Adding flavor?

Anyone know a good way of adding spearamint flavor to a brew I'm working on? Or any flavors for that matter

Run3minman said:

Anyone know a good way of adding spearamint flavor to a brew I'm working on? Or any flavors for that matter

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I guess the lack of response indicates that people don't like minty flavors in their beers, like me

I would suggest finding some spearmint leaves and dry"hopping" with them(apart from not using them at all )

As far as "adding any flavors at all" I can say this:

do you mean flavors or taste? Because flavors is "perceived taste".
Having that said, there could be any flavors you want.

Some could be from the hops (I suggest late hopping and dryhopping) or spices/herbs/etc. So it comes really down to what you would like to achieve.

Have you got anythin in mind? If yes, tell us, so we can advise you

I second the dry hopping idea. Bruise them and then drop them in the fermenter. Another idea would be to make a mint tea and then add that right before you bottle. Not sure how I feel about mint flavor in a beer, but I do have an open mind. I't can't be worse than that maple bacon donut monstrosity from Rogue........

Thanks first of all I'm not familiar with how to dry hop??? Second I had a great peppermint porter the other day and I have been trying to try something new so I'm trying to make a light beer with spearamint taste. Not sure what kind of beer yet

two_one_seven said:

I second the dry hopping idea. Bruise them and then drop them in the fermenter. Another idea would be to make a mint tea and then add that right before you bottle. Not sure how I feel about mint flavor in a beer, but I do have an open mind. I't can't be worse than that maple bacon donut monstrosity from Rogue........

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What the hell, that sounds disgusting :cross:

That said, I think it's quite awesome if you can actually get all thoses flavors in a beer, just for the fun of it.

http://rogue.com/beers/voodoo-bacon-maple.php

Here it is.

Run3minman said:

Thanks first of all I'm not familiar with how to dry hop??? Second I had a great peppermint porter the other day and I have been trying to try something new so I'm trying to make a light beer with spearamint taste. Not sure what kind of beer yet

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Okay, dry hopping is usually adding extra hop in the secondary fermentation stage. It's basically adding hops/spices/herbs/anything to the carboy after the main fermentation is done.

To me it seems you have a lot to learn about your first brew. My suggestion is: if you had some beer with the spearmint in it and you liked it...try to copy thát particular beer. Email them or do a search.

Don't try to add the mint flavor to any old beer because it's NOT a populair flavor. And there's a perfectly good reason for that

two_one_seven said:

http://rogue.com/beers/voodoo-bacon-maple.php

Here it is.

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I would love to taste it, just for the fun of it. But not living in the States, that's not going to happen

But doubt it's going to be a beer I'd drink regular

I don't recall if I've seen one cause I've never really looked for it, but you also might be able to find spearmint flavoring extract.

On a side note, it's a very easy plant to grow. If you like it a lot, you might want to just pick up a plant and let it spread some (it's a voracious spreader). I grow a couple of different ones, and they are very easy to maintain. Starter plants are cheap. You can extract the oils very easily just by adding whole leaves to the boil.

Alternatively, you can prepare a tincture of mint oil by soaking the leaves in high proof alcohol. At bottling time, you can use a dropper to add to individual bottles, or pour some into the bottling bucket. Just taste as you go, so you don't add too much.

I use fruit extracts often and they work great for me so I'm sure a mint extract would work for you

Man, Ilke the going out on a limb and trying something with flavors that is out of the norm. And for those guys who are saying don't do it, Don't give a crap lousy responses to someone with a creative mind for HIS OWN BEER! Now with that out of the way look for Liquor Quicks, I am pretty sure they have a peppermint one. I use there Amaretto flavor for a Amaretto Choc. Porter and it came out pretty darn good or so me and about 25 other people thought. Also if you are going to use fresh leaves, crush the leaves with something then siphon out some beer and rinse the vessel with the beer then dump every thing back into the whole batch. Crushing the leaves will open them and help release the oil's you nee to develop flavor. If you have ever seen a Mojito made they crush the mint with the sugar to open the leaves, same principle here.

There are several stouts with mints being produced in the Pacific NW lately, so there are some commercial examples out there. One from Gilgamesh always blows fast at beer festivals, likely due to the unusual factor.
What people are saying should work, either bruise the leaves and put in the boil, bruise and add to the fermentor after fermentation is complete, or as a tincture/tea before bottling.
Another option would be to add a small amount of peppermint schnapps to your beer before bottling or when serving.

Wow, lots of opinions I appreciate all of them. I am going to the brew store today and brewing on my day off tomorrow. Should be fun either way. What kind of light beer are you guys thinking for this project. I was thinking a pilsner

I'd think with anything like a pilsner you'll need a LOT of restraint with the mint. I could see that being pretty tasty if it's done right, but I could see some challenge keeping the mint character balanced and not overshadowing everything else. If you steer clear of the citrusy American hops and go more for the piney/resiny ones, I could see it working in an APA.

What did you end up making?

As far as light beers, mint with an IPA works surprisingly well. It goes good with hops that give a lot of pine flavor. For dark beers, there are lots of nice things, like a chocolate mint stout, a Christmas barleywine with mint and other spices/herbs.

Yes, at the last Winter Ale Festival here in Portland, OR, there was a peppermint paddy porter by Widmer, and some kind of peppermint stout by Gilgamesh. In my opinion, Gilgamesh seemed way lighter than the Widmer version. I haven't tried one Gilgamesh beer that I was very fond of... The Widmer one was much better.

I have been thinking about brewing some kind of three mint stout lately. I believe the best way to add flavor is via a tincture or extract. That is why I am going to make a mint tincture, peppermint tincture, and spearmint tincture and then add small amount of them to the stout in the bottling bucket as to not overpower the beer with a blast of mint flavor.