Holiday Brew

[SocalNat]

I am brewing a holiday beer with 6lbs dark LME, 3 lbs amber LME, 8 oz. Caramel 60L, 8 oz. Special B specialty grains, cinimon stick, and nutmeg. Primary for 10 days, racked to secondary and dry hopped (don't know if I should have). Keep in secondary for 2 weeks. I want to add vanilla bean and candied ginger. SHould I add it when I bottle it and if I do should I boil it with the priming sugar? This is only my second brew so I am a bit clueless. Thanks for you help.

 

[StittsvilleJames]

mmm ginger...

I just tried one of my holiday beers...tasted alot like a gingerbread man, and I only used 1/4 tsp in the boil and 1/4 tsp in secondary (along wiht nutmeg,cinnamon,cloves,and allspice). The point is, don't add too much spices, they taste stronger than you'd expect. You don't have a long time left to age it to mellow out the spices if you add too much, with only 1.5 months until Christmas.

 

[manoaction]

Soak the beans and ginger in a bit of vodka for a bit and then throw the whole bit into the secondary for a week or two, rack off that and bottle it.

At least that's how i've done raw vanilla in the past.

I cut open my vanilla beans, scrape out the goo, and cut it up into pieces before the vodka soak.