Description
Beautiful and fragrant, lavender has a distinctive and well-known aroma. It’s well known for calming properties, remedying tension headaches, and relieving stress, anxiety and depression.
It’s use in both beers and gin should be restrained, to avoid the lavender overwhelming and tasting like grandma’s soap.
In kombucha, try a few buds with some blackberries (or blueberries) in secondary fermentation.
In beer, try adding at approximately 15g/20L batch late in the boil or at flame-out in beers such as wheat, saison or honey ale. The usual range is 12-28g per 20L.
As a gin botanical, lavender should be used sparingly to avoid pungent soapy tastes. Used in small amounts, it’s best added to the pot at last minute (not steeped prior to distilling), and can provide a rich aroma that bounces off other spicy botanicals. As a bath-tub gin, infuse 1.5 teaspoons of lavender flowers in a 750ml bottle of gin for about 24 hours (or to taste) - delicious in lemony cocktails.
