How to use Hibiscus in your Brewing Process

Is brewing an hibiscus beer on your bucket ‘brew’ list? It’s definitely on mine…

This article will give you the advice & tips you need to brew your very own hibiscus styled beer at home!

I’ve brewed a large variety of styles in my time as a homebrewer, however an hibiscus styled beer is yet to hit my brewhouse! So recently I was pleased to find an inboxed message from a member of my Instagram community looking for advice on how to tackle this style.

QUESTION:

However, with my limited (zero) experience using hibiscus I knew I wasn’t the man to help out. So I put the call out to my Instagram community to share their own advice on how to best use hibiscus in the brewhouse.

Here’s the shared advice & tips on how to best use Hibiscus in your brewing process:

• HOPKINGS: “I just used hibiscus in a tart Saison. I used 3/4 lbs of organic dried hibiscus flowers in the boil for 15 minutes. Good luck! Cheers!”
• DUHVEED13: “I brew a Hibiscus Saison every spring. I’ve found the most successful application is to get a high quality tea and steep 2.5 ounces after the boil is complete. Cool the wort to around 170 deg f and steep for 15 minutes. The beer has a color similar to that of Hawaiian Punch and just the right amount of tartness from the Hibiscus.”
• DJPANKDO: “I made one red ale with this flower. First I made a kind of strong tea with it and added the desired amount to the end of the boil. You also need to reduce the hop amount due to the bitter flavor of hibiscus.”
• JUSTINHILL32: “I just made a Hibiscus IPA. I put 4 oz of dried flowers in at flame out. Then took 4 oz in a mason jar and covered it with boiling water. Let that cool to room temperature and added it to the beer with one week to go before being kegged. That go a deep red color and also added a lot of tartness. May be good for a sour?”
• GALVEZ85: “I just made a Hibiscus IPA with Pilsner and Vienna grains. Added 4 oz with 8 minutes left in the boil and went heavy on the dry hopping.”
• MELIEP85: “Once upon a time we did Hibiscus in a Saison. We had a trash bag (yeah I know, great measurement lol) of fresh Hibiscus. We put it in after the boil and extracted all the color and some of the floral notes did translate into the flavor of the beer.”
• JUNQUEIRAMATEUS: “For a 20L recipe, my study group added 75 g at 10 minutes in the boil and 75 g between fermentation and maturation.”
• HAWLEYTIM: “I make a tea with the blossoms and add it prior to kegging or bottling (4–8 oz). My favorite is a Hibiscus Saison.”

Thanks for reading! ❤️

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