Watermelon/Basil Saison?

I had a watermelon/basil salad the other day that was absolutely delicious and got me thinking. I think I like the idea of a lighter beer with watermelon and basil aroma balanced by Belgian type spiciness. I don't really want a fruity taste.

I looked around online some and found a lot of talk about honey basil recipes. I'm thinking of using the ginger Saison recipe from Sam Calagione's extreme brewing book, but using either honey or agave nectar instead of the candi sugar, and watermelon instead of ginger. Does this sound like something that could turn out tasty? Also I don't really know how to get that hint of watermelon. Purée? Chunks? During boil or in secondary? Or even how much.

Does anyone have any advice, or is this way too far out to even be worth trying?

Thinking of adding ~ .5 oz fresh basil at 5 min.

A friend of mine prepares fresh watermelon with a sugar/basil/mint garnish.... Definitely "adultifies" watermelon! I am a big fan. In a beer, your proportions will have to be very exacting since I think that combo works best with some residual sweetness. I would probably avoid drying it out with extra sugar, and the basil is too delicate for any boil time. Flameout is probably best.

Have you thought about starting with a Hell or High Watermelon clone instead? I don't have a recipe handy, but I am pretty sure it is a light American wheat + watermelon.

Maybe dry hop with the basil, heat and fermentation is going to drive off a lot what makes basil basil-ey.

BigRob said:

Maybe dry hop with the basil, heat and fermentation is going to drive off a lot what makes basil basil-ey.

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I'm sure there are lots of ways to do this, but in a 5 gallon batch I use 0.5 oz of basil in the boil for the last 10 minutes, and then another 0.5 oz at flameout. The beer has a nice basil flavor and some basil aroma, but neither the flavor or the aroma are overpowering.

The Homebrew Nerd
thehomebrewnerd.com

I don't really want to just do a clone of HOHW cause I really like the basil idea. Thanks for the tip brewnerd, I'll give that a try and let you know how it goes. Does anyone have any suggestions for the watermelon? Right now I'm thinking 4 cups of juice in secondary.

No, no, I wasn't just suggesting making a HOHW clone but rather looking at a clone recipe to get a base beer to add basil too rather then a Saison..... Sorry if it didn't read that way :!

I am sure I read around here, somewhere, that fermented watermelon was not all that good?