licorice spiced stout

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kaptain_karma

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I'm brewing a spiced stout for my next batch, and have some questions about when to add some of the seasonings. I'm using brewer's licorice, star anise, paradise seeds, indian sarsaparilla, and maybe a few whole cloves. I know I can just toss the licorice stick in at the beginning of the boil, but I'm not sure when to toss everything else in. I don't want to overboil anything, but I also want to be sure to at steep everything long enough to get the essential flavors, especially since I'm not going to use too much of any one spice. Any experience or suggestions?
 
Welcome to the forum kaptain.

Sounds like an interesting drink.

If you use the cloves, they should go in at the start of the boil, but I don't know about any of the others.

-a.
 
Yes indeed it does sound like an interesting blend. Please let us know how it comes out. Have you made any other brews using licorice? I haven't tried a recipe using licorice yet but am seriously thinking about it in the near future. For me licorice and beer go together like pizza and beer to most people. (I still enjoy a cold beer with my pizza though :cross: . Keep us informed.
 
ONE licorice candy in a 5 gallon boil? Did I get that right? I would think one stick per 12oz, maybe? But I've read licorice beer recipes before, they all seem to say one stick, + or-.... I think my local healthy food store has licorice root....
 
A stick of Brewer's licorice is a very different beast from a candy. It's the straight root or very slightly processed. Adds a fair amount of sweetness to the brew as well.
 
Hey, me and Rewster are brewing up this stout together. We were wondering if anyone knew if the flavors of star anise come from oils like hops, or sugars like malts. Or if it was some other animal. Thanks.
 
Yeah, I just got back from helping Kaptain brew up this beer. Believe it or not, it smells like it will be a great beer. Kap, I think you used exactly the right porportions of these ingredients... very little of each. Most of the flavors will come from the malts and hops, and just a little from the spices.

I know the flavors from licorice will come from sugar, I think the paradise seeds, because they produce a whitish powder when crushed, most likely contain quite a bit of sugar, the sarsparilla is woody, and is most likely an oil based flavor, but I don't know what the star anise is. Just curiosity, but if anyone knows, I'd like to hear your input.
 
If the way this brew smelled while cookin it is any indication, this recipe is gonna be a keeper. As for the spices, I pretty much started small and worked up until it smelled right. Instinct (read: impulsive guessing) was at the heart of the seasonings. Anyways, here's the final recipe for Messy Kitchen brewery's Sunday Stout:

brought 3 gal water from cold to 158-165ish and held for 30 min with

1/3 lb Simpson's roasted barley
1/3 lb Simpson's black malt
1/2 lb Simpson's extra dark crystal malt
1/3 lb Fawcett's malted oats
1 1/4 oz indian sarsaparilla
1/2 g whole cloves
(plus about 1/2 oz leftover Simpson's organic chocolate malt that wasn't doing anything else)

strained and sparged said concoction and brought to a boil (60 min) then added

3.3 lbs John Bull dark LME
4 lbs Munton's extra dark DME
1 lb Munton's extra light DME (also leftover from another beer and thrown in for the hell of it)
1 stick (22 g) brewer's licorice
1 oz Perle hop pellets
1/2+ oz Target hop pellets

-30 min added 1/4 oz star anise
-11 min added 17 g (1/2-3/4 oz) Golding (American) leaf hops
-7 min added 1/2 g paradise seeds
-5 min added 2 tsp gypsum, 3/4 tsp irish moss
-2 min added 1/4+ oz Golding (American) leaf hops

OG: 1.072

Man this beer smelled f'n great while it was brewing. The spices were toned down just enought to compliment the stout rather than overpower it. Though were it one's want, one could totally jack up the cloves and other spices to turn this into a holiday stout. Anyway, this is definitely a recipe I'm gonna tinker with and try again sometime.
 
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