sanitizing ingredients for "dry spicing"

bperlmu · 07-21-2007, 08:02 PM

I just put a Belgian White in the primary this afternoon. The recipe called for half of the coriander and orange peel to be added during the last 5 minutes or so of the brew, and the second half to be added in a secondary after primary fermentation subsides. Any suggestions for how to sanitize the remaining spices so that i can be sure that no nasties get into the fermented brew?
Also, i added half a pound of honey to the brew, which was not in the recipe but i saw the jar in my pantry and got curious. never added honey to any of my beers before, but i was feeling adventurous........we'll see how it turns out.

snoochhandytardman · 07-21-2007, 08:46 PM

Im doing this exactly for my triple. My LHBS said a good way to do this is to soak the spices in a small amount of water and microwave to a boil. As it is often easier to use a hop bag when dryhopping, throw your spices in one before you microwave. Im not sure whether to pour any remaining water from your microwave boil into your secondary as a "spice tea" would help, but it sounds good.

Good luck!

deharris · 07-21-2007, 08:55 PM

Hey - I just cracked open a first bottle of a Belgian Wit brewed with a full pound of honey and it turned out great. The honey smell was quite prominent when we racked to secondary but is gone in the finished beer. They say that honey ferments pretty completely... In any case, it'll take a LONG time to ferment all that honey, so be patient. It took a full two weeks for ours to stop bubbling. Good luck!