Evan!
Well-Known Member
Well, it took 3 tries, but I think this one is the apex.
My brewing "philosophy" is to always try new and/or crazy stuff, but also to continually try to perfect a stable of "house recipes" that are in my regular or seasonal lineup. This is the third time I've done a basil beer (unless you count that weird one with lime-basil and lemon verbena)...and this one is just awesome after only a week in bottle. Hardly any green-ness, and just enough basil. The IBU's and aroma/flavor hops are much better this time, so as to counter the pungency of basil. My first beer ever was a basil pale ale, and while it was good...it needed more. More complexity, more maltiness, more hops. So I made a basil IPA last fall with the last of the basil from the garden, and it was way too pungent. I used some Thai basil in that one, and that stuff will whip your ass like a Thai hooker with herpes. So this time around, I upped my honey and victory malts (ha, 1.5 lbs each!) and beefed up the hop schedule...and stuck to cinnamon-basil and a touch of italian sweet.
Tried the first one last night, and I do believe I got me another "house" beer...though, this one is seasonal, because I only use fresh cinnamon-basil from our garden.
So, I know that there are some of you guys out there who scoff at basil beer, but I'd gladly do a swap if you're willing to be open-minded.
My brewing "philosophy" is to always try new and/or crazy stuff, but also to continually try to perfect a stable of "house recipes" that are in my regular or seasonal lineup. This is the third time I've done a basil beer (unless you count that weird one with lime-basil and lemon verbena)...and this one is just awesome after only a week in bottle. Hardly any green-ness, and just enough basil. The IBU's and aroma/flavor hops are much better this time, so as to counter the pungency of basil. My first beer ever was a basil pale ale, and while it was good...it needed more. More complexity, more maltiness, more hops. So I made a basil IPA last fall with the last of the basil from the garden, and it was way too pungent. I used some Thai basil in that one, and that stuff will whip your ass like a Thai hooker with herpes. So this time around, I upped my honey and victory malts (ha, 1.5 lbs each!) and beefed up the hop schedule...and stuck to cinnamon-basil and a touch of italian sweet.
Tried the first one last night, and I do believe I got me another "house" beer...though, this one is seasonal, because I only use fresh cinnamon-basil from our garden.
So, I know that there are some of you guys out there who scoff at basil beer, but I'd gladly do a swap if you're willing to be open-minded.