and .33oz yarrow @ 20min and again @ 5min and some times more yarrow flowers at flame out of I want a more flowery aroma in the brew.
If the heather your using is flowers they are used more for aroma=last 5 min to flame out, if your heather is the hearty part of the plant its more for flavoring=20min to 5 min the longer time will give you more flavor or bittering=60min to 30min in the boil, I have found that herb work a lot like hop additions.
All that being said lol, I would try 1/2oz @ 20min and 1/2oz @ 5min for my first attempt with heather and then adjust those amounts on my next brew.
Hope this helps, good luck, and please post your results.
Cheers
If the heather your using is flowers they are used more for aroma=last 5 min to flame out, if your heather is the hearty part of the plant its more for flavoring=20min to 5 min the longer time will give you more flavor or bittering=60min to 30min in the boil, I have found that herb work a lot like hop additions.
All that being said lol, I would try 1/2oz @ 20min and 1/2oz @ 5min for my first attempt with heather and then adjust those amounts on my next brew.
Hope this helps, good luck, and please post your results.
Cheers
I bottled my heather ale yesterday.
I ended up boiling two oz. of dried heather for 60 minutes and then two oz. for 5, which was just a guess based on some other recipes that I had seen. This was a 5 gallon batch.
I usually taste a sample when I am bottling (who doesn't?) and I didn't notice a whole lot of heather flavor, or aroma, but I won't make any final judgment until I have let it age in the bottle for a while.
I ended up boiling two oz. of dried heather for 60 minutes and then two oz. for 5, which was just a guess based on some other recipes that I had seen. This was a 5 gallon batch.
I usually taste a sample when I am bottling (who doesn't?) and I didn't notice a whole lot of heather flavor, or aroma, but I won't make any final judgment until I have let it age in the bottle for a while.
nathanthn
Active Member
I use 8oz in my heather ale (1.060 Scottish 80/- base), with 2oz added at 60/20/5 and dry. If you can find fresh clippings the aroma is much stronger.
