kanzimonson
Well-Known Member
I've made several basil beers at this point so I thought I'd share some methodology for future brewers doing some research.
Most of the basil beers I've made have been going for a Basil IPA kind of thing. Typically I've leaned towards an imperial red ale, but I've made them slightly paler as well, and one time made an American wheat beer. If you like the pairing of crystal malts with hoppy beers, a Basil IPA is down your alley. A typical grain bill would be something like:
Base malt - Choose what you like here. Two-row for clean malt, Maris Otter for bready, etc. I usually do all Maris, or an even blend of Maris and two-row.
"Other" base malt - I use wheat in many of my beers, from 5-20%. Munich/vienna would be another nice touch up to maybe 10%
Crystal malt - 0-12% is about my range, usually focusing on about 4-8%. American and English crystals are both nice. I usually use two different varieties, like a 40L and 90L.
Toast - Aromatic, biscuit, victory, go for it. Just consider your toast malts in conjunction with using other bready malts like Maris and Munich.
Roast - Maybe up to 1% just for some color, and sometimes I use pale chocolate for that dark bread crust flavor.
For hopping, I go for typical bittering levels.
Now for the exciting stuff. The most important advice I have is basil variety. I have only used fresh sweet basil, and I think this is ideal. I feel this is the representative flavor that people have in their minds when they think of basil. I have a friend who made a basil pilsener with Italian basil and it tasted like a sausage, blechh! You could probably do a lemon basil or thai or something, but again I go back to that "archetypal flavor" that people are probably thinking of.
I've approached "basiling" like hopping. First, I always use fresh basil from the garden (or local hydroponic gardening store!). Second, I define my basil additions in terms of number of "stems." A stem to me is a stalk of the plant about 6-8 inches long, with 3-5 clusters of leaves on it.
I've used two techniques for basil additions. One has been somewhat of a continuous addition throughout the end of the boil: in the last part of the boil, every 5 minutes I have thrown in 3-5 stems of basil.
But recently I've switched all of my late hopping methods to one large whirlpool addition at flameout. I then hot whirlpool for 30 minutes before beginning to chill. If needed, I'll even add more heat to stay in the 180-212 range. I've incorporated basil the same way.
Most of my basil beers have been OG 1.065-1.080, with an SRM between 10-18. Most of that color is coming from crystal malts as I outlined above so hopefully that gives you a flavor description to work from. In a 6gal batch, typical hopping/basiling would be something 10-20 stems of basil along with 1-3 ounces of hops.
I've used Centennial in every basil beer I've made - I think it has the most complementary hop flavors with its bubblegum, very light citrus, and that cooling vanilla thing. I haven't gone crazy citrusy with the hops but I think it could work. Northern Brewer is a great addition - it's almost basily itself. Chinook gives me a pineapple thing, and Citra (and other tropical hops) work nicely.
So the question is how much to use for a certain pungency. Using 20 stems makes for a very strongly flavored beer - you have to love basil to use this much. It's almost perfume-like in its pungency, but some people will feel it brings too much vegetal flavors. I do like basil a lot, but I have settled into a 12 stem addition to hit the middle of the road, along with 2 ounces of hops. This makes for a noticeable basil contribution while letting the hops shine as well. If you want something more subtle, try 6-10 stems.
I haven't "dry-basiled" and I'm a little reluctant to because of contamination. Don't worry, you'll get plenty out of a late or whirlpool addition that you won't feel like you're missing something. In a way, it's almost like the basil is less volatile than hop aromas. Or said another way, the aroma you get from a flavor-hop addition is less aroma than that of a flavor-basil addition. Does that make sense?
Some final considerations - I think you can still mostly take your cues from how you brew other hoppy beers. You don't need to make it any more/less fermentable for any reason, or leave lots of dextrins in the final beer. Maybe I skew the chloride/sulfate ratio closer to balanced rather than bitter but this is probably irrelevant.
