Christmas beer!

[Gilly_willy]

I want to Christmassy up a beer kit I've got... I was thinking of adding some winter spices; cinnamon, all spice etc, but having never done it before.... How much do I add to a 23litre kit.... Will a teaspoon of cinnamon be enough or do I need way more? If you guys could give me some guidance I'd really appreciate it!

 

[RobWalker]

go easy. it's too easy to overspice a christmas beer. a half teaspoon each of nutmeg, allspice, clove and cinnamon should be great, naturally their "whole" counterparts give a better flavour...you may even wish to go easier on the clove!

 

[Wetroads]

Ground coriander and orange peel works nicely. Again, go easy!

 

[Awfers]

What beer kit is it? Some may go better with spices than others?

I've read about brewers adding Vanilla beans soaked in vodka when botteling.

 

[graysalchemy]

I always say to use whole spices or gently crushed spices in a little muslin. Add after it has fermented and taste daily until you have the desired amount of flavour and take the spices out. This way you are tasting how it is going to be instead of blindly bunging in the spice. Be careful with cinamon and clove they can be overpowering even in small amounts.

 

[Gilly_willy]

Some great advice so far thank you! I've just thought.... And its probably a stupid question but do I need to sanitise the muslin/ spices that I put in? I've read about weinghing down the muslin with a sanitised tea spoon and attaching some unscented dental floss, which is a given, but could the unsantised spice wreck the brew or am I a little too paranoid?

 

[graysalchemy]

You could dip them in vodka, or in a cup of boiling water for a minute or two. :thumb:

 

[Gilly_willy]

Great I've purchased some small muslin bags, whole cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon... I'll get brewin' in a couple of days and do the boling water trick when it's finished fermenting... I'll report back on progress, thanks all for the advice! :thumb:

 

[RobWalker]

dry spices probably won't, but definitely sanitize the tea bag etc. grays idea is good, do it in a coffee mug and you can add the 'tea' too :p

 

[operon]

I was thinking of brewing a wherry and then dry hopping it as it were with a Schwartz mulled wine spice sachet. Add to the fermenter with a few days to go so as not to overdo it.

 

[conorm]

Made a Christmas ale last year, used 1 sachet of Schwartz mulled wine spice for a 2 gallon batch. Added when boiling up the extract. As most flavours in spices are oils, best to get them hot to extract the flavours (as you would hops). Removed after the boil.

Lightly hopped with fuggles, was a good brew. Think I kept one or two for this Christmas! See how they age.

Conor

 

[graysalchemy]

The aroma and flavours will come out of the spices easily concorm with out heating them. The reason why I sugest to put in after fermentation is 2 fold.

Firstly you can taste how it is going taste in the finished product, until a beer is fermented you have no idea of the final taste will be, and because spiced beer can be very overbearing it is easier to judge how much you need.

Secondly because they are volatile oils heat can drive them off and so can a volatile fermentation, this you can end up with little flavour and aroma.