Oregano beer, just gonna go for it

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BobbiLynn

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2012
Messages
2,943
Reaction score
803
Just started my mash(reminder to self: ready at 3:45)and trying to plan it out in my head. 1/2 pound fresh oregano that goes into the boil at intervals, like you would with hops. No hops in this batch. Some of the oregano I trimmed was over-do and very bitter. Also the stems are more bitter than "think pizza". Kind of worried about a half pound, probably way too much, but the way the flavors go away over time, at some point it should be darn good. And, go great with pizza!!
 
5 gallon batch. 2-row and Crystal malt. Going to throw in some left-over pale ale extract for good measure. Then, the bitter oregano into the boil at intervals. I am not interested in dry hopping, I never have good luck with dry hopping and don't want to do it anymore. So tons of it into the boil!
 
Send me one! I don;t know if I could ever roll the dice on a full batch of that. But good on you!

Well, I have cases of beer piled 9 high everywhere you look. Looking forward to some trades soon. Saving up for it! I really don't see how it could taste bad, I love chewing on oregano leaves as I'm outside drinking a beer!
 
This source says 2oz. of oregano for 45 minutes.

http://www.franklinbrew.org/wp/?page_id=120

I assume they brewed with it to make the recommendation.


Well, I didn't see how long they aged it, planning to age this one about 8 months. Knowing from experience how rapidly herbal flavors diminish over time, I multiplied the rate of flavor reduction by the amount of time I thought it should be aged. It's going to need a lot of oregano to keep it's flavor. Hops are used in beer because they lose flavor over time far more slowly than other spices, or at least of the spices I have tried.
 
Someone makes a Pizza beer with garlic, oregano, tomato and basil:

beer-label.gif


mamma-mia-pizza-beer.jpg
 
Hey, I am not making pizza beer!! I am making a bitter pale ale with a distinct underlying flavor!
 
Easy now, I'm just throwing ideas out there.

If you use a 1/2 pound of oregano in your beer, I'm fairly certain that will be the most oregano anyone has ever put in a beer. Do it for science!
 
I actually do have fresh local lemons in the freezer, when would you say add the lemon peel? And how much? A got at least 2 dozen lemons I could use the peels of. Wondering about acidity too, and how that would affect everything else. Hmmm.... bringing it to a slow boil now so I can start adding the other stuff.
 
1-2oz of lemon peel in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil works for me. It just adds a nice lemony tartness that doesn't seem to fade.

Remove it at flame out, if it takes you longer than 10 minutes to chill and drain. I chill as quickly as I can drain which only takes 3-5 minutes.
 
I actually do have fresh local lemons in the freezer, when would you say add the lemon peel? And how much? A got at least 2 dozen lemons I could use the peels of. Wondering about acidity too, and how that would affect everything else. Hmmm.... bringing it to a slow boil now so I can start adding the other stuff.

If you do lemons, just do zest at 5min.
 
Just tasted the wort and it is amazing. Probably will end up using the whole 1/2 pound. I want the flavor to be a little overwhelming at this point since I plan to age it. I am thinking after 8 months I will have about 15% of the original flavor from the oregano.
 
Randy_Bugger said:
This source says 2oz. of oregano for 45 minutes.

http://www.franklinbrew.org/wp/?page_id=120

I assume they brewed with it to make the recommendation.

That was dried oregano...

The normal cooking conversion for fresh to dry herbs is 1:3 by volume. I have a 2.75 container of dried oragano, volume is about 2 cups. Don't know what the volume of your oregano would be chopped, but if is in the range of 4-5 cups I guess it would be similar dose to the Franklinbrew 2oz dry...
 
Oregano - fun! It is difficult to predict what fermentation does to novel addtives. It could turn out good or become nasty. Nice to read that someone is trying to brew gruit, herbed beer without hops.

Only thing to watch for is spoilage because it has no hops. I do not know how long it might take to spoil.

My family has always liked cilantro (coriander), and the seeds are supposedly good in beer. I might split off a sub-batch and infuse it with cilantro leaves. These forums are inspiring.
 
