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Peppermint or Spearmint?

B

bobo1898

Grandmaster Brewer
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Hey all, putting together an All Grain Mint Chocolate Milk Stout for the holidays.  Has anyone used either peppermint or spearmint leaves in their brew?

I was going to toss the leaves into secondary and then rack on top for a couple weeks.  I don't want something that's harsh, but perhaps a subtleness.
 
Split the batch up into smaller secondaries. Try it several different ways. Let us know what worked best. It's only beer.
 
That's a great idea!  Unfortunately my fermenters are in use at the moment, except for the one for this batch.  Maybe I'll wait til one is available, otherwise I'll take a leap of faith in one of these leaves.

Thanks for the feedback.  I'll have to invest in a couple 3 gallon carboys for the future.  It's a great plan for experimenting.
 
I've never used either in a beer, but I have used them in a mead.  I found the spearmint to give a grassy/vegetal flavor, while my experience with peppermint is that it very easy to over flavor with peppermint to the point it takes on a medicinal flavor.

Good Luck with your recipe.
 
My Christmas Beer (Choc Candy Cane Porter) Will get Candy Canes for flavoring. 

No off oils to screw with the beer. Fresh leaves contain oils and should be added to the wort to kill anything funky on them. The heat will change the fresh flavor of the mints and pull more than just the flavors you want out. There's all kinds of bitters in fresh mints. Mint Extracts are also another way to go.

As others has said break it up and test. Grab some 1 gal bottles and try 5 diff methods. 
 
I went with fresh mint from the local grocery store.  They didn't have any other option.  I assumed you could just buy fresh leaves of either mint but I was wrong so I had no time to order dried spearmint online.  The fresh mint from the store looked like spearmint leaves but I don't know.

We'll see how it turns out.  It's been conditioning for a week and a half.  Coincidentally it should be ready by Thanksgiving, but we'll see if it needs more time.
 
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