Grains of paradise in a pilsner?

Hey guys, I'm curious to know if anyone has ever added paradise to their pilsner before, and any recommendations if you have?! Thanks

I suppose somebody who owns an Aston Martin DB9 may want to paint orange flames on the side so I guess you could put grains of paradise in a pilsner.

Thanks big ed, I didn't know I joined a comedy forum also. Your help is much appreciate..

Sounds interesting - you never know until you try it, and I have a feeling it'll turn out well. Sam Adam's summer ale uses it and its a relatively clean beer if I remember correctly, as its been a few summers since I've actually had one. As with most spices, you'll probably get the most pungent flavor from lightly toasting the seeds, grinding them up, and adding either in the fermenter or at bottling as a tincture. I'd probably go with a late boil addition and tossing in a muslin/spice bag full of the stuff at the end of fermentation

wgaylord said:

Sounds interesting - you never know until you try it, and I have a feeling it'll turn out well. Sam Adam's summer ale uses it and its a relatively clean beer if I remember correctly, as its been a few summers since I've actually had one. As with most spices, you'll probably get the most pungent flavor from lightly toasting the seeds, grinding them up, and adding either in the fermenter or at bottling as a tincture. I'd probably go with a late boil addition and tossing in a muslin/spice bag full of the stuff at the end of fermentation

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Have you used grains of paradise before?

Grains of paradise don't want/need to be toasted; they're basically a peppercorn. They're a western African (I believe) pepper, they have an incredible citrus-pepper flavor and aroma. I love them, usually in a wheat beer but I could see them adding a real nice character to a pils. Just know that they're potent - the amount you use is tiny. Just grind them up in a mortar and pestle before putting them in the boil (I think I've usually put them in for just the last couple minutes). They're so small, they'll never stay contained in any kind of bag, not once you've ground them up. No worries, though, you use such a small quantity and they'll settle out regardless.

I grind them up, toast them, add them at flameout and steep for 15-20 minutes.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feed back! I'll let you know how it goes if I decide to use them.

I find grains of paradise to be somewhat similar to ground coriander. Not sure that I'd really want that in a pilsner but it's nice in a wheat beer.

What about amount? How much for a 5 gallon batch? I have 2grams