How much lemongrass in a wheat beer?

Inevitably someone is going to say ANY lemongrass is too much

But anyway...

I brewed a wheat beer last year which was something akin to a witbier although a little darker, and included no unmalted wheat. I included coriander, orange peel and a little ginger, pitched T-58 yeast and it worked out quite well. I have a notion that lemongrass might work well in this beer but I'm unsure of how much to add, when to include it in the boil and whether I'll need to add more in secondary. I'm looking for a noticeable taste/aroma but I don't want it to overpower the beer.

The recipe will be more or less 50/50 pale malt/wheat malt or could well be Wheat DME and a little CaraPils if time is a factor. I'll probably hop with Amarillo & Styrian Goldings to get a little citrus hint from the hops, I reckon it will be in the region of 15 to 20 IBUs.

Any thoughts, tips, experiences to share?

The only reference I can remember for lemongrass is from Brew Like a Monk. In the recipe formulation section, Ron Jerffries makes up a Blond Ale with lemongrass in it. He says one short stock in 117 litres.

ANY lemongrass is TOO much. There, I said it.

Wheat Malt, Pils Malt, Hallertau hops. That is all that is allows.

Alles anderes ist VERBOTEN! (for a Bavarian Hefeweizen of course)

Another reference:

http://www.probrewer.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=4082&highlight=lemongrass

Thanks for the tips guys, even you EdWort - the brewing world sure would be boring if everyone complied with the Reinheitsgebot

Reading the ProBrewer thread it seems steeping it at flameout would be the thing to do - would you worry about infection? Granted I didn't worry about the spices in my last wit but the lemongrass is a bit more 'veggie' so I wonder if I should soak it in vodka (or spray it with Starsan? )

bigears said:

Thanks for the tips guys, even you EdWort - the brewing world sure would be boring if everyone complied with the Reinheitsgebot

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Vee Have Vays to make you do zis, ja?

Glad to help of course.

I love lemongrass in my Tom Yung Goong soup!

I wouldn't worry about infection if you use it at flameout - the heat should kill anything bad.

I wouldn't worry about infection if you use it at flameout - the heat should kill anything bad.

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Sounds good. I'll report back!

Vee Have Vays to make you do zis, ja?

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I spent a summer in Munich and quickly learnt the most important phrase: Ich can nicht arbeit Samstag (excuse the spelling, grammar etc.....)

bigears said:

I spent a summer in Munich and quickly learnt the most important phrase: Ich can nicht arbeit Samstag (excuse the spelling, grammar etc.....)

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Good phrase to know. Most would understand it. Verb goes a the end.

Ich kann nicht am Samstag arbeiten...(then add catchy adjective like dumkopf)

A summer in Munich. Man, that sould be fun...

It had its moments

how did that lemongrass wit ever turn out? I'm thinking about trying one too. I'll probably peel it, cut it in 2 inch chunks, smash them, and steep them with my grains. In soups they call for the lemongrass first before the water even is to a boil. Ginger, Lemongrass, Coriander, lime zest, possibly kaffir lime leaves. It would be like a Thai Ale. could be good who knows...

rmolledo said:

how did that lemongrass wit ever turn out? I'm thinking about trying one too. I'll probably peel it, cut it in 2 inch chunks, smash them, and steep them with my grains. In soups they call for the lemongrass first before the water even is to a boil. Ginger, Lemongrass, Coriander, lime zest, possibly kaffir lime leaves. It would be like a Thai Ale. could be good who knows...

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So did you do the "Thai ale"?

I just did a lemmongrass/ginger Saison that is going into bottles this week. I used two stalks (just the light part) chopped finely and put in at 10 minutes left in the boil.

I will post back after they get time to condition and carb up.

beergolf said:

I just did a lemmongrass/ginger Saison that is going into bottles this week. I used two stalks (just the light part) chopped finely and put in at 10 minutes left in the boil.

I will post back after they get time to condition and carb up.

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And how much ginger and when did you add it? Thanks!

robaincltnc said:

And how much ginger and when did you add it? Thanks!

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I used 1 oz of finely chopped ginger and two stalks of lemmongrass finely chopped. Put them in hop bags and added them at 10 minutes.

I am going to bottle this tomorrow so I can get a taste to see how it balances out. I just winged it on the amounts so I am very curious to see how it tastes.

Lemongrass wheat ale recipe kit from ahs was myfirst all grain. Put it in primary and rack cool wort on top of it. Everybody loved it. The keg floated way too fast. I don't know exactly how much it was, but I'd say enough to fill 12 ounces In a measuring cup. It stayed with the beer for a week in the primary. I didn't add any more to the secondary. The flavor of the lemongrAss was not very strong, but it was there. Made for a great beer.

