Is this too much spice?

[zinn]

I'm bottling a Christmas porter tomorrow. I want to create a spice tea and add it to the bottling bucket. I'd like to taste the spices, but I want them to be pretty subtle (I've heard horror stories about a lot of these spices). What do you think about the amounts below?

The plan would be to boil the following with a cup of water and then let it cool before dumping it into the bottling bucket:

• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 0.5 grams star anise
• 0.5 ounce juniper berries
• ½ clove

Then I'll add 3 ounces of Penzey's double strength vanilla extract.

 

[AlexKay]

It doesn’t seem like it’s over-spiced. I’ve put 1 g/gallon of cinnamon in wits before. My advice would be to taste that water (concentrated though it may be) before dumping it in.

 

[DonT]

I've never used star anise or juniper berries, but I would use vodka instead of water and let it sit overnight. Amounts seem ok, but to do it right you could add a controlled amount to a bottle and see how it tastes.

 

[Dgallo]

if your adding it to your bottling bucket, just taste it as you add it. Add it in quarter amounts abs lightly stir each time and taste it. I’d certainly do this with the vanilla as 3 oz for a Porter could take over the flavor.

Also as suggested above. Mix it with 1-2oz of a good quality vodka, or even rum..room temperature water will not exact the flavor compounds very well

 

[Jayjay1976]

Sounds a bit light to me on the clove and cinnamon. I've also never used juniper in a beer but I can tell you they contain a lot of juniper oil and can quickly destroy a gin if too much is used, might want to cut that down a bit. I do think that the evergreen/christmas tree aroma of juniper sounds amazing in a christmas ale so that might be a flavor you want to come forward a bit. Also consider some nutmeg, to me it has a warming holiday spice but milder than cinnamon, clove, etc. and IMHO blends really well with vanilla. Also maybe a touch of ginger which I think would rhyme with the cinnamon and clove. And a bit of candied orange peel. I'm going to stop now, you have me really excited to try brewing a spiced christmas ale myself.

 

[Bramling Cross]

I'll reinforce Jayjay's remarks about juniper berry. A lot goes a very long way. Your post immediately brought memories of Anchor's '99 version of Our Special Ale to mind--it was the first time I had to choke a pint of that stuff down.

As someone that is going for subtle, you're bottling at the right time. Spices tend to fade quickly, so, by bottling now, you'll have a good chunk of November and all of December to track your spice charge and make notes for next year.

 

[zinn]

Sounds a bit light to me on the clove and cinnamon. I've also never used juniper in a beer but I can tell you they contain a lot of juniper oil and can quickly destroy a gin if too much is used, might want to cut that down a bit. I do think that the evergreen/christmas tree aroma of juniper sounds amazing in a christmas ale so that might be a flavor you want to come forward a bit. Also consider some nutmeg, to me it has a warming holiday spice but milder than cinnamon, clove, etc. and IMHO blends really well with vanilla. Also maybe a touch of ginger which I think would rhyme with the cinnamon and clove. And a bit of candied orange peel. I'm going to stop now, you have me really excited to try brewing a spiced christmas ale myself.

Ah, I like these ideas. Thanks!

 

[Eddy Monsoon]

Go real easy on the cinnamon

Pet hate since I overdid it and ended up having to drink it all myself

Can add more but can't take it out

 

[Beermeister32]

There’s so many ways of wrecking a good ale with spices. I think I’d bottle the beer without the spices. 5 gallons is a lot to suffer through drinking by yourself if you don’t get it right.

I’d take about half a dozen of the small half pint size mason jars and fill with some vodka. Put different spice mixes into the jars and label them. Let the vodka extract the flavors.

When beer drinking time comes, add some back to your pint glass of ale. You can chose which flavors you like and you’ll have many styles to choose from. You could even blend some together. If you find a flavor worthy of a 5 gallon batch, scale it up to brew next time.

 

[Oda NoBREWnaga]

That seems pretty light. I brewed an anise porter and even one whole star anise in the boil didn't affect the flavor very much.

If you make a tincture with some grain alcohol you can adjust as you bottle and even subdivide the batch into light, medium, and heavy spice versions.

 

[bp3peat]

Making a tincture is the way to go. Put your spices in a mason jar and add vodka, rum, or bourbon and fill the jar 3/4 full with alcohol. Let it sit for a few days to weeks depending on how much time before kegging or bottling and shake it up every day multiple times. I used 2 oz’s of spice tincture and 1 oz of vanilla tincture in my keg. I made a pumpkin beer using this technique and it was excellent. I made the vanilla tincture separate so I could use it in other brews. You can always use the leftover tincture to put directly into a poured beer. Take notes for the next time. Cheers !!!

 

[cmac62]

My taster may be dead, but I think it is light on all accounts (except maybe the clove, not my favorite). I agree with the others that a tincture is definitely the way to go. I use juniper a fair amount. I really like it in a pale ale. If you do go with nutmeg I've always heard "be careful" of all the spices it can overpower real quick. Let us know how it goes