I’m going to brew an IPA on Friday, in which I will use Juniper berries. According to s cheatsheet I found on using spices in brewing it says to use .2 ounces in five gallons at 60 minutes. What it doesn’t say is whether the berries are whole, cracked, ground or what. Someone who has used Juniper berries please let me know how you used them and how it turned out.
Have you had a juniper beer before? I tried one a friend made. Based on that example I would say the less you use the better. Zero would be optimum. But that’s just me
Yeah I’m trying to do a clone of Pine in the Neck, brewed by the Blue Moon Brewing Co. I contacted them and they gave me an ingredient list, but nothing more specific. I hope I don’t end up wasting 5 gallons!
I bet the amount is very little.
Can you describe the flavor that you found objectionable? 2/10ths of an ounce is pretty small - especially if left as whole berries.
According to my online research the consensus is that Juniper berries impart a piney, resinous and slightly sweet flavor. This is what I am looking for - a compliment to piney, resinous hops. A few sites say that one can use up to an ounce (!) in five gallons at 15 minutes. Everyone that I read recommends crushing the berries.
I am still open to input… up to Friday noon anyway.
Maybe brew a 1-gallon test batch first? I’ve kicked around the thought before, but never went ahead with it. Keep us posted on your results.
It’s probably just me but juniper always smells of cat box to me.
Rock the cat box… Rock the cat box
Maybe the neighborhood kitties are using your bushes to do their business. When I smell juniper berries all I smell is gin.
Cracked. That’s how I use it in cooking.
Agreed. I feel the same way about spruce.
why dont you put them in whole and then before fermentation test the beer, if its not juniper enough for you then put some cracked one in secondary? 2c
Agreed on both counts. Not a fan of either.
+1 on juniper berries belonging in the gin basket with the rest of the gin botanicals, cassia, orange peel, angelica, anise, and coriander. At least that’s my lineup at this point, but I’m still fine tuning it.
I am curious about what kind of juniper berries folks use? Do you buy them or collect them?
Around here, we have two species of juniper, and the berries are quite different.
The rocky mountain juniper has nice juicy berries, but the Utah juniper has a mostly dry berry.
wow, amazing what you can have delivered to your home these days.
juniper berries AND organic dried sour cherries!
No yuzu rind? ???
Comes in handy when you live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
I buy mine - we have something that looks like juniper in the yard, but some arborists told me it is a kind of cedar. I’m somewhat cautious when it comes to harvesting stuff without positive identification - if it’s something I shouldn’t use, bad taste is a best case.