Christmas Spice BOMM

[loveofrose]

This recipe is loosely based on wayneb's Christmas Spiced Metheglin with a BOMM twist. I believe credit should be given where it is due.

I wanted something Christmas-sy quick, so here we go:

Christmas Spice BOMM - 1 gallon

Started by making 2 cups of tea using the following massive list of spices:
1 tsp Ancient Forest black tea
1 tsp Yerba Mate
1/4 stick cinnamon
1/8 tsp mace
2 pieces china ginger
2 allspice berries
1 clove
2 juniper berries
1/4 whole nutmeg
1/8 Star anise
1/8 Star anise seed
I let it brew on the spice for about an hour, then strained and added to carboy. Smelled wonderful.

Added 3 lbs orange blossom honey to a one gallon carboy.
Added 1.5 cups apple cider.
Added the juice of 2 cuties and peels without the pith.

Added 1/4 tsp DAP and 1/2 tsp of Fermaid K. (I'll add these again at 2/3 (1.08) & 1/3 (1.04) sugar break.)

Add 1/2 tsp K2CO3. One time addition. Increased the amount to compensate for the acidity of the fruit juice.

Added a slurry of Wyeast 1388.

I plan to add a vanilla bean and any other spices that need to be fortified post fermentation.



Better brewing through science!

 

[estricklin]

Yerba mate, interesting.

 

[loveofrose]

Day 2

Gravity 1.09. Added double nutrient as I'll be busy. Smells great.


Better brewing through science!

 

[loveofrose]

Day 12

Gravity 1.000. Damn this is good and it hasn't even cleared yet. You get a lot of orange with some Yerba mate spiciness. It finishes with a bit of clove surrounding your tongue. The best part is how soft it feels on the palate. A little hard to describe, but very delicious. I'm cold crashing this now. Santa is drinking this on Christmas!


Better brewing through science!

 

[IJesusChrist]

Why do you add everything upfront?

 

[loveofrose]

Why do you add everything upfront?

Why not?


Better brewing through science!

 

[IJesusChrist]

Why not?


Better brewing through science!

undoubtedly different flavor profiles

 

[loveofrose]

I'm sorry. Allow me to clarify. What exactly are you concerned about adding upfront. The honey? The spice? I would be more than happy to answer your question, but I need a clear question to answer.


Better brewing through science!

 

[IJesusChrist]

Why not add the tea, the spices, all the additives in secondary.

I feel you may lose a lot of the flavors if put in primary.

 

[loveofrose]

Ah, ok. I use the tea upfront to try and control the spices better. If you add to secondary, the spices can become overwhelming very quickly. In addition, it is very difficult to get the balance of different spices right by adding direct to secondary when you have more than one spice addition.

In this case, there are way too many spices. I've found making a tea for base spice, then adding in secondary one or two spices that need bolstering works out much better. Also, I want this to be ready by Christmas, so I have to make sure I don't over spice.

I tasted last night. Very delicious as it is. I can wait for it to clear so I can bottle it!


Better brewing through science!

 

[IJesusChrist]

Where did you get the juniper berries? (Skyrim?)

And how strong is the anise at this level? I appreciate licorice taste but it's probably my least favorite spice.

 

[loveofrose]

Where did you get the juniper berries? (Skyrim?)

And how strong is the anise at this level? I appreciate licorice taste but it's probably my least favorite spice.

Dried juniper berries are a commonly used brining herb. I got them at my grocery store.

Anise is more of a blended in flavor than a noticeable one. If I didn't tell you it was there, you couldn't pick it out. You would miss it if it wasn't there though. The predominate flavor is orange, but all the other spices create a rich complex background.


Better brewing through science!

 

[buzzerj]

Bray how did this batch turn out for you? Did it supply any Christmas cheer?

 

[loveofrose]

It was good at Christmas, but it tasted like it needed more time for the spices to come together. I'll let it age a few months and see if it emerges from it's dumb phase.


Better brewing through science!

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html