Gonna brew a honey basil ale and have a question...

[BugAC]

There was a recipe in last month's BYO magazine for Bison Brew's Honey Basil Ale.

 

[corwin6654]

sure, depending on how it smells after a few days, i might dry hop it as well with them... have you tried the bison brewing version of this? it was amazing, my SWMBO had it months ago and still talk about it

I just had Bison's version at the North American Organic Beer Festival in Portland last weekend. It was very tasty. This is something I would consider brewing and keeping on hand in summer, and maybe entering into a competition if it turns out good. It's such a fresh, crisp, interesting beer.

 

[ENS]

The recipe calls for 2oz of basil. I am not sure how many oz I added. I bought one of those fresh basil plants and used aboiut 2 thirds of it. It didn't smell that strong in the pot. I boiled the basil for about 7 minutes along with the lemon and lime zest.

It's been going crazy in the fermenter with atleast 8lbs of fermentables, but starting to slow down now. I am debating a secondary. I may just leave it in the primary for 4 weeks and then bottle. I hope to have it ready to drink by August. I double pitched the WL Cali Ale yeast.

 

[aseg]

Mine cleared pretty fast, but the basil was mouth-numbing. Sounds like you used less basil than me, but put it in sooner. I'm curious how the flavor changes after boiling.

 

[ENS]

Did you do the extract version?

It seems like most beers need about 3 weeks minimum to start to develop the right flavor. Beers always taste weird to me before 3 weeks.

 

[NyPDFustercluck]

I did this one all grain and am cracking open the first taster tonight after work. It's crystal clear in the bottle (I always bottle a couple from each batch in clear bottles so I can check for clarity and proper yeast floccing)

 

[aseg]

I made an all grain batch. It has been about 6 weeks, so it's about ready. Mine is super clear also - I'm wondering if the basil helped in that regard.

 

[ENS]

After 4 weeks in the primary, I bottled mine last night and the uncarbonated version was pretty darn good. I think this will be a great refreshing beer in a few weeks, just in time for a trip to the beach!

 

[ENS]

tried my first bottle tonight. Wow!!! It is amazing. I can't wait for my wife to try. My wife has Hodgkins Lymphoma and has been going through chemo since March. Her last chemo is on Thursday. Her mom has been helping us out a lot since Kari has been sick. Her mom is bit of a basil freak and I brewed this sort of as a thank you to her. Also, I think my wife will love it too. She has not been able to enjoy very many drinks since starting her treatment and I am very excited for both of them to try it. Kari's mom will get her tomorrow from Northern neck, VA after dinner and a cold basil beer will be waiting for her. I think this is the best beer I have made yet. It is very special too!

 

[EndlessWinter77]

There was a recipe in last month's BYO magazine for Bison Brew's Honey Basil Ale.

Any chance someone can post this recipe?

 

[EndlessWinter77]

Bison Brewing Honey Basil Ale Recipe: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bison-brewing-company-honey-basil-ale-clone-264689/#post3198734