Haasobrew said:

Lemongrass wheat ale recipe kit from ahs was myfirst all grain. Put it in primary and rack cool wort on top of it. Everybody loved it. The keg floated way too fast. I don't know exactly how much it was, but I'd say enough to fill 12 ounces In a measuring cup. It stayed with the beer for a week in the primary. I didn't add any more to the secondary. The flavor of the lemongrAss was not very strong, but it was there. Made for a great beer.

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Can you check to find out how much lemongrass (and ginger if it was listed) you put in the primary? Trying to see if this is a better way or if to cook the last 10 minutes may be a better way to infuse.

Thanks!

I brewed a lemongrass hefe 2 weeks ago and I forgot to add it at flame out (damn women and their neediness, if you know what I mean, lol) and I added it when I racked it to the carboy. Turned out great! It's been carbing for a week now and it's pretty tasty!

rmolledo said:

how did that lemongrass wit ever turn out? I'm thinking about trying one too. I'll probably peel it, cut it in 2 inch chunks, smash them, and steep them with my grains. In soups they call for the lemongrass first before the water even is to a boil. Ginger, Lemongrass, Coriander, lime zest, possibly kaffir lime leaves. It would be like a Thai Ale. could be good who knows...

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Sorry for the slighty late (!) response, I just spotted the question now. I've used lemongrass a few times now, usually I chop/bash up a few stalks with some coriander and add it just before flameout, sometimes I add a little more in secondary (or late in primary if I don't use secondary). Always works out well, I find it pairs well with Styrian Goldings and I've tried a few cardamom pods as well which adds a little extra.

So how much used in a 5 gallon batch?

Just put .75 oz lemongrass & .75 oz ginger at flameout (actually 1 min in boil). This is in an IPA, may add more in fermenter if needed. Also thought about some Thai chilies. Thoughts?

I am brewing the AHS Lemongrass Wheat tomorrow. The kit comes with 1 oz dried lemongrass and instruction say to add at flameout. I plan on adding them in a hop bag at flameout, cooling the wort, and leaving in the fermenter for about a week since I don't do secondaries. I will post the results after brewing as well as the finished product in about a month.

I am interested in brewing a beer similar to this. Thinking about a Wit with lemongrass, kaffir lime and ginger. I am also interested in quantities and how your beer turns out so keep us updated.

Brewing with lemongrass fresh picked from my yard tonight. Doing an IPA, sort of a honey-amped version of a two-hearted base recipe.
Got a couple ounces of soriachi ace, considering switching one ounce in...

Lemongrass is going at 3-min.

Hopefully this oatmeal brown that is finally ready to drink tonight won't make me screw up the boil too bad!

I bruised the lemongrass (cut, bend and break it) and added it at flameout with okay success. It was a wheat and I used a few stalks (1 gallon recipe)

Well I plopped a small handful of stalks in at 3 min. Soriachi went in at 5 min. I have added about 2 pounds of honey at around 5 minutes to this otherwise very basic "two hearted" recipe a few times (sans soriachi and lemongrass), which has amped the ABV a bit and seems to really clean up the beer of a lot of other flavors. I'm assuming because it ferments at such a high percentage - so I did add about 1.5 honey. And I'll use it to carbonate too.

I'm really curious about this one- playing around with the stalks I wonder if the starchy inner core will bring up a level of bitterness that I don't necessarily want.

So far it's fermenting very happily - maintaining perfect temps.

We'll see...

one of the best lemongrass beers I have had. You dont get more info than this!

http://www.obbrewing.com/brewery/fuller-disclosure-a-brewers-brain-explained/

Awesome find Chikin. Planning on a Thai Saison tomorrow; galangal and lemongrass. According to that blog post, it works out to 8 - 10 g/L, which is something like half a pound of lemongrass in a 6 gal batch, which just sounds crazy high. I'm aiming for 3 oz.

I put about 5 oz in a 5 gal batch, dropped in at 3 min. Used Soriachi hops at flame out. (recipe was an IPA).

When I bottled, I was blown away by the aroma of lemongrass and was worried that it would be too much.

After conditioning at room temp for a couple weeks and then a few weeks in the fridge, the lemongrass aroma all but disappeared. There was a hint on the finish, but it really mellowed.

Just sharing my experience so you can factor it in! I'll try again soon, see if I can get it just right.

Bonesey, same as your calc, i used .25lb for a 3 gallon batch. With the lemongrass, the smell is more pronounced then the taste. It came out very close to obx brewing. It is a great summer recipe and the ratio used was just what inwas shooting for.