New Brewer Wants to get SPICY - Page 2

Jamo99 · 10-23-2009, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skoodog

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.

I'm suprised that you walked in wanting a IIPA and they talked you into a stout. A hoppy APA or a regular IPA would not break the bank and the hops would hide brewing flaws just as well as a stout, but be more similar to the brew that you had in mind. If you like stouts though, then you'll be pleased with that recipe.

I think that you should brew the recipe as is, BUT, if you want to spice it, I suggest leaving the spices out of the boil. Soak you're spice mixture in some vodka to leech out the flavors. Taste the brew when you are getting close to bottling time. The best way to get the proper spice profile is to take a measured amount of your fermented brew, add a measured amount of spice tincture, then taste. Do it a few times until you get it where you want, then scale it up for a full batch. Or you may think that the beer tastes great as is and that the spicing is totally unnecessary, at least you don't commit to spicing right away, but you still ahve the option.

It is an added step, and maybe daunting for a beginner, which is why everyone is suggesting to keep it simple. If you brew a great first beer, you are more likely to catch the brewing bug and will ahve more than enough time to experiment with spicing and whatnot as you brew more batches. All that said, do whatever you want! Homebrewing allows us that freedom, but be warned that it is easy to overspice a brew.

Oh and spiced brews typically take a much longer time to condition so that they are at their best and drinkable. I'm sure with your first brew you won't be able to wait and each bottle will have a pretty harsh spice flavor.

skoodog · 10-24-2009, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beerthirty

+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.

Even this stubborn bastard won't mess with the living animal before his first brew.

Just tried a little experiment - put a mixture of the spices I planned to use on my tongue and washed em down with a swig - all kinds of magic on the palette. Of course I'm not brewing Old Rasputin but it brought forth its own questions within the experiment itself...

skoodog · 10-24-2009, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamo99

I'm suprised that you walked in wanting a IIPA and they talked you into a stout. A hoppy APA or a regular IPA would not break the bank and the hops would hide brewing flaws just as well as a stout, but be more similar to the brew that you had in mind. If you like stouts though, then you'll be pleased with that recipe.

I think that you should brew the recipe as is, BUT, if you want to spice it, I suggest leaving the spices out of the boil. Soak you're spice mixture in some vodka to leech out the flavors. Taste the brew when you are getting close to bottling time. The best way to get the proper spice profile is to take a measured amount of your fermented brew, add a measured amount of spice tincture, then taste. Do it a few times until you get it where you want, then scale it up for a full batch. Or you may think that the beer tastes great as is and that the spicing is totally unnecessary, at least you don't commit to spicing right away, but you still ahve the option.

It is an added step, and maybe daunting for a beginner, which is why everyone is suggesting to keep it simple. If you brew a great first beer, you are more likely to catch the brewing bug and will ahve more than enough time to experiment with spicing and whatnot as you brew more batches. All that said, do whatever you want! Homebrewing allows us that freedom, but be warned that it is easy to overspice a brew.

Oh and spiced brews typically take a much longer time to condition so that they are at their best and drinkable. I'm sure with your first brew you won't be able to wait and each bottle will have a pretty harsh spice flavor.

Thank you!!! That was exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Many spice beers recommend putting spice in during the boil so this helps me figure out what I need to do w/ my honey/spice tincture.

**beerthirty** · 10-24-2009, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skoodog

Even this stubborn bastard won't mess with the living animal before his first brew.

Just tried a little experiment - put a mixture of the spices I planned to use on my tongue and washed em down with a swig - all kinds of magic on the palette. Of course I'm not brewing Old Rasputin but it brought forth its own questions within the experiment itself...

Grasshoppa, in time you will understand, then you can take this pebble from my hand.

Jamo99 · 10-24-2009, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skoodog

Thank you!!! That was exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Many spice beers recommend putting spice in during the boil so this helps me figure out what I need to do w/ my honey/spice tincture.

I would put the honey in at flameout. You don't want to boil it long because you will lose the delicate properties. These delicate properties are maintained even better if you add it during fermentation, but I think the roastiness and the spicing in your recipe will drown them out anyway. So honey at flameout, spice tincture at bottling, but you may be pleased with the beer as is. Even with the tincture, spiced beers still take a longer time to meld flavors and really hit their stride.

Personally I find it hard to drink a number of spiced beers at a time. You could bottle half regular and scale your spice mix for the last 2.5 gallons that you bottle that day. Just dump it into your bottling bucket after you bottle the first half. Best of both worlds.

RDWHAHB · 10-24-2009, 03:22 PM

I say do it! Lots of people here have a very rigid path one must follow in their brewing. Homebrewing is all about experimentation. Just take good notes, and be willing to "lose out" on a few bad experiments. I have many beers that I have modified the recipe before brewing. There is one that I have brewed 5x now, & I haven't made the base brew yet.

I don't think you'll need to change your malt extract any.

Jeff

skoodog · 11-17-2009, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamo99

Oh and spiced brews typically take a much longer time to condition so that they are at their best and drinkable. I'm sure with your first brew you won't be able to wait and each bottle will have a pretty harsh spice flavor.

So I finished bottling this beer a week ago and cracked a bottle w/ my fellow brewer and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised, specifically since my final product was totally not what i expected.

When transferring to the bottling bucket we noticed a fantastic banana bread aroma - more than just banana esters but the way the pure vanilla extract worked its way into the beer really invoke baked banana bread. Interesting that the irish ale yeast yielded this kind of flavor.

After 6 days of bottle conditioning, the smell stayed the same - excellent head retention, fantastic opaque midnight brown as what you'd expect out of a stout. The sweetness invoked by the spice tincture balanced things out but I'm going to say I'm a little disappointed there wasn't more complexity to the spices. It's one of the most drinkable beers I've had and just a wee bit stronger than the typical brew (my brew buddy's hydrometer was broken so we couldn't take OG/FG readings - anyone know how to do this after the fact?).

I had a question for the experts out there - how long should i let it sit at fermentation temps (aka 68-71) before transferring it to the fridge? I think the rule of thumb is 2 weeks but given the addition of the fermentable sugars (honey) should i wait longer? What is your advice?

Thanks in advance and thanks to all who gave me feedback!