Another beer brewed, another lesson learned. Hey kids! Go easy on the herb, ‘kay? Even though Crazy Uncle Gary says it’s no problem and he lets you pour coke into your Froot Loops instead of milk, a little fine herb goes a long way. No, no, I’m talking about real herbs, not the kind you can get down at the banana stand on the boardwalk. I’m talking about fresh rosemary and fresh lemongrass. I ruined my nice wheat ale by putting in too much lemongrass and including it in the mash AND boil so the second time around I made a nice saison and brewed a single cup of rosemary tea with two small sprigs of fresh Tuscan Blue rosemary from our garden. Added with a cup of honey I thought it would be a nice subtle touch to the spicy and peppery saison. FAIL! Now I know that for a 1-gallon batch you should be thinking of adjunct herbs in the low single digit weight in grams. A few leaves of fresh rosemary brewed in with boiling water and added to the fermenter in small doses until the flavor is right, that is the correct way to do it. Now Uncle F#@k-Up knows the right way to add flavor so your saison is a honey-rosemary saison and not a rosemary-rosemary rosemary. But I’m still thinking another week or two in the fridge will mellow it. And honestly, it’s still tasty.
Writer, architect, father, husband.