Basil and lemon Saison

[Fuzzbald]

Just bottled my Basil and Lemon Zest Saison. I brewed a 2 gallon batch and the photo is straight from the fv.
3kg lager malt
1.5 hr mash at 64 c
1.5 hr boil
60g Syrian Goldings pellets for full boil
20g Hallertau pellets for 30 mins
12 basil leaves and zest of 1 lemon for 10 mins
Saison yeast

It came out at 1080 og and went down to 10000, so a bit of a beast!

Tasting from the fv it should be tongue curling dry with nice hop balance, and a nice zest and basil flavour coming through on the aftertaste. I primed with 75g of granulated sugar to keep a neutral dryness.

I’ll post in a few weeks how it finished, but should be a great one for knocking folk over at the end of sunny barbecues!

 

[Oneflewover]

Interesting. I was brewing last Saturday and whilst opening the kitchen window noticed how the aroma of the basil plant on the windowsill complemented the smell of the boiling wort.

 

[Fuzzbald]

That’s basically what led me to this experiment. I wanted a nice summery beer with an interesting hint of herb in there. With basil being so pungent I left it until the end of the boil, and it seems to be spot on! I’ve got a weaker version fermenting now made from 2kg lager malt and with the juice of 1 lemon and zest of half an orange in there too. Should come out around 5.5 to 6% ish.

 

[xozzx]

Sounds like an interesting one... Ill wait your feedback and might give this a try myself

 

[Fuzzbald]

Update: i’ve Just cracked one which has had only a week in the bottle (as I’m sure most of us do out of curiosity...).
I’m very happy with this one! Nice malty, citrus hit drying out to a refreshing hoppiness with a herby, basil after taste. Almost exactly what I was aiming for. Still a slight haze, obviously after just a week, and a promising tight , fine head.
This may well become a regular summer brew!

Cheers!

 

[Clint]

What ibu is that?

 

[Fuzzbald]

What ibu is that?

According to Hopsteiner around the 80 mark. Heavy grain bill so not massively bitter.

 

[rats_eyes]

I've never tried basil in a saison, but a lemon zest saison I made a few years back was the best I've ever made. If this is a winner I might try something similar!

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[Fuzzbald]

I've never tried basil in a saison, but a lemon zest saison I made a few years back was the best I've ever made. If this is a winner I might try something similar!

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As stated above, it was the smell of brewing with cooking with basil that led me to the idea. Once I decided on the basil I thought “Lemon goes with basil.” And decided on the zest for the oils rather than the acid sharpness. I’ll leave the rest for a couple more weeks, but the early taste was rather fine and has that deceptive Belgian trick of tasting around the 6% mark whilst being way stronger!

 

[rats_eyes]

Sounds like a winner to me

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[Alex.mc]

Would you adjust the Basil leaf count up or down with hidsight? or leave it where it is?
Were the leaves dropped in whole or crushed? As crushed basil is very aromatic?

Sounds lovely, may well give it a try!

 

[Fuzzbald]

Would you adjust the Basil leaf count up or down with hidsight? or leave it where it is?
Were the leaves dropped in whole or crushed? As crushed basil is very aromatic?

Sounds lovely, may well give it a try!

It came out pretty much as I intended, with just a light hint of basil coming through in the aftertaste. I just threw the whole leaves in, but may experiment with crushed next time to up the flavour and aroma. I’d leave the basil leaf count where it is for my taste, as I don’t want a pungent flavour dominating.

 

[JebKerman]

Just bottled my Basil and Lemon Zest Saison. I brewed a 2 gallon batch and the photo is straight from the fv.
3kg lager malt
1.5 hr mash at 64 c
1.5 hr boil
60g Syrian Goldings pellets for full boil
20g Hallertau pellets for 30 mins
12 basil leaves and zest of 1 lemon for 10 mins
Saison yeast

It came out at 1080 og and went down to 10000, so a bit of a beast!

Tasting from the fv it should be tongue curling dry with nice hop balance, and a nice zest and basil flavour coming through on the aftertaste. I primed with 75g of granulated sugar to keep a neutral dryness.

I’ll post in a few weeks how it finished, but should be a great one for knocking folk over at the end of sunny barbecues!

That looks amazing

 

[divrack]

sounds good. I'd probably be inclined to put basil into the keg as from cooking I find the flavor has zero heat tolerance. defo think the flavor combo is good though. french saison yeast?

 

[Fuzzbald]

sounds good. I'd probably be inclined to put basil into the keg as from cooking I find the flavor has zero heat tolerance. defo think the flavor combo is good though. french saison yeast?

Might be worth a try. “Dry Basil-ing”...
Yes, French saison yeast, can’t remember the exact make.

 

[Fuzzbald]

Just trying it on a nice sunny day here in the Midlands. It’s had a few weeks in the bottle and has come out reasonably well carbonated, with a good, tight head. Pretty clear, although the photo doesn’t do it justice.

Lovely spicy saison flavours, refreshing but with a good pokey punch to it! Nice dryness with a citrus hint early on and the basil coming through in the (very) dry aftertaste.

I’m in love with this one!

 

[divrack]

I have a good load of French saison yeast from a spruce buds/tips and primrose number I did that turned out good. might make this with Thai basil in the dry plus Thai lime leaves

 

[Fuzzbald]

I have a good load of French saison yeast from a spruce buds/tips and primrose number I did that turned out good. might make this with Thai basil in the dry plus Thai lime leaves

Thai basil did cross my mind actually. Maybe an experiment for next year...

 

[JebKerman]

How much water did you use for the 2 gallon batch? Also, would the hop profile and basil work for a 3 gallon batch?

 

[Fuzzbald]

How much water did you use for the 2 gallon batch? Also, would the hop profile and basil work for a 3 gallon batch?

I mashed with 6.5 litres then sparked up to about 11 litres for the boil. I did top up with around a pint from the kettle during the boil though, as it was looking a bit low! (I’m a bit old school with my methods and tend to guess things more than I probably should. My philosophy is that brewers of old probably just slung stuff in and still made good beer!) I see no reason why the hop profile and basil shouldn’t scale up for a 3 gallon batch.