Spices in beer

[the Baron]

G'day, have seen a few people putting spices in beer such as chilli, coriander and cinoman. I was wondering if anyone has put cloves in a beer (got the idea eating homemade Greek short bread with a clove stuck in the centre), just droped one in at bottleing. What other spices do people use and how good has it been. Thanks

[Goatee]

i haven't used cloves yet, mostly because they remind me of the stuff a dentist uses.

i have used cinnamon, and i might have taken the saying "go hard or go home" too far...threw in 20 sticks

Tasted like crap, so i have tried another with just one stick and at racking time tasted a lot better.

So in my limited experience don't over do it spice-wise, but then that's as useful and obvious as me saying don't piss in your fermenter

[gregb]

Cinnamon - I have used cinnamon in a dark ale. 12 sticks into the primary. has matured into a very drinkable ale with the cinnamon being ever so subtle back ground taste.

Cloves - Not tried them, but... I'd start with 12 g crushed into the primary.

Let us know if it is a good or bad idea.

Cheers,

Greg.

[Oliver]

I reckon cloves might go all right in a stout or a wheat beer (although in moderation - they're pretty strong little things).

Wheat beers have a bit of a clovey character anyway, so you might just enhance it by putting cloves in.

Oliver

[johnnynostars]

I have tried a few things with spices:

Cinnamon sugar as a replacement for normal sugar in priming a cider. The taste was quite nice (especially if heated in the microwave for a couple of minutes before drinking), but the cinnamon tended to form a sludgey mess that floated to the top of the bottle and was quite disgusting. I would recommend using cinnamon sticks in the primary instead.

"Spicy Winter Ale"
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried root ginger
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 can Cooper's Old Dark Ale
1 kg Cooper's Dextrose
Kit yeast

Spices etc added to 22 L sugar/can/water mix then yeast. OG 1.065; FG 1.008. Bottled from primary with Cooper's Carbonation Drops.

The brew turned out slightly watery, so next time I may reduce the overall volume to make it heavier. There was not much head, with a moderate level of carbonation. I have had many compliments on this brew, and I like to describe it as "A hot-cross bun in a beer."

Cloves - I wanna try this in something soon, I have heard good things...

[Evo]

Sounds good.

If you were after a less watery beer I'd be ditching the dextrose and replacing it with a kilo of light, dried malt extract. You'll get more body and it'll be more suited to the style of beer you are brewing.

Might try a spiced black ale myself this winter. Kinda like a mulled wine. Was thinking of chucking in some pepper among other things. Have tried pepper and Guinness and it goes together like a gutful of beer and a kebab (without the hangover and the garlic breath).

[the Baron]

Sweet, thanks guys will add my concoctions to the primary not the the bottles.

[anti-fsck]

Cloves tend to turn very, very astringent and bitter with age. That's why mum always counts how many go in to the apple and rhubarb filling, and makes sure they all come out befiore it goes into the pie.
It may be better to boil them for a bit and put the liquor in the beer rather than the whole cloves. Then again, using whole cloves may be OK. Let us know.

[yardglass]

I reckon cloves might go all right in a stout or a wheat beer (although in moderation - they're pretty strong little things).

Wheat beers have a bit of a clovey character anyway, so you might just enhance it by putting cloves in.

Oliver

Hey guys,

Looking at experimenting a bit with a Wheat.

Ingredients as follows:
Coopers Wheat Kit
Coopers Wheat Malt
Coriander Seeds 50gm
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 2 oranges
Hallertau 12gm 20min

I've also got some Hoyts Cloves, I'm aware they're strong little buggers so a bit unsure where to fit them in ( boil or crushed into primary ) and what quantities to start with.?

thanks
yardglass

[joejoe34]

I just racked my first winter beer and thought of adding some cinnomon sticks. I read the previous posts and they all said during the primary. How much affect, good or bad, would it have to add a couple sticks during the secondary?

[Dogger Dan]

Actually,

I've always said to add them in the last 10 min of the boil.

Pitch them anyway, it won't ruin the beer

Dogger

[silkworm]

I just racked my first winter beer and thought of adding some cinnomon sticks. I read the previous posts and they all said during the primary. How much affect, good or bad, would it have to add a couple sticks during the secondary?

