Sterilizing coriander (cilantro) seeds and zest before adding to primary

[kangabrew]

Hello,

I have a Belgian style wit fermenting as of today and I am looking to add some additional coriander and orange zest when things have settled a bit in the primary (I am not planning to do a secondary).

So my question is how to best sanitize these adjuncts?

1. Boil or heat to 70 °C for a couple minutes.
2. Soak in vodka for a couple of days (should I strain it before adding?).
3. Soak in starsan for a couple of minutes.

Thanks!

 

[doug293cz]

For future reference, I'd add them at flameout. I've done this with good results.

For your current situation, I think I'd go with the vodka soak (just enough to cover), and just dump everything in the fermenter. If you want to heat sanitize, I'd go to 80°C (176°F) just to be sure.

Brew on

 

[kangabrew]

Thanks

Well actually I added them to the boil @5 min. But I want to add more because I think didn't add enough.

For future reference, I'd add them at flameout. I've done this with good results.

For your current situation, I think I'd go with the vodka soak (just enough to cover), and just dump everything in the fermenter. If you want to heat sanitize, I'd go to 80°C (176°F) just to be sure.

Brew on

 

[universalfrost]

Vodka or neutral grain spirit soak and then dump in fermenter...

 

[Jayjay1976]

Just a caution, I recently added half an ounce of coriander to a tripel that had been fermenting for a month; I toasted then coarsely crushed the coriander seeds before boiling briefly with a bit of DME and then added to the fermenter. The resulting flavor is more savory than I expected, with an aftertaste like Chinese carry-out. Hard to drink, weird flavor and even at a delightful 10.5% ABV I may end up dumping it to free up my bottles.

Bottom line: don't toast coriander. Just my experience, so YMMV.

 

[RM-MN]

Hello,

I have a Belgian style wit fermenting as of today and I am looking to add some additional coriander and orange zest when things have settled a bit in the primary (I am not planning to do a secondary).

So my question is how to best sanitize these adjuncts?

1. Boil or heat to 70 °C for a couple minutes.
2. Soak in vodka for a couple of days (should I strain it before adding?).
3. Soak in starsan for a couple of minutes.

Thanks!

How about none of the above. Just pop open the fermenter just enough to drop them in, then re-close it. The beer in the primary is too acidic for most bacteria to reproduce in, it also has alcohol to help prevent an infection, and if you don't leave the fermenter open it will have a bunch of CO2 trapped there to further keep the bacteria at bay.

 

[Miraculix]

How about none of the above. Just pop open the fermenter just enough to drop them in, then re-close it. The beer in the primary is too acidic for most bacteria to reproduce in, it also has alcohol to help prevent an infection, and if you don't leave the fermenter open it will have a bunch of CO2 trapped there to further keep the bacteria at bay.

Russian roulette with wild yeast, I like that!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Hard to drink, weird flavor and even at a delightful 10.5% ABV I may end up dumping it to free up my bottles.

No need to dump...just blend it with a lesser beer to thin it out.

 

[lump42]

Vodka soak or hot water steep should be fine. Either way I would pull small samples and try dosing them at different rates in order to figure out how much to add to the fermentor. This will keep you from over doing it.

 

[kangabrew]

Thank you for you suggestions.

I will go with vodka soak, but I will first taste the beer after ~10 days of fermentation to determine if I am happy with its taste before adding additional spices.