Anyone used Lemon Balm

I'm toying with making a light pale ale for summer. Maybe some Goldings hops, grains of paradise and some lemon.

I have some Lemon Balm growing in my back yard. Can that be used to add some lemon flavor. How much would I use and when would I add it.

Good question! I've been reading up on it a little bit, and it seems like it will add some lemon/citrus something to your beer, and it might give the impression of sweetness as well.

I wonder if boiling it might be a bad idea, either due to evaporating the citrusy essences or maybe making it overly bitter. Maybe you want to make a tea of it with hot water and add it to the wort a bit at a time?

(And actually, make a tea of it in the first place, just to sip, and verify you like the flavor/scent?)

Current thoughts are to add at flame out and steep for 30 minutes. Quantity ...... ???????, maybe something like 4 ozs fresh leaves.

I added some to a hefeweizen for good effect. I put in ~10 chopped up leaves of it in the last 10 minutes of boil and it was really only noticeable if pointed out. It imparted a slightly tangy, almost minty aroma as well. Think "Key Lime pie" but dialed down a few notches. I will probably add more in the future to see if that impression pans out.

There are some recommendations in Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers, a good portion of dried can be added at 60 minutes or there is a recipe given that uses fresh tips during the ferment.

I have been thinking of doing this too, I have a ton of this growing in my yard and some of the leaves are huge. I was thinking of soaking the leaves in iodafor or starsan to kill the bugs and then run through a sanitized food processor. Then add to secondary, maybe in a weiss or light pale ale. Sound good?

VaBrewer said:

I have been thinking of doing this too, I have a ton of this growing in my yard and some of the leaves are huge. I was thinking of soaking the leaves in iodafor or starsan to kill the bugs and then run through a sanitized food processor. Then add to secondary, maybe in a weiss or light pale ale. Sound good?

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Be careful the starsan/Idophor could take all the goodness out of them. Better to soak them in some vodka for a couple of days and add both the leaves and vodka to the brew. Obviously of adding during boiling, no sanitation is required.

Oh that's an awesome idea! That's what I will do. I plucked some today and it smells terrific, I just know if I can get the essence extracted it will taste awesome.

Heres my go at a recipe:

Sweet Melissa American Blonde

10 lbs American 2 row
1 lb Carapils
1.5 oz Mt Hood 60 mins
1.25 oz Mt Hood 15 mins
.25 oz Cascade at flameout

Mash at 154 for 60

WLP001 or S-05

Rack to secondary
Add 10-15 Lemon Balm leaves that have been soaked in vodka

Thoughts?

sounds tasty!

Looking forward to hearing how this one turns out!
--LexusChris