I'm done fermenting...Too late to do a recipe?

I came across some recipe's on blackrock's website and thought, damn, wish I'd done that with the nut brown kit I have fermenting.

I have the needed kit in a primary for 7 weeks now and would like to add the spices and whatnot to this brew. Can I make a tea with the needed ingredients and add? I can add at bottling as that would make bottle bombs right?

But what about if I did a tea and added to the fermenter and kicked off a secondary fermentation for a few more weeks. And then bottle after that? Would that work?

The recipe (link included) calls for the addition of;

• 2 Cans Cherries in Heavy Syrup
• 3 Cups Honey
• 2.5 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
• 1.5 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Cloves
• 1 Teaspoon Pure Almond Extract

http://www.blackrock.co.nz/beer-recipes/item/55-christmas-ale

I also have a whispering wheat in the corner (7 weeks in primary) and wouldn't mind doing the recipe below; Same questions
http://www.blackrock.co.nz/beer-recipes/item/33-cranberry-maibock

I don't think you need a tea, you can put all of that in a secondary and rack on top of it.

really? No risk of infection? Has anyone done this before without making a tea?

I'd boil the honey just to make sure it is sterilized. Alternatively, you could pasteurize, but I don't actually know what is required for that. For the dry ingredients, I'd put them into a small dish and leave vodka on them a day or two to sterilize (or add to the honey and water when pasteurizing. No need on the cherries, they should be good to go as is. Sterilize the outside of the can and anything you use to scrape out the cans.

Or be cautious and do very little extra work to sterilize it all in one step by making a tea. You just don't want to do a lot to the honey because the flavor is pretty delicate. You don't want to lose it with a long boil.

freisste said:

Or be cautious and do very little extra work to sterilize it all in one step by making a tea. You just don't want to do a lot to the honey because the flavor is pretty delicate. You don't want to lose it with a long boil.

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I suppose I could add the honey last and let it pasteurize as it cools. Thanks.

So why is it that Berries don't need sterilizing? Is it because canned goods are already sterilized when canned? Or something about fruit?

Cheers.

Canning process. Fresh fruits certainly need to be sterilized somehow.

I also thought that honey is already sterile as well? It is naturally sterile?

Husher said:

really? No risk of infection? Has anyone done this before without making a tea?

Click to expand...

The alcohol already in the beer will help prevent infection, plus the cherries and honey are sterile.

However, to be safe, put the cherries and honey into a pot and mix well. Add your spices and mix well again. Bring to 140 deg F and maintain that for 10 minutes. Cool and add to secondary then rack on top.

You could also put the cherries and honey right into the secondary, do a tea with your spices (boil them for 15 min or so) and add that and then rack on top.

I'd recommend using a bucket for the secondary in this case. I find it much easier to use as opposed to a carboy for adding fruits and whatnot.

Do I have to wait a period of time for any flavours to mellow? I did a hoegarden clone with coriander and it was horrible until 4 months. The coriander was way too pungent and I thought I had ruined the beer until it aged. If I add all this and rack on top of it, will I be waiting more than 2 months? Or will it be good to go in a few weeks?

Thanks

Another questions is the recipe calls for a couple cans of cherries. I'm assuming they come in different sizes (outside of New Zealand). Any ideas on how big? I'll go with the smallest I can find to be safe.