blackbeltbrewer
Member
I am still pretty new to brewing, with only a few batches under my belt. And it would be an understatement to say I've learned a lot, mostly the hard way. The good news is that of the 4 batches brewed so far WITHOUT broken glass in them (damn floating thermometers), all have turned out very tasty. Emboldened by these successes and seeing another potential "learning opportunity" I tried something a little off the wall...
I had a few bottles of Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde where the caps weren't sealed properly, so the beer was flat (another lesson). So for one of these bottles, I decided to try a wild idea - I steeped a perilla leaf in it. For those not familiar, perilla is a plant in the mint family which is sometimes used in Asian food. In particular, Koreans like to use it to wrap grilled meat and stuff like that. It's super tasty, a little like mint or basil but different from both. So I put one leaf in 12 oz of beer for 24 hrs, rebottled, and let it age for a month.
I tried it today and I'm not really sure I like it. It's not horrible, but it doesn't really taste like the leaf. It's got something that's just a little off. I think one problem might be that the flavor just isn't compatible with the Cascade late hops in the blonde ale. Possibly also it's just too much for a lighter brew - the leaves from the garden seemed extra strong this summer.
Well anyway, no big loss, and maybe I'll try again next summer. Or maybe not.
If any one else has any experience with perilla or wants to, let me know.
I had a few bottles of Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde where the caps weren't sealed properly, so the beer was flat (another lesson). So for one of these bottles, I decided to try a wild idea - I steeped a perilla leaf in it. For those not familiar, perilla is a plant in the mint family which is sometimes used in Asian food. In particular, Koreans like to use it to wrap grilled meat and stuff like that. It's super tasty, a little like mint or basil but different from both. So I put one leaf in 12 oz of beer for 24 hrs, rebottled, and let it age for a month.
I tried it today and I'm not really sure I like it. It's not horrible, but it doesn't really taste like the leaf. It's got something that's just a little off. I think one problem might be that the flavor just isn't compatible with the Cascade late hops in the blonde ale. Possibly also it's just too much for a lighter brew - the leaves from the garden seemed extra strong this summer.
Well anyway, no big loss, and maybe I'll try again next summer. Or maybe not.
If any one else has any experience with perilla or wants to, let me know.
