Winter Ale #2

Ok, so my girlfriend and I brewed a winter ale in November, and it was ok. She didn't like it. I thought it was drinkable, but not great. We added the spice in a muslin bag in the secondary that sat for two weeks. We just brewed our second one with the same recipe, but a variation or two.

First off, we spiced the ale in the boil. (last 15 min) Second, we bought fresh cinnamon and nutmeg nuts from our local spice shop and ground those up to add to the boil. I hope it comes out better. I think our first batch was overwhelmed by the spices and the amount of time they sat in the secondary. When I asked around n the forums, I got an overwhelming response to spice in the secondary. Plus, the kicker was that the bottles foamed over for the last case or so. (not the first case) weird.

Do you guys have any experience with spicing ales? I would love to get an ale that tastes similar to Harpoon Winter. I feel this is an optimum winter ale because the spice combination compliments the ale flavor perfectly.

I've never had a harpoon ale but I will tell you that I like to add about 25 all spice berries and 5-6 cinnamon sticks to my winter ale. I add this to my primary then rack a week or two later.

Yeah, all-spice berries are a good idea. Do you crush or grind them before adding? And do you skip secondary? I'm thinking I might keep this one in the secondary for an extra week or so. I'm not sure if this has any benefits though.

Try contacting Harpoon. I'm sure they'd tell you what they use for spices.

http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/index.cfm/page/Contact-Us/pid/28482