I’m trying to work up a Hibiscus Wit recipe for my fiancee, inspired by the Rosee d’hibiscus ale by Dieu du Ciel. I purchased an ounce of dried hibiscus flowers from a spice shop recently, but I wasn’t sure how much to use. Does anyone have any experience with a beer like this?
My thinking so far is to do a relatively low gravity beer, maybe 5% ABV, mash a little high to leave some residual sugar, maybe 45% wheat malt, 45% pilsner, 10% oats. Ferment with WLP 400 Belgian Wit.
Any suggestions on how much hibiscus to add, whether to use coriander and/or orange peel in addition, any other spices, any other tips?
along the same lines as adding any other spices, you can always add more later… you can’t take away.
Hibiscus is a delicate flavor that I think would go best after the bulk of fermentation has happened. Take a few samples of the beer and add incremental amounts of the spice. Perhaps the dried flowers soaked in vodka.
I would be tempted to add a bunch, mostly because I love hisbiscus. Drinking my hibiscus tea now…
The rosee d’hibiscus is a very good beer with a pronounced hibiscus aroma and flavor. Perhaps they put some flowers in at whirlpool for flavor then dosed it again prior to bottling for aroma?
oh, do add coriander/orange peel, but do so rather sparingly. it would quickly cover up the hibiscus I think. but some orange/citrus notes in the background would be very complimentary. (My hibiscus tea has orange peel, mango, and lemongrass in with it and it is quite harmonious)
A possible starting point could be 5 grams coriander, 5 grams orange peel, 10 grams hibiscus added at flameout and steep for 10min or so.
1oz argentine cascade @ 60 min
1oz argentine cascade @ 1 min
WLP 400 Belgian Wit yeast
.5oz hibiscus @ 5 min
and an as yet to be determined amount of coriander and orange peel at 5 min also. Will steep the remaining .5 oz of hibiscus in vodka and add back in to taste at bottling. FYI, this is my Learn to Homebrew Day demonstration beer. Or as we like to call it in southwest VA - “Learn a Friend to Homebrew Day.”
As a general ROT, I notice that vanilla will get the olfactory kicked off to a great start
and that a little vanilla will accentuate the spice you are trying to brew with. It pairs so
well with chocolate that you do not notice the vanilla but the chocolate is resounding
and forward…
I wound up going with the whole ounce in the last 5 minutes of the boil, because the initial half ounce didn’t look like much next to my other spices (5g coriander, 1.5g chamomile, 2 tbsp blood orange spread). I still think it’s going to take more, as it’s not very pink yet. Smells delicious but the chamomile seems to dominate. If I can find some I’ll add more at bottling.
I came to this forum as a result of searching for recipes for a hibiscus-beer and I got very interested in your recipe, I want to ask you - how did it taste in the end? What did you assume, was the amount of hibiscus you took, to much, or too little? =D
I brew a hibiscus saison from time to time, and I’ve settled on 0.6 oz/gallon for my hibiscus dosing rate. It gives a nice pink color, a bit of tartness (that really goes well with WY3711), and just the right amount of hibiscus flavor for my tastes. I’ve tried it at 1 oz/gallon, but the hibiscus was a bit too much and I scaled it back.
Thanks fot the quick and helpful reply! Do you boil the hibiscus in, instead of hops? I have big trouble getting hands on hops other then wild ones in my country (Georgia) and are looking for available alternatives =D
I brewed up a Hibiscus Wit a few years back. It worked very well. Just brew a super-concentrated liter and add it to the keg or at bottling. It gave my beer a pleasant pink color.
