Anise Hyssop - I'm going for it.

[BigDaveK]

One of my favorites.
Last year I made a wonderful jelly and I always dry some of the leaves and flowers for tea.
Most of the anise flavor is in the flowers which are actually a little sweet. They're delicious!

Basic herb/flower recipe.
I made 2 teas for this, one just leaves and one just flowers, and discarded the leaves.

The anise flavor of the must is great, noticeable but not overpowering. If it stays at that level I'll be happy. I have no idea how fermentation will affect it. My Plan B is to put a star anise in the secondary if I have to.

 

[CortneyD]

Oh now you've gone and done it. I have boatloads of this stuff because it reseeds everywhere in my garden. I'll be watching with baited breath to see how this one comes out...

 

[BigDaveK]

Oh now you've gone and done it. I have boatloads of this stuff because it reseeds everywhere in my garden. I'll be watching with baited breath to see how this one comes out...

I really hated to harvest this one. Of all my flowers this is by far the favorite of bees.

Hopefully I can try this again later in the year with more flowers. I do volume and weight with my flower wines to make future variations easier.

Cortney, if you have anise hyssop and if you haven't done it yet, taste the flowers!

 

[BigDaveK]

Transferred this morning. Wonderful anise flavor - not too strong.
I would actually like a bit more anise. If Mother Nature cooperates I'll make it again and perhaps double the flowers.
There's enough flavor - no star anise going into secondary.

 

[vinny]

One of my favorites.
Last year I made a wonderful jelly and I always dry some of the leaves and flowers for tea.
Most of the anise flavor is in the flowers which are actually a little sweet. They're delicious!

Basic herb/flower recipe.
I made 2 teas for this, one just leaves and one just flowers, and discarded the leaves.

The anise flavor of the must is great, noticeable but not overpowering. If it stays at that level I'll be happy. I have no idea how fermentation will affect it. My Plan B is to put a star anise in the secondary if I have to.

View attachment 90380 View attachment 90381

One day I would like to see the full list of wines you have made, especially with ratings for the ones you have tasted. Not a full break down, just good, great, or never again.

 

[BigDaveK]

One day I would like to see the full list of wines you have made, especially with ratings for the ones you have tasted. Not a full break down, just good, great, or never again.

Being a novice wine maker (10 months) all the wines are young, most still in bulk. So far I like them all, some more than others. I don't have any "never again" wines yet. Although, my garlic scape wine - the most vile disgusting thing I've ever tasted - just needs time to mature.

I have to say, though, I am shocked by the wonderful flavor of the flower wines. Totally unexpected. Definitely an area I'll continue to explore.

 

[BigDaveK]

First rack from secondary.
Very happy. Went down to .988. Definitely has a wonderful fruity anise flavor. It actually tastes nice bone dry but I think (hope) some back sweetening will make the anise pop a little.
Love it. Going to start another batch this year, increase the flowers.

 

[BigDaveK]

Racked...and it's absolutely wonderful!
Fruity with great anise flavor. Will definitely back sweeten.
I used star anise in another wine and I definitely prefer the anise hyssop. I think it's a hoot that a flower has more anise flavor to me than actual anise.
They're perennials that I started from seed and I'll certainly start a couple more.

 

[Vinobeau]

I made 5 gallons of Star Anise wine 4 years ago. Bought the dried anise and ground it, 7.3 oz. It is just OK, not many people rave over it - only one fellow loved it, and he died. This and my Day Lily wine are ones that i won't bother with again.

 

[BigDaveK]

I made 5 gallons of Star Anise wine 4 years ago. Bought the dried anise and ground it, 7.3 oz. It is just OK, not many people rave over it - only one fellow loved it, and he died. This and my Day Lily wine are ones that i won't bother with again.

Yeah, I was really looking forward to the star anise flavor in another wine. I agree, disappointing. The anise hyssop, however, is really wonderful...so far... If it holds up I'll definitely make more.

 

[Raptor99]

A little star anise is really good in tart cherry wine. I'm not sure I would like a pure star anise wine.

only one fellow loved it, and he died

I hope that you are not implying cause and effect!

 

[Vinobeau]

A little star anise is really good in tart cherry wine. I'm not sure I would like a pure star anise wine.


I hope that you are not implying cause and effect!

The only person that I've known to be taken by COVID.

 

[BigDaveK]

Bottling day!
I think I've given up using star anise in wines. Everything I wanted, aroma and taste, is right here. It's wonderful!
And another shock - it's my 2nd wine that tastes great dry, lightly sweetened, and sweet. (The first was honeysuckle.) It finished at .988 and I sweetened it to .998 and bottled.
If Mother Nature cooperates I'll make more than 1 gallon this year. Possibly increase anise hyssop by 50%, possibly add some raisins.
Definitely a delightful summer wine.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

I planted anise hyssop for the bees but I might be tempted to sow some more this year for me...

How much sugar was that (g/L, oz/gal or whatever)?

 

[BigDaveK]

I planted anise hyssop for the bees but I might be tempted to sow some more this year for me...

How much sugar was that (g/L, oz/gal or whatever)?

I have dozens of plants for pollinators but the anise hyssop is by far the favorite. I didn't harvest as much as I could have because I felt bad for the bees. Eat some of the flowers, seriously, you'll be amazed.

Sugar is one of the few ingredients I don't often measure. I started at 1.086, finished at .988, and added 150 ml of 2-1 syrup to the gallon.

 

[Raptor99]

Do you have a record of the quantities of leaves and flowers that you used? Would you change anything if you did this again?

 

[BigDaveK]

Do you have a record of the quantities of leaves and flowers that you used? Would you change anything if you did this again?

What a delicious plant! I love nibbling on the flowers in the garden.

I didn't make it this year because unfortunately I lost 3 of my plants, don't know why. But the year before I actually made two teas - 120 gr of flowers and 45 gr of leaves. I discarded the leaves but fermented with the flowers. I would probably add more flowers if I had them.