The idea behind this beer was to create something that my wife enjoys. At the end of the day she loves a good tea so I made a Belgian Wit ale with hibiscus, lavender, and chamomile. Here is the recipe.
Appearance: Pours golden in color and hazy. Big frothy foam for a head that sticks around for a while, undoubtedly due to 50% wheat malt in the beer. Surprisingly not as red as I expected and suggests more hibiscus could be used.
Nose: Soft and delicate malt presence followed by freshly harvested lavender that is not too strong. Some spicy phenols in the background as well which could be from the yeast. The lavender and malt mingle nicely.
Taste: Chamomile is upfront and then gives way floral type of spice. The taste is hard to describe but the beer is not sweet and there is no indication that I added any hibiscus. Bakers dough, wheat, and a slight nuttiness is present. The chamomile is very assertive in the taste. Medium bodied with an agressive carbonation.
Overall: Since this brew was for my wife, Kim, her verdict: “Good. Different, but good”. I have come to appreciate Kim’s palate and I’ll take this as a success. I love the beer and it reminds me of sleepy-time tea with a malty background. The spices are subtle enough that its hard to pick out individual flavors. A few friends of mine were expecting the individual flavors to pop more, especially the hibiscus. Next time around, I might add more spices to the beer and even dry-spice it.
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