Pumpkin spice ale

[Spohl1]

Im currently about 3 days into fermentation of a pumpkin spice ale from mr beer and it is their own recipe. It calls for mulling spice to be added in a hop sack just as the water starts to boil before you add the hme. I let it boil for a couple minutes and left it in until i poured it into the fermenter. Now im just curious because the instructions are really vague and all they say is to add the spices to the boiling water and thats all they mention. Should i have put the sack of spices into the fermentor too or was 5 mins of boiling them into the wort enough? It smelled good but i just dont want to go to all that trouble and not be able to taste it. Also it looks like the sediment in the fermenter is above the spigot. I added 8 oz of pureed pumpkin to the wort in the fermentor asper the instructions so im just curious if i should transfer it before bottling which could be tricky with the mr beer. I do have glass carboys and a bottling bucket as well. Any advice is appreciated

 

[inkman15]

Admittedly I know nothing about using a Mr. Beer kit, but from what I can deduce based on your description, it sounds like you added your spice mixture just as you hit a boil and then proceeded to do the full 60 minute boil?

If that's the case, you'll definitely have boiled off any aromas that the spices might have contributed. Typically it's best practice to add your spice mixture toward the backend of the boil (I usually add with 5 minutes left or at flame out) in order to maintain some aromas/flavors. I also add a "spice tea" at bottling/kegging time to increase the pumpkin spice flavor. I'd highly recommend you do that. Here's what I use. I just boil these in 1 cup of water, let it cool to room temp, and then add to my keg or bottling bucket. Then rack the beer on top of it. This has helped me achieve the spice flavor I like.

o ½ tsp cinnamon
o ¼ tsp ginger
o 1/8 tsp allspice
o 1/8 tsp nutmeg

 

[Spohl1]

Its a extract beer so i only boiled the spices for 5 mins then removed from heat and then added the extract. I was wondering if adding the spice before bottling was a good idea or not so i think i will give it a shot. Thanks

 

[enkamania]

I was wondering if adding the spice before bottling was a good idea or not so i think i will give it a shot. Thanks

It comes down to personal taste. I add a spice addition with 5 minutes to go in the boil and after one week in the fermenter.

 

[Spohl1]

Well i decided to take a very quick smell of the fermenting beer and it smells really good you can really smell the spices so now im not too sure. I did add almost twice as much to the hop sack so maybe ill just wait and smell it when i go to bottle to decide i dont want to over do it

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

+1 for inkman. I add a spice tea in secondary. I use about a tablespoon of McCormick's Pumpkin Pie Spice for a 5 gal batch and it gives a great aroma and flavor. Some folks use as little as a teaspoon. Once again, it depends on your preference.