Yet ANOTHER stupid pumpkin ale question

[ayrton]

I know someone recently asked something similar, so forgive me:

I just racked my pumpkin ale from primary to secondary, and I tasted it, and the spices have become much more mild than they were initially. If I add more ground cinnamon or nutmeg (or both), do I run the risk or contamination?

Also, if I were to add some freshly-picked hops for dry hopping, would I have to worry about contamination there? I can't sanitize the little buggers.

 

[Orpheus]

If you want to add more spices, make a spice "tea" to add. This is what I did, I added my spices to a pint of water and boiled it up for ten minutes and then quietly and gently added it to my secondary carboy.

You can dry hop with the fresh hops just fine. Many people give them a steaming on the stove (like with your broccoli steamer) before adding them to the carboy.