How to safely add spices, yeast nutrient, etc.

[Circe]

I'm new to all of this and hitting a bit of a wall. There is a lot of really great detail on how to sanitize equipment, but then nothing much about how people safely add some ingredients. Here are some things I'm stuck on. I would really appreciate any advice you all have on how to do this stuff the right way.

I haven't added yeast nutrient over several days like many recipes suggest because I'm afraid I will introduce bacteria in the carboy for example. I just pop the whole amount in on brew day and hope for the best, but I want to start trying out other methods. I bought a big bag of the stuff though and now I feel it might be tainted from the air. I sanitized the teaspoon I used, but still, I'm sure the bag gets bacteria on it and I can't exactly soak that in sanitizing fluid. Do experienced brewers boil nutrient in water and let it cool before adding to make sure?

I bought a pack of those sugar drops for carbonating bottles and I'm a bit worried about using them, especially after I first open the package. No clue how to make sure those are safe. The outside of the bag is suspect too.

When a recipe calls for spices like cinnamon and ginger or even raisins, what is the ideal way to do that without introducing bacteria/wild yeast? I made a mead that called for cinnamon and just popped a piece in from my spice cabinet and nothing bad happened but I think I may have just been lucky.

 

[marc1]

Sanitary does not mean sterile. Some bacteria is fine, you can't prevent all of them getting into it. Sanitizer doesn't kill all bacteria (neither will boiling!), it just gets enough killed for your massive pitch of yeast to take control.

Obviously you don't want to introduce unnecessary filth, but brewing is not as susceptible to contamination as you seem to think.

Clean and sanitized is important, sterile is not.

 

[GoodTruble]

The best option will depend on the specific beer, but three common approaches to sanitizing ingredients:

1. Add to boil, near the end of boil.
2. Boil separately in water to add during fermentation.
3. Soak in alcohol before adding.

And, imo, sugar drops suck anyway. Just toss them and boil sugar to make a priming solution and dose each bottle using a plastic plunger.

 

[AlexKay]

I used sugar drops for probably 30-40 batches. Never sanitized them, never had a problem. YMMV, n=1, and so on.

 

[GoodTruble]

I used sugar drops for probably 30-40 batches. Never sanitized them, never had a problem. YMMV, n=1, and so on.

Did the drops produce enough carbonation? I've only used them twice and got less than desirable carb.

 

[Beernik]

Not all yeast nutrients are the same. You’ll want to add yours when the bottle says to add it, not when a recipe says to add it. The person who wrote the recipe could be using a different brand or type.

I usually bring spice and fruit additions to pasteurization temperatures before adding. 15 seconds at 162F will do it.

 

[Circe]

Not all yeast nutrients are the same. You’ll want to add yours when the bottle says to add it, not when a recipe says to add it. The person who wrote the recipe could be using a different brand or type.

I usually bring spice and fruit additions to pasteurization temperatures before adding. 15 seconds at 162F will do it.

Do you boil the spices and fruit in water? For fruit aren't you worried about getting a haze from pectin?

Is this also how people add hops after brew day? I've only done one kit for an IPA that made everything as simple as possible but it seems like most recipes call for adding hops after the fact and I'd just be nervous about adding them straight from the bag to the carboy.

 

[Miraculix]

Due to osmotic pressure, sugar kills nearly everything on it's surface, so it's by default very clean.

Yeast nutrient is not necessary in beer, with kveik yeast, it might be of benefit though.

Hops are antibacterial as well (that's the reason they were introduced into brewing), so they are also not of any concern.

 

[solsbrew]

I've, thankfully, not had a problem with later additions. I just pop the top of the fermenter off and drop in whatever. My understanding is an active fermentation with an already healthy yeast strain is a pretty unwelcome environment for stray nasties.

I have started using magnets to experiment adding late additions without opening the fermenter. I'm fermenting my second batch using this method now and in a couple of days I'll pull the magnets from the top of the fermenter to drop the hops into the wort without opening the top. It works really well if you are really worried about contamination. Also for NEIPAs whish is what I'm experimenting for.

 

[Beernik]

I don’t boil, I pasteurize.

I don’t worry about haze. I’ve never gotten enough haze to care about it.

Dry hopping is usually just putting the hops in a bag & tossing them in.

 

[AlexKay]

Did the drops produce enough carbonation? I've only used them twice and got less than desirable carb.

If anything, I found that they over-carbonated. Just fine for Belgians, too fizzy for everything else. One of the main reasons I moved to kegs.

