Do I need to sanitize Cinnamon sticks for secondary?

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sonvolt

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I brewed up my Christmas ale Monday, and I am going to rack it to secondary this Saturday. The wort tasted nice and spicy - I used some cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and orange peel. I am afraid, though, that I lost some flavor and aroma from a vigorous fermentation, and I might add a cinnamon stick to the secondary.

Should I sanitize it? If so, how?

Any suggestions on using spice in the secondary?
 
Make a spice "tea" by boiling some water (a cup or so), removing it from the heat, and adding your spices. Steep for 5-10 minutes, and add the whole mixture to the fermenter.
 
Brewpastor said:
No they can just be dropped in. Smash them a bit to get better flavor.

I think that I'll go with this method. In fact, since the beer has about 6-7% alcohol, it should be at least a bit safe from contamination, right?
 
Sounds like you've got it worked out but I've smashed up the sticks and soaked them in the cheapest vodka I could buy and then just added the 1/2 cup vodka to the 2ndary. Wish I would've done a Christmas Ale this year. Maybe this weekend. Do you have a recipe you wouldn't mind sharing?
 
runhard said:
Sounds like you've got it worked out but I've smashed up the sticks and soaked them in the cheapest vodka I could buy and then just added the 1/2 cup vodka to the 2ndary. Wish I would've done a Christmas Ale this year. Maybe this weekend. Do you have a recipe you wouldn't mind sharing?


Check here for a recipe. I posted it as I was brewing. I just kind of pieced it together from other Winter brew recipes I had seen. This is my first spice beer, so I was kind shooting off the cuff.

Notice that it is only 2.5 gallons, as it is an experimental batch. I am going to try to work on it each year to get it just right for the holidays. Let me know what you think.
 
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