Muay Thai PA Recipe--Need opinions

What's up HBT'ers! I just got back with my grain bill. Getting ready to brew it up tomorrow afternoon/evening. I need some advice on a few of the additions. Here's my Idea:


9.5# US Pale II row
1# Honey malt
.5# Crystal 60
Wyeast 1318 -- Malt and Hop friendly and hope it accents the lemongrass, ginger and Honey/Crystal malts.
1oz Summit -- FWH for bittering
6oz Sorachi Ace -- All late additions starting at 30min
1 stalk Lemongrass -- When to add and how much???
1 small Ginger root -- When to add and how much???
Basil??? -- This is just an idea, may set aside 1 gal to experiment. Give me a reason not to.

I am mashing in a little higher at 154 to give it a malty backbone. I do not want it to finish too dry. I know it seems out of season, but we seem to be skipping fall as SoCal summer drags on. Please lend some advice or opinions if you have used Lemongrass and/or Ginger.

Sorachi,lemongrass and ginger,get in there!
I,having not long ago added 2 stalks(bashed like a 13 year old's lil fella) to a wit and it only just hints at being there.
I would go 3-4 at 10 minutes. And maybe soak two more in vidka for a week and throw that in.
Good luck with the brew bro

badlee said:

Sorachi,lemongrass and ginger,get in there!
I,having not long ago added 2 stalks(bashed like a 13 year old's lil fella) to a wit and it only just hints at being there.
I would go 3-4 at 10 minutes. And maybe soak two more in vidka for a week and throw that in.
Good luck with the brew bro

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Thanks for the advice. I've used lemongrass in cooking but don't know how much is appropriate in a 5gal brew. Looks like I'll be headed down to the whole foods market for more lemongrass. I will update the post with pics and progress. Should be mighty tasty when finished.

Look forward to pics.
Happy brewing.
I am very lucky in that i have all the lemongrass i could ever need right here in my mother-in-law's garden.

If need be, you can 're-enforce' the Basil & Lemongrass flavors by adding them to the bottling sugar after fermentation. I do this for my Bruery Trade Winds Tripel clone and the freshness is astounding!
Sounds like a mighty fine & exotic brew!

LeSinge said:

If need be, you can 're-enforce' the Basil & Lemongrass flavors by adding them to the bottling sugar after fermentation. I do this for my Bruery Trade Winds Tripel clone and the freshness is astounding!
Sounds like a mighty fine & exotic brew!

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The OG reading tasted very refreshing. I am going to bottle the batch and determine if it needs more lemongrass/ginger at bottling time. I skipped the basil addition as I do not want to commit to 5gal of it. I am going to "infuse" a few bottles with it. I could not find kaffir lime leaves or galangal but may hunt them down for future batches if this taste as good as it smells.

Do you use vodka or boil water and add the ingredients + sugar? Have you used basil?

badlee said:

Look forward to pics.
Happy brewing.
I am very lucky in that i have all the lemongrass i could ever need right here in my mother-in-law's garden.

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I'm jealous! I bet your in-laws put together some tasty Tom Yam or Tom ka kai. Thai food is right above Pho on my list as #1. My mom would be pissed if she knew, we are Italian. She takes her cooking seriously.

Wow,I bet she would beat you with a wooden spoon!lol
There is another,much less well known dish you should be sure and try from Thailand; Tom Saep. Its like a clear Tom Yam with lots of basil,lemongrass,kifir lime leaves,galangal,cumin,chilli and lime juice.

You could dry hop so to speak with basil. I remember reading something about a beer that used this technique and hearing it was petty good. I love Thai food too, I make a mean pad krapow. We started growing Thai basil in our garden it is so pungent and awesome, way better then anything I have ever gotten at a market.

badlee said:

Wow,I bet she would beat you with a wooden spoon!lol
There is another,much less well known dish you should be sure and try from Thailand; Tom Saep. Its like a clear Tom Yam with lots of basil,lemongrass,kifir lime leaves,galangal,cumin,chilli and lime juice.

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Damn, you know the drill!!! There was not a long handled wood spoon in our kitchen. All of them broken over my bare ass!!! Hahaha, you said wood spoon! Brings back memories...bad memories! The sound of that drawer opening and the wood spoon hitting the counter repeatedly are forever etched in my mind.

I will be sure to look up that dish. We have plenty of specialty markets here that cater to SE Asian and Pacific Islander foods. Kifir lime leaves and galangal are hard to come by.

Mauy Thai Pale, eh??

Now I gotta make a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu IPA

jtejedor said:

You could dry hop so to speak with basil. I remember reading something about a beer that used this technique and hearing it was petty good. I love Thai food too, I make a mean pad krapow. We started growing Thai basil in our garden it is so pungent and awesome, way better then anything I have ever gotten at a market.

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Not a bad idea. Dry hopping with thai basil is probably a better alternative to boiling it. If I can find some, I'll be sure to do it. I have two weeks before secondary. I am definately going to DH 4 gallons with Sorachi. I'll know more after fermentation. I might make a lemongrass/Ginger tea to add at secondary if the flavors are not where I want them to be.