Oregano - fun! It is difficult to predict what fermentation does to novel addtives. It could turn out good or become nasty. Nice to read that someone is trying to brew gruit, herbed beer without hops.

Only thing to watch for is spoilage because it has no hops. I do not know how long it might take to spoil.

My family has always liked cilantro (coriander), and the seeds are supposedly good in beer. I might split off a sub-batch and infuse it with cilantro leaves. These forums are inspiring.

I ended up adding 8 ounces of dry corn syrup and extra yeast, got so bitter it needed the extra sugars. Not worried about spoiling, the ABV should be high enough to prevent that.

Had no idea I was brewing gruit, but great to have a name for it, calling it "beer" at this point just didn't seem like the right word to use.


It was:
6 pounds 2-row malt
1 pound Crystal malt
about 3 pounds extra pale LME
8 ounces dry corn sugar
1/2 pound fresh oregano with stems added in intervals, starting at one hour(half of them) and going to the last 5 minutes. 1 hour(1/4 lb.), 30 minutes(1/16), 20 minutes(1/16), 10 minutes(1/16) and 5 minutes(1/16 lb).
US- 05 for the yeast

We'll see what happens. :p
 
An update on the oregano beer... Apparently oregano in large amounts kills yeast, even used as a home remedy in tea form to treat yeast infections in the body. Fermented actively 2-3 days and then the yeast was over and out. So I pitched more yeast, fermented actively for a couple more days, then the beer already started clearing up. That yeast is dead and out of there. I'll probably go ahead and bottle some of it Monday, by then I should be able to read the newspaper through it. Maybe I'll bottle all of it, if I add more yeast now, I'd have to add more sugars, the sugars it had are gone, getting quite bitter. If I can bottle it now and it works out, it will have been the fastest pitch to bottle I have ever done.
 
And a warning, apparently oregano in high doses is a GI irritant. I think the amount I used is at medicinal levels and no more than a glass a day is recommended. Though I doubt anyone will try making it, but if you do, don't drink it up all at once. The fermented wort is very, very tasty.
 
Just started my mash(reminder to self: ready at 3:45)and trying to plan it out in my head. 1/2 pound fresh oregano that goes into the boil at intervals, like you would with hops. No hops in this batch. Some of the oregano I trimmed was over-do and very bitter. Also the stems are more bitter than "think pizza". Kind of worried about a half pound, probably way too much, but the way the flavors go away over time, at some point it should be darn good. And, go great with pizza!!
Just started my mash(reminder to self: ready at 3:45)and trying to plan it out in my head. 1/2 pound fresh oregano that goes into the boil at intervals, like you would with hops. No hops in this batch. Some of the oregano I trimmed was over-do and very bitter. Also the stems are more bitter than "think pizza". Kind of worried about a half pound, probably way too much, but the way the flavors go away over time, at some point it should be darn good. And, go great with pizza!!

Just started my mash(reminder to self: ready at 3:45)and trying to plan it out in my head. 1/2 pound fresh oregano that goes into the boil at intervals, like you would with hops. No hops in this batch. Some of the oregano I trimmed was over-do and very bitter. Also the stems are more bitter than "think pizza". Kind of worried about a half pound, probably way too much, but the way the flavors go away over time, at some point it should be darn good. And, go great with pizza!!
Just finished a gallon of gruit using 2 oz. of oregano (wild marjoram) [Origanum vulgare] steeped in 2 qts. of water for 30 minutes, and combined it with 1/2 gallon of boiled wort of 1/2 lb. light LME and 3/4 lb. raw sugar. Also added yeast nutrient. Used Voos Kviek yeast, and it finished in 18 hrs., but I left it in the fermenter until all the yeast had settled out and good clarity. Started at 1.045 and ended at 1.010, about 4.5% abv. Sampled it today, after a week in the bottle, and the taste is similar to brews I've made with coriander and wild carrot seeds. It is orangey with a nicely bitter aftertaste. Very good, but I shall want to improve it with maltier wort and hops/other herbs. I am fond of both Lost Coast Tangerine and Pyramid Apricot Ales, so perhaps this will be the next direction of my brewing adventures.
 
Back
Top