Rosemary Gruit : Mash in!

[Symbiote]

Just mashed in a Rosemary Gruit.

The grain bill is 7 lbs Breiss 2-row pale malt and 1.5 oz. dried rosemary.

Decided to split the rosemary up into 1 oz. for mashing with the grain, and .5 oz. to be added 5 minutes from the end of the boil.

I am doing BIAB and not using a mash tun, just mashing in the boiler. It is on low heat now to keep the temp up. When mashing is done I'll lift the bag out and let it drain into the boiler and then fire it up.

Pics soon.

 

[Symbiote]

The mashtun/boiler:

The grain bill:

Mash in:

 

[Symbiote]

The rosemary seems to have had a clarifying effect.

Stuff started settling out almost as soon as the boil stopped.

When it was cooled and racked into the carboy, everything was flowing pretty clear.

It is in the milk crate now, waiting to find a warm spot inside. A bedroom closet maybe?

Can't get a pic now, the wife is asleep and my phone is in the bedroom. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[COLObrewer]

Interesting, keep us updated on this one please. What yeast?

 

[Symbiote]

The yeast is Danstar ale yeast.

The wort is very dark colored, too. The last ale I made was an IPA and even with a little caramel it was a medium reddish-brown color.

This batch has no caramel and it is very dark, much darker than the previous batch.

Everything settled to the bottom very quickly. Wonder if rosemary works as a clarifying agent?

 

[Symbiote]

Wow, fermentation is going nuts.

The airlock has been oozing foam for the past 2 nights. Finally slowed down enough to clean and re-insert the airlock, and it did it again.

The headspace is a little short

There is a definite rosemary taste to the foam. Yum.

 

[Cevarius]

Any updates?

 

[BK1017]

Very cool! Please keep us updated on this. My folks have a ton of rosemary bushes and I've often thought about utilizing that supply.

 

[Symbiote]

Adding the rosemary during the mash turned out to be a mistake.

Lacto like crazy. It was very tangy, and not the vinegary sort.

Should have added it during the boil

 

[SIXFOOTER]

So is it fit to drink?

 

[motobrewer]

huh? you boiled after mashing, right? that would kill the lacto.

lacto is also in grain...

 

[Symbiote]

So is it fit to drink?

The rosemary taste was present, but not overpowering.

If not for the sourness, it would have been a good beer.

The sour taste was consistent with publicly available information about lactic acid bacteria.

Looking back, it seems like wild rosemary steeped in a sugar/starch solution at 160 degrees for an hour is not made of win. I feel dumb.

 

[motobrewer]

the infection had to come from somewhere post-boil.

 

[COLObrewer]

The rosemary taste was present, but not overpowering.

If not for the sourness, it would have been a good beer.

The sour taste was consistent with publicly available information about lactic acid bacteria.

Looking back, it seems like wild rosemary steeped in a sugar/starch solution at 160 degrees for an hour is not made of win. I feel dumb.

Hmmm, wasn't this boiled after the steeping? If so, (as others have said) any infection would be contracted after that and in no way due to the rosemary.