When/how should I add herbs for flavor??

I'm about to extract brew a recipe called "Chuck's Brew". I'm hoping to add some herbs to the beer for flavor. I'm thinking about rosemarry, parsley, sage, and tyme. When should I add them and what would be the process.

Here is the recipe that for the beer I bought:

Liquid malt extract (light) 3.3lbs Full boil
Liquid malt extract (wheat) 3.3lbs full boil
10-20L Crystal malt 12oz 30' Steep @ 150F
Hallertauer Hops 1oz 60' Boil
Hallertauer Hops 1oz 15' Boil
Irish Moss 1/4tsp 15' Boil
Coopers Yeast 1pack Fermenter

A few minutes before flameout would be a safe approach. Go easy on the quantities. Figure out how much you think you need, and then cut it in half.

I add spice and herbs in the last 5 mins (or less) of the boil. Then after 2 weeks of fermentation I take a hydro sample and taste it. If I like the taste I leave it alone, if I think it needs more herbs/spice I make an herb/spice tea and add it to the bottle bucket...

Thanks for the replies! What would you guys deem as a safe amount to add for a 5 gal batch? As in all the herbs combined.

For the hardier fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage... add to flameout for a long steep. DO NOT go overboard on these herbs. A few teaspoons should do. I recommend bruising them or coarsely chopping and placing in a mesh bag.

For the delicate fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, chervil... add to the secondary. A quick dunk in mild starsan solution would probably help. It's tough to go overboard on these herbs; giant handfuls are acceptable if you want more character from them. After cleaning, give the herb bunch a few concise chops with a very sharp knife. Try not to bruise them or use the harder stems. Bag these as well.

Do not use dried herbs.

be careful with the rosemary. I'd say a couple of grams at most. I've had a beer with too much rosemary and it was foul. Tasted like bitter gravy.

I brewed a Saison du buff clone (converted to pm) last weekend and took the herb amounts straight outta the stone book. They say for 5 gal:

.25 oz parsley
.09 oz thyme
.09 oz rosemary
.04 oz sage

As you can see, those are TINY amounts added at flameout, and they were very noticeable in the aroma so far (still fermenting). Moral: go easy on the amounts

thepartsmancometh said:

I brewed a Saison du buff clone (converted to pm) last weekend and took the herb amounts straight outta the stone book. They say for 5 gal:

.25 oz parsley
.09 oz thyme
.09 oz rosemary
.04 oz sage

As you can see, those are TINY amounts added at flameout, and they were very noticeable in the aroma so far (still fermenting). Moral: go easy on the amounts

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That's kinda the amounts I was thinking. Thanks!

Going to try something similar with a Saison, but not quite a du BUFF clone. Let us know how it turns out!

Hello, I just bottled a saison wheat, 5 gal batch with herbs only, I used the amounts that they have on a site (I think) called gruit ale, not knowing any better, I used 1oz of each yarrow and mugwort and a big pinch of rosemary @ 60 min, WARNING ! ! VERY VERY astringent/bitter, way to much herbs and way to long in the boil, I would suggest making tea, using different amounts of times to figure out how long is to long in the boil for each herb, now that I know better this is what Im going to do.
This batch is so astringent/bitter/herb/strong/undrinkable, I was going to dump it or make a no herb ale and mix together, then my wife said lets make a shandy out of it, now we are going to use it to make shandy's 1/2 to 1 bottle ale (12 oz bottle) to 1 tonic water (12 oz can)
I made a shandy out of this yesterday (about 40 ale/60 tonic) with the leftover ale from bottling and it was great.

I hope my mistake helps someone else out, glad I found this thread.
Thanks everyone!
WiliECoyote

Just a note, I transferred my Saison du buff clone into secondary this weekend. After drinking the hydro sample, I don't think I'd want any more than the recipe called for. At this point the herbs come through very clearly

thepartsmancometh said:

Just a note, I transferred my Saison du buff clone into secondary this weekend. After drinking the hydro sample, I don't think I'd want any more than the recipe called for. At this point the herbs come through very clearly

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Hello, the amounts that you used looked like what I should have done, and the herbs do mellow (blend) over time just like hops, mine is better each time I sample it (once a week) even though it's over herbed.

Good to hear yours is coming along nicely, if its still a bit to strong after bottle conditioning, try the (shandy) tonic water mix, its quite refreshingly good.

Herb Ale Cheers
WiliECoyote

used 1oz of each yarrow and mugwort

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Watch out for yarrow, it can give you a headache in high doses. As well as other mind altering effects, especially when combined with mugwort.

mattmcl said:

Watch out for yarrow, it can give you a headache in high doses. As well as other mind altering effects, especially when combined with mugwort.

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Yes I have read that about several of the herbs.

Cheers