New Brewer Wants to get SPICY

skoodog · 10-23-2009, 08:15 AM

Not sure if this is the place to be asking this question or not, but hey...I'm new.

I went to my LHBS to pick up ingredients to brew w/ some seasoned vets who invited me into their inner sanctum this coming Saturday to embark on what may become a new obsession. My intent was to start w/ a Pliny the Elder clone, but after pricing the ingredients I figured that was a lot of coin to throw away on something that may not work. The LHBS talked me out of the Pliny clone and handed me their simple stout recipe since according to them it's a forgiving first brew. The recipe (sans instructions) printed below:

6 lbs Pale LME
3/4 lb Roasted Barley
1/4 lb British Crystal 135L
0.8 oz Northdown 10.6% (60 min)
Wyeast 1084 (Irish Ale)

Upon picking out these ingredients I wished to embark on an adaptation adding Christmas spices to the bill as per this recipe. However I don't want to waste the ingredients I've already purchased, so...could I essentially do the brew as the instructions say, adding the spice mixture as the second recipe states, or does the malt extract/grain bill need to be changed? My concern is the different proportions of caramalts/dark grains and higher malt extracts.

Thanks in advance for the help!

sparkyaber · 10-23-2009, 02:19 PM

If it was me, I would brew just as stated in the original recipe, then go back, buy one more kit, and try it with the added spices. You are going to make beer no matter what. It is nice on the first few go 'rounds if you practice on getting all of the steps down, then start playing with recipes, addiditions and the like. When it comes to adding stuff to beer, the possibilities are endless. If you do add the spices, it may not taste like the recipe you linked to, it may be better. It may be worse. The only way to find out is to make both and compare. I know this probably did not help much, but that is my take on it.

Richabt · 10-23-2009, 02:26 PM

I'd have to agree with Sparky. Get the basics down first. Beyond that just about anything is possible.

HiGravShawn · 10-23-2009, 03:53 PM

Aw man... you just missed (like two days ago) AustinHomeBrew was having a special on a Pliny the Edler kit. I think it was like 20-30 bucks off!

skoodog · 10-23-2009, 06:45 PM

Thanks for the help! Unfortunately, I am stubborn and will do as I damn well please in regards to customizing the brew.

My main question I think I answered myself with some research with yet another recipe that has a more similar extract/grain bill to mine but less spice and different timings (for instance they add during the boil as opposed to after) which I may end up doing instead. But of course that adds more questions of what to do in regards to the honey. The honey will mainly give the brew a nice head and increase the FG since it's a sugar, correct?

Thanks in advance!

sparkyaber · 10-23-2009, 06:58 PM

If you don't already have it, brewsmith is the way to go. You can plug and play anything you want and see the potential results (adding the honey). To answer your question, yes it will increase the O.G. of the beer, as well as other things. One other thought, if you do add afterwords, use half the amount listed, and split the batch? I have done this before with great results, letting me try something I wasn't sure would work. (I added mint to a stout).

**TexLaw** · 10-23-2009, 07:08 PM

You know what? If you are going to do whatever you want to do, go ahead and do just that. If you are getting into spiced beers, it's all a matter of what you want out of the spices and the final beer, and only you know that.

You're getting some good advice here, and it's not going to change. I agree with the others. Learn how to brew beer, and then start playing around. Understand how to fry an egg before you try a souffle. You might wind up with a fantastic souffle, but you really won't know why.

If I sound a bit harsh, it is because you would be astounded at the number of folks that come on here and want to brew, as their first batch, some sort of Vanilla, Pumpkin, Christmas-spiced, Coconut, Smoked Honey Imperial Ancho Oyster Kriek Lambic aged in a Bourbon barrel for sixteen months with a rooster's tail, an angel's wing, and the latest Modest Mouse EP. Then, four weeks (or days) later, they come back and say "what's wrong with my beer?" No one can tell them, because they cannot say quite what they did, what it smells like, or what it tastes like because there are so many moving parts in that recipe.

So, I'm taking it out on you, but half (only half) in jest. Welcome to the hobby and the obsession.

TL

P.S. Honey does not increase head retention or FG. With regards to "sugar," honey is virtually 100% fermentable, so it all ferments out (no FG increase) and nothing is left to help form or hold a head. It will boost the ABV, and it may leave very mild honey flavor and aroma (depending on the honey you use and the rest of the recipe). Like I we suggested, start simply. Learn to a brew a basic beer and build a foundation. There is plenty of time to get into all the rest of the stuff.

Effington · 10-23-2009, 07:59 PM

That reminds me, I need to rack my Float On IPA onto Modest Mouse chips in secondary...

**beerthirty** · 10-23-2009, 08:27 PM

+1 texlaw. You will also find that by altering the yeast and hops you can get many spicy flavors to come out naturally in the beer without having to add other stuff to the brew.

Handle · 10-23-2009, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexLaw

If I sound a bit harsh, it is because you would be astounded at the number of folks that come on here and want to brew, as their first batch, some sort of Vanilla, Pumpkin, Christmas-spiced, Coconut, Smoked Honey Imperial Ancho Oyster Kriek Lambic aged in a Bourbon barrel for sixteen months with a rooster's tail, an angel's wing, and the latest Modest Mouse EP.

This is one of the funniest things I've read during my very short time on the forum.

As a newbie who has yet to brew his first batch but has dreams of Habanero Capsicumel and Chocolate Chipotle Stout, I can relate.