Spice addtion to boil

[joey46987]

Good morning all,

Had a quick question to adding some spices to my sweet stout i will be brewing on friday. I will be adding nutmeg (freshly ground), mace, whole cloves, and vanilla beans (split down the middle). I wanted to know if anyone who has added one or all of these ingredients to the boil had good/bad/indifferent results they could pass on. Thanks!

 

[solbes]

Depends on how much spice you want to come through. In my spruced winter warmer, I added .5 tsp cinammon, .25 tsp of nutmeg, and .25 tsp of whole cloves (just a few) at 10 minutes from flameout. Came through a little stronger than I thought it would as I wanted the spruce flavor up front and spice pretty far in the background. In an unaged condition, I'd say they are both in the foreground. Certainly not an overpowering spice level.

In my pumpkin I made in 2013, I added double those amounts plus 1/4 tsp of ginger. It was too strong initially for my tastes, but mellowed nicely between Halloween and Thanksgiving. I brewed it in early September.

I will say you get wide variety of spice levels from recipes here. Some have added teaspoons of spice and been happy with the results, while some add just a dash and say its too strong.

Hope that helps in your decision for nutmeg and whole cloves. I have never used vanilla beans before, but don't most people soak these in vodka for some time and then add it all in secondary (no boil)?