Dandelion beer recipe

[jcom87]

A close friend of mine and his wife have had a bunny for 11 years, and after a long bunny life he just recently passed. We have a brew coming up but we don't know what to brew yet. A thought I had was to make a memorial recipe to remember his bunny friend. I want to make an all grain recipe that represents him as best I can.
He really liked dandelions, mint, kale, basil, or really any leafy herb, but dandelion was his favorite. I did a bit of research and discovered that people have made dandelion beer before, but it can be tricky. Add too much and the bitter weed is too overpowering. So I have a few questions. How much dandelion do I add? Do I use the flower, stem, root, or all of the above? Do I mash it or use it as a boil addition? Do I still use hops, or will it be bitter enough? And finally, should I include any of those other herbs? I think kale would be too overpowering, but I have no experience brewing with it. Mint could be an interesting addition, or even basil.
Lastly is the style. I would like to do a spring style. My first thought is some kind of wheat beer, or possibly a blonde ale or saison. Does anyone have any experience brewing with dandelion, or even just an herb centered beer? Looking for any advice. Thanks!

 

[Pappers_]

I think I would use dandelion greens, sparingly, somehow. Kind of like a gruit, instead of or replacing some of the hops.

From my childhood in Iowa, I know people made dandelion wine, but I have no insight into how, but you might Google that and see what comes up. My recollection is that it was yellow and mild.

 

[Miraculix]

A close friend of mine and his wife have had a bunny for 11 years, and after a long bunny life he just recently passed. We have a brew coming up but we don't know what to brew yet. A thought I had was to make a memorial recipe to remember his bunny friend. I want to make an all grain recipe that represents him as best I can.
He really liked dandelions, mint, kale, basil, or really any leafy herb, but dandelion was his favorite. I did a bit of research and discovered that people have made dandelion beer before, but it can be tricky. Add too much and the bitter weed is too overpowering. So I have a few questions. How much dandelion do I add? Do I use the flower, stem, root, or all of the above? Do I mash it or use it as a boil addition? Do I still use hops, or will it be bitter enough? And finally, should I include any of those other herbs? I think kale would be too overpowering, but I have no experience brewing with it. Mint could be an interesting addition, or even basil.
Lastly is the style. I would like to do a spring style. My first thought is some kind of wheat beer, or possibly a blonde ale or saison. Does anyone have any experience brewing with dandelion, or even just an herb centered beer? Looking for any advice. Thanks!

You'll still need hops to prevent bacteria to take over the beer and turn it into a sour. Unless, you want to make it a sour, of course.

I would use the root as it contains most of the bitterness and it can be bought dried. I don't know about the amount, but it is always a good idea to brew a tea with the herb in question, say one liter, add a specific amount and try around till it's pleasant. From there scale it up.

I would really brew a saison. The yeast complements spices very well.

You can also try A combination with the tea method. I had a saison with basil and other stuff that was surprisingly good. But don't boil the basil, it will loose it's flavour, better make an alcoholic tincture with vodka and add it after fermentation finished. Maybe same applies to mint, I don't know about this one tbh.

Play around with the tea and you'll find out what's good.

 

[Soulshine2]

yarrow was a hop like additive in brews such as yours.

 

[Miraculix]

Dandelion wine is usually made out of the flowers. But in this case,I would use the root, leafs might get too grassy and flowers will likely be overpowered. I would add dandelion roots to the end of the boil, like ten or five minutes.

Yarrow has a strong taste on its own and does not play along well with every other herbs. Better check it in a tea if it fits to the rest of the recipe.

I brewed a lot of beers with it, it can also contribute to the alcoholic effect, meaning weak beers have a stronger effect than they should, but on the next day you'll also have much worse of a hangover.

Edit: if you guys are interested in herbal beers, look up "the gruit beer thread" in this forum, there we discuss herbal beers in detail. Dandelion however, does not show up much there.

 

[Soulshine2]

as far as the dandelion roots are concerned. It has been made into a coffee like drink by first roasting the roots and grinding them up and adding boiling water. Said to have a nutty taste like chickory.

 

[jcom87]

Those are all great suggestions, thank you guys!