Joejoe,
I wouldn't rate cinnimon at all. I have only tried it once in a ale and found it unpleasant.
I ground the one stick and put it into the boil at the end like Dogger said.
I was trying for a Amber Ale that was for after dinner sort of thing. Its been down for 6 months and is improving. It might make it yet. Early tastings were average.

I have yet to try cloves but they should compliment the orange/corriander seed flavours.
(if my chef days are anything to go by)
Id be starting at 5 per 23 litres to start with. Boil them in for the last 5 mins.
That does sound a good recipe Yardy.
That's one for the 'to do'!

[yardglass]

I just racked my first winter beer and thought of adding some cinnomon sticks. I read the previous posts and they all said during the primary. How much affect, good or bad, would it have to add a couple sticks during the secondary?

joejoe34,

Where's your manners mate ?

Before you go Off Topic and Hijack again, do a search, if you can't find what you're looking for there, then by all means start your own.

Yardglass.

[joejoe34]

Yardglass

Beg to differ on the manners, check the ORIGINAL TOPIC of this string again, not just yours

Thanks, no problems.

[yardglass]

jj,

NO NEED TO YELL.

I'm fully aware of the ORIGINAL TOPIC jj,

I found it when I did, strangely enough, a Search for Cloves.

Much the same way as you could do a Search for Cinnamon.

Have a look at the Original Date, when it was Revived, and what was Quoted.

thanks
no problem

[silkworm]

I have yet to try cloves but they should compliment the orange/corriander seed flavours.
(if my chef days are anything to go by)
Id be starting at 5 per 23 litres to start with. Boil them in for the last 5 mins.
That does sound a good recipe Yardy.
That's one for the 'to do'!

Back to subject at hand

Yardy This is not a definite answer but cloves sould go well with only a few in the mix.
They can be bitter if over used in cooking.
However beer brewing is proving to constantly astound me.
Flavours behave differently with yeast in the brew to how I know them to work in the kitchen.
Looking at your mix I would consider some other none fermentable sweet flavours.
I'm not a fan of lactose. What are some others?
Perhaps Honey.... Dogger?
Does anyone have any definite answers here?

[yardglass]

Silk,

I think you're right, I've got plenty of bitterness there as it is now that I look at it.

maybe some cinnamon....

thanks
yardglass

[silkworm]

na don't do it mate!
I've only tried cinnamon once though. it left some heavy sweet flavours that didn't compliment the beer I had made.

[drtom]

For what it's worth, late last year I did a cooper's stout + 1kg "stout mix" from Winemaker's. In each of half a dozen of the bottles I put a cinnamon stick that had been boiled in a little water for 5 minutes (to sterilize). I thought the stick in the bottle would be a cool gimmick. Toooo strong. I haven't tried, but it might be okay as a black&tan.

T.

[Danzar]

I've used cloves peoples. Silkworm - you're pretty much correct although they're not too bad on the bitter scale. Baron - I'd exclude the possibility of bitterness when determining what's in the brew.

If anything, some spices can give you a cheesy/soapy effect.

You need to be careful not to overspice your beer. The spices I've used in the past are cumin, cloves, cardamom, coriander and carroway seeds.

If using cloves, go with six towards the end of the boil, and strain. Dump the cloves.

Offset the cloves with either coriander (20-30g) or carroway (3-4g) seeds (each has a certain fruity element to it). Whether you choose coriander or carroway is up to you. Have a smell of each. Carroway's an interesting one as it's used in cakes. It's fruity but has an earthy spice to it.

Accompaniments - I used honey and would suggest you do too. Start with 300grams then adjust up or down according to your taste.

Either way, it's better to put too little spice than too much.

Another interesting one is cumin. If you're doing a wheat, get yourself a good liquid wheat yeast that gives your beer a banana/clove taste. Instead of adding cloves, add a tiny bit of cumin seed to the boil. Probably no more than 2 or 3 grams. That will give you the subtle spice you're looking for.

Use cardamom in a similar fashion.

I see big potential with carroway but have used it enough to work it out fully.

Ex-chefs - feel free to comment or suggest any adjustments.

EDIT: Aww shit how old is the original post!