Herbs that can be added to Beer?

[mummasan]

I'm interested in using allspice in a pale ale...I have an allspice tree in my yard and the leaves are incredibly pungent. Has anyone tried allspice? I will probably follow the spruce/rosemary proceedure outlined earlier in this thread.

Also, I am contemplating using kava in a beer - I live in Hawaii and can buy fresh kava root - it is a polynesian plant that is pulverised, mixed with water then... bottoms up (it has some interesting feel good affects)I'm thinking about mashing up the root, placing it in a small grain bag and adding at the end of a boil

Any thoughts?

 

[GoatFarmersInternational]

I'm interested in using allspice in a pale ale...I have an allspice tree in my yard and the leaves are incredibly pungent.
Also, I am contemplating using kava in a beer - I live in Hawaii and can buy fresh kava root... I'm thinking about mashing up the root, placing it in a small grain bag and adding at the end of a boil

Any thoughts?

The dried fruits (or berries, if you like) of allspice (the stuff that you buy at the store) is to my knowledge a pretty normal spice to use in spiced winter ales, and it is a key ingredient in many mulled wines. I've never seen the leaves at the grocery store, but I know that they are used in cooking, and I think I remember seeing something about that in The Joy (of Cooking, not Homebrewing).
Regarding the kava ale, I think that you should totally do it. I'm not sure how volatile the desired coumpounds are in kava, so I think that you are on the right track adding them at the end of the boil. You might want to do a 1 gal test batch first, though. And your kava ale might benefit (taste wise) from a substantial addition of honey.
If you do brew either of these (even just a test batch), please tell us how they come out!

 

[Schlenkerla]

I'm interested in using allspice in a pale ale...I have an allspice tree in my yard and the leaves are incredibly pungent. Has anyone tried allspice? I will probably follow the spruce/rosemary proceedure outlined earlier in this thread.

Any thoughts?

You might consider making a winter ale, like a porter, or go with a summer pale ale. The SPA is kind of what I was think about earlier.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860&page=89

This is a link to a post with a blend of mulling spice you might try. It has cinamon, mace, cardamon, allspice, and cloves.

Look for my name and the Penzey Spices links.

In this link I was talking about how good this would be with cider.