I know that coriander makes a nice adjunct to certain brews. Has anyone ever tried using cilantro (the herb/plant from which coriander seed is derived)? I have hundreds of plants, and the notion hit me as I was wondering what to do with it all. Perhaps in a wheat beer along with some orange peel in the secondary fermenter?
Sounds interesting. Maybe throw some jalapeno in? Call it "The Salsa" Possibly a light Mexican lager.
The amount of cilantro I would think would be important.
Oh My Goodness! Curry Beer. SW
AFAIK cilantro is just another name for coriander. Here (UK) we call the herb and the seeds coriander. I thought it's an American/British thing.
Wasn't coriander used before hops came to Europe?
Cilantro == the leafy plant Coriander == the seeds from that plant
(at least here in the Americas)
They taste pretty differently to me, and considering that the leafy Cilantro tends to turn to black slime in the presence of acid I don't know about chucking a bunch in some beer. Sounds pretty awful to me, but I suppose you never know!
_Randal
Bill,
I've used cilantro in beer before, but it was about 15 years ago, so I don't recall the exact recipe.
In addition to cilantro, I added 12 home grown jalapenos, 1 onion, and a single cherry tomatoe (the tomatoe was so that i was in compliance with international salsa laws).
I do not recall the amount of cilantro, but if forced to guess, I would say 2 or 3 of those big bunches worth that they sell at the grocery store.
I have no recolection of the base beer, but wheat sounds like an excellent idea.
Very tastey, but too hot to drink more than a few mouthfuls at a time. Mixed very will with tomatoe juice though.
b.
Bill O'Meally wrote:
Rogue is selling a chipotle brew. I'll be sure not to mention curry, or that'll be next.
Eello>
At what stage did you add the herbs and Jalapenos? Pre or post boil/fermentation?
I havent heard that but i did hear of Yarrow (yellow flowering plant) and spruce tips being used...
How about a Chili American Pilsner with a 30% flaked corn as adjunct with pale lager malt cilantro light Chilis.....cascade hops... add lemon later...
The main problem I see is that they taste nothing like each other. I do a fairly large amount of cooking and never replace one for the other.
DragonTail281"
Does it? I've used it in salsas which are pretty acidic, and it retains its nice green color. Certainly the tomato base is more acidic than beer?
I don't
I've seen worse things thrown into a batch of homebrew! Nope, you never do know. I'm gonna give it a try, and I'll be sure to share the results with the group. :-)
If memory serves, it was all added during the last 5 minutes of the boil.
b.
Sim> At what stage did you add the herbs and Jalapenos? Pre or post
Yeah - I own a business called Chapman Chile wherein we use copious amounts of the stuff. If you have it in fresh salsa for a day or two it's fine, but give it a week or so and it turns really nasty. Just be sure to pull it out before then.
_Randal
Yeah - I own a business called Chapman Chile wherein we use copious amounts of the stuff. If you have it in fresh salsa for a day or two it's fine, but give it a week or so and it turns really nasty. Just be sure to pull it out before then.
_Randal
In the UK they're referred to as 'Coriander' and 'Coriander seed' respectively.
I've heard of the leaf being used in secondaries in a similar manner to dry hopping - I've not tried it but I think it might work best if the leaves were dried, at least partly, in advance.
I'm interested in hearing back about the results too, BTW.
Ewan
I can vouch for that; a good thought. Maybe a hop bag and 2 days in the secondary. The flavor would no doubt come out in 2 days. I'd be concerned with sanitation though. Cilantro seems to loose its flavor when cooked, so I don't think blanching/pasteurizing or boiling would be the way to go. Would soaking it in a sanitizer be good?
HAL 9000 :
Cilantro works as a fresh garnish in soups and stuff, but it's flavor is transitory. After a couple days in the fridge, it might as well be italian parsley.
Maybe a short steep of fresh cilantro in finished beer would be a good way to capture the flavor -- along the lines of using lime or lemon.
Scott S
Sounds more along the lines of mint in Pimms or Mint Julep...
DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.