 

[Dancy]

I decided to use some sugar drops from Northern Brewer the last two times I bottled because I thought it a good way to minimize introducing oxygen - worked well. Even when I GENTLY stir corn sugar into my bottling bucket, I am introducing some oxygen into the beer. Unfortunately, I’ll still have to do it that way for my Belgian Dark Strong Ale because I have to use more sugar for the extra carbonation that it requires,

 

[Sammy86]

I'm new to all of this and hitting a bit of a wall. There is a lot of really great detail on how to sanitize equipment, but then nothing much about how people safely add some ingredients. Here are some things I'm stuck on. I would really appreciate any advice you all have on how to do this stuff the right way.

I haven't added yeast nutrient over several days like many recipes suggest because I'm afraid I will introduce bacteria in the carboy for example. I just pop the whole amount in on brew day and hope for the best, but I want to start trying out other methods. I bought a big bag of the stuff though and now I feel it might be tainted from the air. I sanitized the teaspoon I used, but still, I'm sure the bag gets bacteria on it and I can't exactly soak that in sanitizing fluid. Do experienced brewers boil nutrient in water and let it cool before adding to make sure?

I bought a pack of those sugar drops for carbonating bottles and I'm a bit worried about using them, especially after I first open the package. No clue how to make sure those are safe. The outside of the bag is suspect too.

When a recipe calls for spices like cinnamon and ginger or even raisins, what is the ideal way to do that without introducing bacteria/wild yeast? I made a mead that called for cinnamon and just popped a piece in from my spice cabinet and nothing bad happened but I think I may have just been lucky.

First, welcome to the community! As many experienced brewers will tell you, relax, don't worry have a home brew (RDWHAHB)!

I've been using the carb tabs for a year now and never had an issue...the yeast eat the sugar and create the carbonation for the beer...so really nothing to worry about there.

As mentioned above spices should be used IMO at the end of the boil 10-15 minutes. Raisins can be submerged in bourbon or vodka and added in the fermentor. Other fruit like say strawberries or blueberries can be frozen, thawed and then added.

Beer is very resilient and the chances of you adding something terrible to it are in all honesty pretty slim as long as you sanitize and clean everything before the wort touches it.

Remember, it's just beer... @bracconiere has been brewing beer for like 30 years with wine yeasts and his beer is apparently doing well.

 

[Miraculix]

First, welcome to the community! As many experienced brewers will tell you, relax, don't worry have a home brew (RDWHAHB)!

I've been using the carb tabs for a year now and never had an issue...the yeast eat the sugar and create the carbonation for the beer...so really nothing to worry about there.

As mentioned above spices should be used IMO at the end of the boil 10-15 minutes. Raisins can be submerged in bourbon or vodka and added in the fermentor. Other fruit like say strawberries or blueberries can be frozen, thawed and then added.

Beer is very resilient and the chances of you adding something terrible to it are in all honesty pretty slim as long as you sanitize and clean everything before the wort touches it.

Remember, it's just beer... @bracconiere has been brewing beer for like 30 years with wine yeasts and his beer is apparently doing well.

Freezing and thawing fruit does not sanitize them. You need to pasteurize them, if you don't want to risk an infection.

 

[Sammy86]

Freezing and thawing fruit does not sanitize them. You need to pasteurize them, if you don't want to risk an infection.

Doesn't freezing kill anything that might be on the fruit? That's the way I was taught to add fruit to my ciders and never had an issue.

 

[Miraculix]

Doesn't freezing kill anything that might be on the fruit? That's the way I was taught to add fruit to my ciders and never had an issue.

No, it might kill a little bit, but a whole lot of bugs will happily defreeze afterwards.

Cider is different, there are no residual sugars that the yeast cannot get but bugs are happy to eat. Beer has a lot of these unfermentable sugars. They are only unfermentable to our brewer's yeast! The bugs love it.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

Doesn't freezing kill anything that might be on the fruit? That's the way I was taught to add fruit to my ciders and never had an issue.

A big reason to do this is that it breaks down plant cell walls and such making extraction from the fruit much better.

It'll definitely knock down the viability of the microbes present, but nothing compared to chemical or heat sanitizing.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

A good example that a significant population can certainly survive freezing! And I believe wild stuff is more likely to survive. They do make it through the winter out in the wild after all...

https://brulosophy.com/2020/02/10/i...usly-frozen-liquid-yeast-exbeeriment-results/

 

[Sammy86]

No, it might kill a little bit, but a whole lot of bugs will happily defreeze afterwards.

Cider is different, there are no residual sugars that the yeast cannot get but bugs are happy to eat. Beer has a lot of these unfermentable sugars. They are only unfermentable to our brewer's yeast! The bugs love it.

Got ya, learn something new every day!

 

[GoodTruble]

I haven't done it, but I've read posts from others that use sous vide equipment to pasteurize fruit.