You make dinner and I'll bring the beer, yes?

flyingfinbar said:

Mauy Thai Pale, eh??

Now I gotta make a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu IPA

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Gracie IPA? I'm down to try it. Makes me want to bust out my "Drunken Master" DVD.

What's watching UFC/MMA without a good beer?

I brewed the Ginger Lemongrass Wheat Ale from Austin Homebrew. I'd look up there quantities and then cut it in half or so. Me, and even my wife, find it sessionable.

maddad said:

The OG reading tasted very refreshing. I am going to bottle the batch and determine if it needs more lemongrass/ginger at bottling time. I skipped the basil addition as I do not want to commit to 5gal of it. I am going to "infuse" a few bottles with it. I could not find kaffir lime leaves or galangal but may hunt them down for future batches if this taste as good as it smells.

Do you use vodka or boil water and add the ingredients + sugar? Have you used basil?

Click to expand...

Yes, the Bruery Trade Winds has Thai Basil in it, I use 2/3 Thai Basil and 1/3 Globe Basil for mine, added in whirlpool and then a little more as dryhop.

I add Lemongrass and Ginger with the bottling sugar and water...and I wing-it, never had a fail on my Tripel, but have failed on Lagers doing this...

As for Thai Food, certainly the Best eating out there. I spent 3 months in Thailand in my early 20's and it changed my life concerning food. Only things that compete are Beef Tendon Pho and Breakfast of Rice, Kimchi and Kalbi Beef with a couple over-easy eggs ontop.

LeSinge said:

Yes, the Bruery Trade Winds has Thai Basil in it, I use 2/3 Thai Basil and 1/3 Globe Basil for mine, added in whirlpool and then a little more as dryhop.

I add Lemongrass and Ginger with the bottling sugar and water...and I wing-it, never had a fail on my Tripel, but have failed on Lagers doing this...

As for Thai Food, certainly the Best eating out there. I spent 3 months in Thailand in my early 20's and it changed my life concerning food. Only things that compete are Beef Tendon Pho and Breakfast of Rice, Kimchi and Kalbi Beef with a couple over-easy eggs ontop.

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I'm going to set aside a gallon for dry hopping with basil and the other four with Sorachi. When ready for bottling, I'll determine if I need mnore lemongrass and/or Ginger.

Sounds like I need to get out to The Bruery. I've never been to there tap room. I think it is offsite from the actual brewery. Some place in Orange. There bottles rarely make it south and when they do, it's a $12 bottle. One of my favorite places down south is the OB Noodle House. Great selection of beer and good food.

J-Pizzel said:

I brewed the Ginger Lemongrass Wheat Ale from Austin Homebrew. I'd look up there quantities and then cut it in half or so. Me, and even my wife, find it sessionable.

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Looked at the ingredients and also read the comments. Could not find the weights and measures.

From the comments it sounds delicious.

When I get home from work in the AM, I'll see of I have the ingredient list stashed somewhere....

Hey this sounds pretty good. I am thinking of doing an American Wheat Ale with lemongrass and thai basil and was wondering how this turned out? Did you get the lemon flavor you looking for? Would you use more or less lemongrass next time? Maybe add some in the secondary dry hop style? And any additional info on using the basil would be very helpful.

Hope you have a happy holidays and great new year.

danielofthedale said:

Hey this sounds pretty good. I am thinking of doing an American Wheat Ale with lemongrass and thai basil and was wondering how this turned out? Did you get the lemon flavor you looking for? Would you use more or less lemongrass next time? Maybe add some in the secondary dry hop style? And any additional info on using the basil would be very helpful.

Hope you have a happy holidays and great new year.

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I used one stalk of lemongrass, 2oz of sliced ginger in the boil. I bittered with summit and used 4oz sorachi ace late in the boil and dry hopped an additional 2oz. I just kegged this last week. I did set aside 4 bottles that I primed with a tea I made using 2 minced basil leaves. I have not tried the bottles yet. The flavor off the keg beer is refreshing. The ginger is dominant and I get mostly a spicy dill flavor from the sorachi. I would scale back the ginger to 1oz, use more lemongrass and sub the sorachi for something more citrus like. Definitely needs another stalk of lemongrass. When I bottled with the basil, the aroma was very powerful. I intend to open these next week on New Years Eve. I was unable to get wyeast 1272, so I used 1056 instead. I'll try to update next week when the hangover subsides. Merry Xmas and happy brewing.

flyingfinbar said:

Mauy Thai Pale, eh??

Now I gotta make a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu IPA

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BrewJitsu! Measure the OG in OmaPlato units

Also, as mentioned, Sorachi Ace is 100% dill every time I've tasted it, rather than the "lemon" some claim. So, great for a Swedish Smoked Porter maybe, but not "tropical" enough. Go for Citra next time.