Mint in beer

[BrewStew]

While looking at my pack of mint seeds i intend on planting this weekend... I suddenly thought of something whacky:

Mint Imperial Stout

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I reckon a very slight minty taste could give it something interesting..... or maybe something nasty :sick: :lol: but i think it's worth a go

so my question is.... is there anything I should be wary of when adding fresh Mint leaves for the boil? is there any sharp and nasty tastes I can extract from boiling too long? and how much do you think I need for literally just a hint... i think it'll be nasty if the mintyness is at the front of the flavour.. I want it just as an aftertaste.

 

[tubby_shaw]

:hmm: I think that has got to be a candidate for a 1 gallon batch
Sounds interesting and I agree that it'll be either great :party: or a complete disaster :sick:

But whatever you decide,

Keep the name :rofl:

 

[BrewStew]

unfortunately If cant get my 10L (2 gallon) brewery bought, built and running before the mint is ready for pickings, this baby will have to be run on the 5 gallon brewery :?

I'm sure i'm not the first to come up with the name, but i thought it was rather good :thumb:

 

[trunky]

Mint is simply wrong :sick:

 

[jamesb]

Have you ever cleaned your teeth then gone for a beer? :sick:

 

[Aleman]

And don't forget the chocolate, chillies, Marshmallows, Peanut butter and jam really interesting flavour there :sick:

 

[BrewStew]

thanks for the support guys :lol:

i like a challenge... i'm still gunna do it.

if Ruddle's Rhubarb works, Mint Imperial Stout must stand a chance! :pray:

 

[percival]

With so many different varieties of mint around, and a wide variety of flavours, this is an experiment you could run every year for a very long time! But a first stab should let you know if there is any chance of a good beer.

I used a mug full of lightly packed leaves only to make 1/2 gallon of wine. The mint flavour is definately there but its subtle and far from overpowering. I extracted the flavour by covering the leaves in freshly boiled water, covering, and allowing to steep for an hour. Then decanted off the liquor and squeezed the leaves. Repeated the process once. Used the liquor in the brew and discarded the spent leaves. I avoided the stems, washed the leaves first of course. I reckon if you used less than this quantity then you simply wouldn't taste the mint at all in a stout. Sorry i can't give a better measurement for the amount, it was a very experimental brew - proof of concept to myself - and i didn't make accurate notes.

Mint and chocolate go very well together, especially bitter dark chocolate, so i see where your inspiration could have come from. I think mint has all sorts of medicinal qualities, including being something like an antiseptic, so chances are its just a case of whether the flavours will work together and no worries about odd unexpected taints (my wine has got a very slightly earthy taste to it, almost imperceptible, but i doubt you would get that come through in a robust stout flavour .... and i don't know if the mint caused it anyway). Good luck!

 

[BrewStew]

thanks Perci :thumb:

i'm tempted to run a few trial runs on the hobs in the kitchen with a small amount of water, and experiment with different amounts, for different boil times and steeping times to figure out how minty it gets before i add it to wort

 

[Wez]

Didn't one of the guys from ICB do a Choc-Mint Stout and then served it up to Oz & James? Might be worth checking on there :thumb:

 

[BrewStew]

oh yeah!

that's a cracking shout mate... i'll look into it :thumb:

 

[percival]

not sure if i would boil the mint, rather just steep it.

and another thought, you will have plenty of unfermented sugars in your stout which will enhance flavours, more so than in wine i reckon. So perhaps you'll need less mint because of this. Even if you get no flavour you may still get that cooling sensation associated with many mints.

 

[BrewStew]

fair point P.... better to have too little than too much