A lemon grass and basil mead?

[vahallasbrew]

So i got this soap thats lemon grass and basil scented and it smells soooo good but dont taste very well i was wonderin if it would be possible to brew a mead with those to things like get the grass and turn it to a mash with a mortor and pestle to get the juices and flavor out and drop a leaf or two of fresh basil how would this come out?

 

[Sharkman20]

Something to go with Thai food maybe? Maybe add some kaffir lime leaves in with it as well. lol

 

[Pith]

Make a nice medium mead to start with (use one that's already aged and softened if you have one), then make a tea bag with half of each herb (maybe 1/2 ounce each?) and put it in with the mead. Have a small taste of it every other day and take it out when you're happy with the intensity of herb flavour.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Tomico]

Oooh! This sounds interesting. Yes, this could taste very good. What size are you starting at, 1 gallon or 5? I made a saffron, sage, rosemary, and thyme mix that was divine. I was pretty conservative on my proportions for a 5 gallon batch. I used 2oz each of fresh rosemary, sage and thyme and 1/4 cup of dried saffron. (I got a really good deal on it and had a lot on hand.). I think you could put quite a bit in of each. The lemon grass could act as an acid flavor so lower the amount of acid blend accordingly (or estimate). You could use a lemon basil to enhance the lemon flavor, or if you wanted, a darker purple basil to add a small amount of color. Those flavors are not too overwhelming so you could add a lot. You could make a plain mead and a strong herbal mead and mix to taste if it is too strongly flavored. I'm looking forward to hearing about it.

(By the way, you can get lemon or purple basil from gardening centers and it is pretty easy to grow if you have a small amount of garden space or you could even grow it in a pot by a south facing window.)

Tomico

 

[forces]

How might you infuse the fresh basil without the basil rotting in "secondary." Or Tertiary, or quartinary, or whatever? I'm sure the lemongrass is cellulose-y to withstand some serious saturation, but the basil? Even if the ABV was say 12-13%... it seems like it might wilt and get soggy and slimy, like rotten leaves. When I think of that, I think of nasty decaying plants... which never smell pleasant.

Anyone successfully used basil in mead? If so, what was the procedure?

 

[Machalel]

I would think that it wouldn't rot anymore than any fruit etc would...?

 

[Arpolis]

My first mead had a decent amount of lemon grass in it and that was placed in the primary. After about two weeks there was a strong citrous flavor and it smelled divine; however, after racking and first taste there was absolutely no citrous notes. So if you go with this I highly recommend making a traditional mead and adding the herbs in secondary.

 

[forces]

I would think that it wouldn't rot anymore than any fruit etc would...?

Good point!

 

[Tomico]

There are several ways to infuse the herbs in a mead. You could make a strong infusion over the stove by heating the herbs in water then straining and adding it to the primary and then let them cool before adding the yeast, or you could add it to the batch as you heat the honey and water, then strain it it into the secondary. In each case a tight fitting lid is recommended so that the essential oils don't evaporate. Then there is the method of adding herbs in a mesh bag and dropping it into the primary or the secondary. I have only used the first and second method. I'm sure each method has a reason or an advantage but I'm not aware of the advantages, yet. I'm thinking infusion verses tincture .

Tomico

 

[Machalel]

there's also the option of 'steeping' them in a neutral spirit, and then adding that after fermentation