Saison w. ginger and lemongrass

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Ernie Diamond

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So I am thinking of putting a saison together with the addition of ginger and lemongrass for a Vietnamese friend. My base recipe has the addition of coriander, which I will probably still include and has a nice dry finish.

Anyone out there able to help me incorporate these two ingredients in an all-grain recipe in such a way that they will complement the beer and not compete with it?
 
I recently used lemongrass in a ginger pale ale.

I don't recall the amount of ginger, but it was ground whole ginger, probably just short of an ounce. The ginger and the lemongrass (1oz), were both added in the last 5 minutes. I took the lemongrass out (it was in a hop bag), but left the ginger in.

The lemongrass came through wonderfully. Since I am not a hop guy, I will be using lemongrass more often in my wheats, saisons and pale ales. I plan on experimenting with it a lot.

The ginger was a little more in the background, but it is there. I'm also a fan of ginger and use it in my pumpkin ale.

Remember one thing about lemongrass: the flavor fades. I wouldn't use it in something that you don't plan on drinking relatively young.
 
@Airbourneguy, was it one ounce each of ginger and lemongrass?

Also, you said the ginger was ground. Was it dried ground? Powdered or in larger pieces? I expect that powder would be more potent. Did you use fresh lemongrass? Bruised or sliced fine?

Good to know about the fading flavors. over what period of time did you find the flavor fades? The saison I am drinking now is probably a month old. Would it survive that?
 
Just got home, so I checked my recipe:

1 oz of lemongrass
.25 oz of ginger root

The ginger was dried, ground. It wasn't ground to powder, but around the size of coriander seeds.

The lemongrass was also dried.

As far as the amount of time before I noticed the fading, I would say that it was a little more than a month. This beer is on tap, in a 5 gal corny, so I am not sure how well the flavors would fare in bottles. The aroma of the lemongrass is almost completely gone, and the flavor has faded to a flat, lemony tinge as opposed to the very citrusy, popping lemon I got in the beginning.

I hope this helped a little.
 
Very helpful. Thank you.

What was your hop add for this beer? I am revising my recipe and I don't see the hallertau and saaz I have in there already as really competing hard with those flavors. This is just the info I was looking for, though. Thanks.
 
For hops I would experiment with Sorachi Ace in the aroma, if you can get it. Brooklyn uses this hop in their saison, and it's all lemon all the time. Might try that instead of the lemongrass.
 
I've cooked with lemongrass in powdered form as well as using dried stalk (stem? whatever the hell it is). I would use the stem and grind it yourself if possible, or maybe even slice it and let it sit in the secondary. Some people do the same thing with vanilla beans.
 
I recently brewed a pale ale with fresh lemongrass and ginger. I used about 1 oz. each at flameout (in a tea ball), then dry hopped with about another oz. each (after boiling) for about a week. Awesome flavor from both lemongrass & ginger - totally will do this again - maybe add some thai peppers next time. I highly recommend using fresh (chopped up pretty finely) ginger & lemongrass. I know a saison would be awesome with it - last saison I brewed I used Sorachi Ace & it was great - next time I'll probably do that with even more lemony stuff maybe lemongrass or citra hops.
 
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