Brewing with flowers

[kugeman]

Anyone out there ever used Elder Flower and/or Orange Blossoms for their flavor and aromatic qualities? I'm going to be brewing an IPA later this summer and I want to use these (also some Lavender) as a late-hop and dry-hop addition (mixed in with some american hops). I've gotten some advice on Lavender already from a friend (1 lb/bbl at boil stop) but if anyone can offer help on Elder flower and Orange Blossom I'd appreciate it!

[canyon]

elder flowers

Elder flowers (Sambucus) indeed bring a nice aroma. When fermented (as it changes quite a bit) I would say it is reminiscent of roses! They are somewhat delicate. If you want elder flower aroma I would advise you drop out the finnish hops. Are you harvesting these yourself wild? If so, treat the plant with due respect. See Buhner's book on the subject. There is only a short window to harvest them in my area and I dry them with gentle handling to keep as much of the pollen as possible. I am just about to rack this years to secondary.
As for Orange blossoms I can only speak of Orange blossom honey as I live too far north to harvest any flowers. Do a tea, and even do a 1 gallon test ferment with sweet wort from another batch and you'll start to have an idea of what it might bring to the soup. Please share your results!
Canyon

[brewbonghm]

Just a little warning about lavender;
If it gets loose in the kettle, and finds its way into your heat exchanger things will never be the same until you take the thing apart. Those little blossoms are just the right size and shape to lodge themselves inextricably in your h/e. This will be evident when you back flush, any number of times, and you get a flush of purple. 1#/bbl is nice though.

[kugeman]

So I misunderstood my friend regarding the lavender addition. He recommended 1 lb in 7 bbl. Luckily he set me straight before it was too late I'm still doing some testing on the elder flowers (which I bought dried from an organic herb supplier). I'll let y'all know how it turns out!

[Ted Briggs]

I love the aroma of honeysuckle and thought of adding them to a light beer style. However several sources said they are a strong diarrhetic!! So before you do this do your homework. Also im told the FDA has a list of things "generally known as safe" , might be a good idea to look that up.