Fresh Rosemary and bitter orange peel only instead of hops

[Charles kane]

Was thinking of making a wheat session ale without hops. What do you think?

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

I think this might work. Saison du BUFF uses Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Tyme. But that uses Centennial and Amarillo. Stone put the recipe out on their website: https://www.stonebrewing.com/blog/m...-saison-du-buff-homebrew-recipe#ageGatePassed

I think if you left the hops out you would have to use at least an ounce of Rosemary at 60 minutes. Don't take that as a recommendation though. I've never tried that on my own.

 

[Bubbles2]

I'd make a tea of what you are thinking about and see if it is palatable, AMF you could make that tea and add it to a neutral beer like a typical Sam Adams and see if it is something you would like to have 5 gallons of it.

 

[Steveruch]

Rosemary has a piney edge to it similar to some hops. I use it with lemon zest.

 

[Leezer]

+1 to the suggestion above to make a tea and try in a neutral beer first. A few years back I added fresh rosemary to a one gallon IPA kit. Would have to check my notes for amount used, but the rosemary was way too strong and my husband ended up using it in cooking short ribs, etc instead. I do think it could be a really nice ingredient though because of its piney flavor, but recommend experimenting with quantity to be sure you don't overdo it.

 

[brewfrog]

the orange peel is not bitter, meaning it turns into orange juice in a ferment.

 

[mashpaddled]

For your first forays into brewing with herbs and spices you should still add hops in a bittering addition to balance the sweetness and to ensure protection from unwelcome guests. As you learn more about using non-traditional ingredients you will learn about other bittering ingredients and others with anti-microbial properties. You can swap away from the hops at that time but early on just have fun learning about how other ingredients add flavor and other dynamics to your beer.

 

[cmac62]

Leezer is right about rosemary being super strong. I used it once in a grut and it tasted good, but rosemary was the dominant flavor. I also agree with mashpaddled that I would use at least 1/2 oz of 60 min hops to provide a stable bittering and infection protection.