Happy brewing, I'm happy to answer any questions!
Most of the basil beers I've made have been going for a Basil IPA kind of thing. Typically I've leaned towards an imperial red ale, but I've made them slightly paler as well, and one time made an American wheat beer. If you like the pairing of crystal malts with hoppy beers, a Basil IPA is down your alley. A typical grain bill would be something like:
Base malt - Choose what you like here. Two-row for clean malt, Maris Otter for bready, etc. I usually do all Maris, or an even blend of Maris and two-row.
"Other" base malt - I use wheat in many of my beers, from 5-20%. Munich/vienna would be another nice touch up to maybe 10%
Crystal malt - 0-12% is about my range, usually focusing on about 4-8%. American and English crystals are both nice. I usually use two different varieties, like a 40L and 90L.
Toast - Aromatic, biscuit, victory, go for it. Just consider your toast malts in conjunction with using other bready malts like Maris and Munich.
Roast - Maybe up to 1% just for some color, and sometimes I use pale chocolate for that dark bread crust flavor.
For hopping, I go for typical bittering levels.
Now for the exciting stuff. The most important advice I have is basil variety. I have only used fresh sweet basil, and I think this is ideal. I feel this is the representative flavor that people have in their minds when they think of basil. I have a friend who made a basil pilsener with Italian basil and it tasted like a sausage, blechh! You could probably do a lemon basil or thai or something, but again I go back to that "archetypal flavor" that people are probably thinking of.
I've approached "basiling" like hopping. First, I always use fresh basil from the garden (or local hydroponic gardening store!). Second, I define my basil additions in terms of number of "stems." A stem to me is a stalk of the plant about 6-8 inches long, with 3-5 clusters of leaves on it.
I've used two techniques for basil additions. One has been somewhat of a continuous addition throughout the end of the boil: in the last part of the boil, every 5 minutes I have thrown in 3-5 stems of basil.
But recently I've switched all of my late hopping methods to one large whirlpool addition at flameout. I then hot whirlpool for 30 minutes before beginning to chill. If needed, I'll even add more heat to stay in the 180-212 range. I've incorporated basil the same way.
Most of my basil beers have been OG 1.065-1.080, with an SRM between 10-18. Most of that color is coming from crystal malts as I outlined above so hopefully that gives you a flavor description to work from. In a 6gal batch, typical hopping/basiling would be something 10-20 stems of basil along with 1-3 ounces of hops.
I've used Centennial in every basil beer I've made - I think it has the most complementary hop flavors with its bubblegum, very light citrus, and that cooling vanilla thing. I haven't gone crazy citrusy with the hops but I think it could work. Northern Brewer is a great addition - it's almost basily itself. Chinook gives me a pineapple thing, and Citra (and other tropical hops) work nicely.
So the question is how much to use for a certain pungency. Using 20 stems makes for a very strongly flavored beer - you have to love basil to use this much. It's almost perfume-like in its pungency, but some people will feel it brings too much vegetal flavors. I do like basil a lot, but I have settled into a 12 stem addition to hit the middle of the road, along with 2 ounces of hops. This makes for a noticeable basil contribution while letting the hops shine as well. If you want something more subtle, try 6-10 stems.
I haven't "dry-basiled" and I'm a little reluctant to because of contamination. Don't worry, you'll get plenty out of a late or whirlpool addition that you won't feel like you're missing something. In a way, it's almost like the basil is less volatile than hop aromas. Or said another way, the aroma you get from a flavor-hop addition is less aroma than that of a flavor-basil addition. Does that make sense?
Some final considerations - I think you can still mostly take your cues from how you brew other hoppy beers. You don't need to make it any more/less fermentable for any reason, or leave lots of dextrins in the final beer. Maybe I skew the chloride/sulfate ratio closer to balanced rather than bitter but this is probably irrelevant.
Happy brewing, I'm happy to answer any questions!
