ground cinnamon

I wanna add some ground cinnamon becauce I can't seem to find cinnamon sticks anywhere how much should I use for a 5 gallon batch and how long should it sit for into been in the secondary carboy for about 1 month now I added some more cider when it went in the secondary it started the fermentation again is it to late to add anything at this point cinnamon ...nutmeg...... cloves... any info would be great thank you

Some punctuation would be great also...

and some more info...

I assume you're simply making cider and not a graff or some weird pumpkin ale that includes cider...

not enough info yet

Its a 5 gallon batch of hard cider not sure of the info your looking for sorry... lets see 5 gallons cider no preservatives 5 pounds of blue berries soaked in vodka 1 pound of craisins 2 pounds of light brown sugar and e-1118 yeast I think it was around .998 when I racked it in the secondary I was just looking for a little more flavor out if the cider hope that helps you thanks again

hey. sorry... I just went back and read a couple of posts from the same night I originally responded... I think I was in a crabby mood for some reason

My only experience with cinnamon has been my pumpkin ales I have brewed. I know everybody has different thresholds for spice in beverages. I found that 1/2 tsp at the end of the boil and another 1/4 tsp in the keg (along with a few other spices) gives my pumpkin ale enough spice for people to recognize the flavors but not be overwhelmed by it. Overall, I add 2 teaspoons of total spices to a 5 gallon batch. I know it doesn't seem like much, but I'm not looking for a spice bomb. I think you could find recipes with far more spice than that.

Also, you might consider other spices. For some reason, ginger with blueberries sounds better to me than cinnamon with blueberries. You might just try some mixtures in a small bowl to see how the flavors complement each other before adding anything else to the fermentation.

You should add ground cinnamon to your secondary and maybe even after fermentation is done. It will eventually work its way to the bottom and you'll rack right off of it. Maybe even add a little at bottling time to be safe.

scottyspohn said:

I wanna add some ground cinnamon becauce I can't seem to find cinnamon sticks anywhere how much should I use for a 5 gallon batch and how long should it sit for into been in the secondary carboy for about 1 month now I added some more cider when it went in the secondary it started the fermentation again is it to late to add anything at this point cinnamon ...nutmeg...... cloves... any info would be great thank you

Click to expand...

Not to sound dense, but have you looked in the spice section at your lcl supermarkets? That's where I get my stick cinnamon. You can always find it at those little hippy stores too, or just about any ethnic grocery store. Just about any store that has a bulk section will have it too. If all else fails, there's the internet.

If you're still bent on using ground cinamon, at least use a paper coffee filter to contain it like a teabag. That way you can actually remove it when your desired level of spice flavour has been reached & you can avoid the gelatinous mess the ground cinnamon tends to make in secondary.
Regards, GF.

The Hispanic section of the supermarket has GOOD cinnamon sticks, usually. I recently found out most cinnamon is a knock-off.

Http://www.ceylon-cinnamon.com/Identify-Cinnamon.htm

Just to build a little on the previous post. There are several types of cinnamon. Some are stronger than the others. Once you get your recipe down pat, always stay with the same brand of cinnamon.

You might also consider expeirmenting with oil of cinnamon which you can get at the druggest counter at a drug store. Just a word of caution. The oil of cinnamon is extremely strong. I have used just 1/8 tsp for a whole batch of hard candy.

I brew a pumpkin port that has cinnamon in it, I used the ground but it is hard to taste the spice after its done. I am going to try to use sticks this time and leave them in the fermenter. I hope this will step up the cinnamon flavor a bit.

The thing about "Cinnamon" is that if you live in the USA instead of say India - the flavor you recognize as "Cinnamon" is really not true Cinnamon anyway - so don't worry about it too much.... True Cinnamon has a different flavor - not what most people would call spicy and "Cinnamony" but more fruity, complex, and flavorful....

Here's another vote for a trip over to the supermarket to find a Cinnamon stick.... Why? Cinnamon powder loves to float around on the top of your brew forever... It's super fine and powdery - and loves to swirl up into your brew.... And.. It looks like mud.

But... If it's all you can get - then start with less... Work your way up. Perhaps put it in a tea bag so you can at least get most of it back out when you are done....

If you get too much - and it tastes like Red-hot balls... then let it age out for a while and the flavor will settle down.

Thanks.

I agree, find the sticks. In my opinion, you want to be able to remove adjuncts from your secondary when you're happy with where it's at.