Licorice???

Okay, so I'm working on my first batch from a recipe instead of a kit. (I'm altering the recipe a little.)

It's an Oatmeal Stout, and the recipe calls for 1/2 stick of brewer's licorice, which I have. However, the recipe doesn't say what to do with it. When do I add this? Do I steep it with the grains? Do I add it at the end of the boil with the last of the hops? Do I put it in the primary? Secondary? Do I use it whole, or crush/grate it up?

What do I do with it?

Thanks.

put it in in the last 15 min of the boil believe... or that might be licorice root. You should probably not listen to me.

but a little of it goes a long long way, seriously, don't put more then 1-2 and inches in. I put far to much in a porter i did awhile ago, took about 2 1/2 months to mellow out to be ok (the flavor is still a bit too pronounced)

Thanks, but I do have one more question:

Do I fish it out after the boil, before moving to the primary? Or do I leave it in?

I brewed an Oatmeal Stout about 1.5 months ago. The recipe called for adding it the last 30 minutes of the boil. It dissolved into the wort, so no worries about fishing it out!

If it's brewer's licorice, it will dissolve. If it's root, leave it behind after boiling (like your hops).

Okay, thanks. It's root, so I'll just leave it in.

Sorry to resurrect a REALLY old thread, but I was planning on making a licorice stout myself, and I totally forgot to purchase some brewer's licorice from austin homebrew supply. My LHBS only has licorice root, which didn't seem to add much licorice flavor to my beer when I used it last time - even though I used some star anise as well. Me and my SWMBO like our licorice flavor STRONG, so I was wondering if I could try using licorice candy in the boil or something to achieve this affect? Has anyone experimented around with this, and does anyone have any perspective on how much is right?

I have never been a licorice fan. Although a licorice stout sounds like it may go together like pb&j

I recently did a Baltic Porter with 0.5 oz of Licorice Root per 5 gal..... it seemed to impart some earthy aroma but virtually no flavor. Now I'm kind of regretting not using Star Anise instead because that stuff is quite potent.

The root I got was chopped and from the local natural grocery. It did smell earthy but if you chewed on some of the root within a few seconds a tasty licorice flavor started to poke through.

My question is..... what's the best way to augment my currently kegged batch of Baltic Porter with some licorice flavor? I really would like it in there...

1) Licorice tea?
2) Dry Hop w/ Star Anise?
3) Star Anise tea?
4) Some commercial extract?

bump

I'm steeping 4 Anise stars in 90 proof spirits (few ounces) right now. Planning to use it for blending as needed to get more licorice flavor. Will report back in a month or two with results when lagering is complete.

1 oz into 5 gallons of a very big Baltic Porter turned it into a quite delicious and completely unintended black licorice beer. Be wary of that star anise... it's wicked potent