Adding spices to No-Chill Belgian Wit

Hello,
I'm planning to brew BierMuncher's Blue Balls Belgian Wit, but doing it No-Chill. The only problem is that the orange peel and coriander are both supposed to be added during the last 5 minutes of a "traditional" boil, and following The Pol's adjusted hop chart would have me "dry-spicing," which I don't think will work very well.

Right now I'm considering doing a spice tea as discussed somewhere in Yuri_Rage's Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale thread.

Has anyone done a spiced no-chill beer that could offer some advice? Thanks in advance!

eulipion2 said:

Hello,
I'm planning to brew BierMuncher's Blue Balls Belgian Wit, but doing it No-Chill. The only problem is that the orange peel and coriander are both supposed to be added during the last 5 minutes of a "traditional" boil, and following The Pol's adjusted hop chart would have me "dry-spicing," which I don't think will work very well.

Right now I'm considering doing a spice tea as discussed somewhere in Yuri_Rage's Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale thread.

Has anyone done a spiced no-chill beer that could offer some advice? Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

I would soak your spices in 1/2 cup vodka starting the same time you put the beer in primary, let them soak until you bottle or keg, and then strain the vodka into your bottling bucket or keg.

Just use a fine mesh bag for the orange peel and coriander. I've done that in the past and the beer ended up just fine. That way when you transfer you leave the bag behind. Done and done.

I did a No Chill wit beer that eventually bottle-bombed on me (Wit yeast is notorious for pausing/stopping fermentation early, then kicking back up), and I did the spice additions right at flameout, before I poured into my No Chill tank. The bottles I drank before it bombed on me were pretty much perfect for the style as far as the spice is concerned.

Also, I'll tell you right now that I've come to disregard the Pols chart for No Chilling. My own experiments seem to indicate that flameout/tranfer hop additions in No Chill beers contribute ZERO bitterness, and aroma equal to that of Dry Hopping BEFORE primary fermentation, if you can imagine such a thing. Meaning that most of the aroma gets blown out during primary.

On tap right now I have a British Blonde Ale (kinda like a Boddingtons) which had .5oz Magnum for bittering and 3oz Goldings at flameout. The hops were poured into the No Chill tank along with all the hot wort. This beer (after sitting for 2 months) has a nice muted hop aroma, and is slightly sweet. The 3oz of hops at flameout certainly did NOT count as a 15-20 min addition. If so, the beer would be much more bitter.

Interesting. I find The Pol's chart to be fairly accurate to my tasting, though I have an IPA that will really define no-chill hoppiness for me once I get it bottled and carbed. Up to this point I've only done moderately hoppy beers, so this IPA will be my benchmark.

ghpeel, you added the spices to the kettle at flame-out, then transferred the wort off the spices into the cube, or did the spices somehow make the transfer as well?

As for the vodka soak, interesting. I've seen flavored vodkas made this way, but never thought of using them as beer flavorings. As the only vodka I have in my house is the dirt-cheap stuff I use in my airlocks, I'd be afraid of giving a delicate beer like a wit some hot flavors, even from such a small amount. I think I like the boil method better, if I can make it work.

I'm not really worried about the spices (or anything else for that matter) being accidentally transferred, as my 'hop taco' is pretty amazing at filtering stuff out, I was just wondering what the best way to get the spice flavor without getting too much. Also, don't have any mesh bags other than my big BIAB bag.

Thanks for all the input.

eulipion2 said:

ghpeel, you added the spices to the kettle at flame-out, then transferred the wort off the spices into the cube, or did the spices somehow make the transfer as well?

Click to expand...

The spices were added at flameout, and got poured into the No chill tank along with the wort. I can't recall exactly how long that batch sat in the tank, but it was probably 2-4 days before yeast was pitched.

ghpeel, forgot to come back and say thanks for the advice. I have just one more question though: did you adjust the amount of spices you used to compensate for the extended contact time, or did you use the same amount you would have used in a chilled-wort beer? I hope to do this within the week, then I can stop pestering with questions

Thanks again!

No I dont think I adjusted the spice amounts. Unless you're actively boiling them, I don't think the spices were affected much by their time in the No Chill tank.

Well, since my hop/trub filter is pretty rockin', I just added the spices directly to the cube and racked on top. We'll see how it goes. This may set the precedent for how I spice no-chill beers in the future. .75 oz each orange peel and coriander. Fermentation smells amazing!