Adding herbs/spices/fruit to Kit brews

Having just read Greg Hughes' Home Brew Beer, there is a section which lists quite a few spices/herbs/fruit etc. that can either be added to the boil or '4 days into fermentation'. Therefore I assume that these can be added to kit brews also?

I'm specifically thinking about a Christmas ale for next year (cinnamon, orange, etc.). How would I go about preparing such ingredients? I assume I would need to boil/sterilizing them first? Do I just boil them in a small amount of water and then add both the ingredient plus the water (so as to retain any lost flavour from boiling) into the FV?

Yeah i'd probably do that. You do it after fermentation so the good aromas arn't blasted off, fermentation is quite volatile!

Careful if you use clove, it's a beast and can totally overpower a brew. cinnamon sticks, allspice, nutmeg and orange are all a bit more forgiving. use fresh for better flavour

[graysalchemy]

The best way to ado spices is post fermentation.

Two reasons the first as above co2 can drive off volatiles just like boiling

The second reason is that you have a fermented beer so you have a flavour base. Adding spices IMHO is not an exact science so you need to taste ad they are steeping. Things can change quite quickly especially with clove and cinnamon, so if you add them in a small sterilised muslin bag and check daily you can whip them out when you have the desired taste.

If you were to do it pre fermentation or in the boil you would lose plenty of the complexity of the flavour and you would have no idea of how it would turn out once it is fer meted. It would be okay if you hadn't added enough but if you added to much there is no way of going back. I spiced a cider once with clove cinnamon and cardoman and left them a day or too longer than I should, even after a year it was undrinkable and ended up being used in cooking.

The same is true for delicate fruit additions ie rasperrys etc the fermentation soon drives off the flavour. The exception to this is robust fruits like elderberry which are best fermented with the beer, to add a more port like quality to the beer.

this is all good to hear. Thanks for the information.

I suppose I need to start hunting for AG recipes to see that sort of quantities that I would need to add for each of the spices, etc.....

It can be a minefield in my opinion, better to search for some solid information on spiced beers via BYO.com, for example. One thing is true - less is more. Don't let it overpower, you just want a subtle note.

+1 for all the above advice. I've made a kit based festive ale the last couple of years doing exactly this. Its been very much trial and error, last Christmases ale had a very strong citris flavour, I should have taken the oranges out earlier.

You can add the spices to a spirt ( I have used vanilla vodka) and soak them for a few days. Then add them and the vodka to your beer. I poured the vodka in to the fermenter through sterilised muslin to catch the spice then tied it up to create s bag that I could remove. I used a light ale base and added orange peel, clove (go easy) coriander seed and just a few pepper corns. It was a bit of a hit!

I'll dig out my recipes and post them up, I did post before but possibly on the other place.

Hello Guys,

Choose Your herbs and spices

Sweet Spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves give warmth and sweetness to brew. Think about a pumpkin lager or a spiced Christmas mix. Cardamom and anise are less normal however similarly heavenly sweet flavours which fall into this same class.

Spiced brews are disputable in the homebrew world. A few people love them, and others feign exacerbation at the specify of them. On the off chance that pumpkin zest lattes make you need to choke, it may be best to avoid these sweet flavours and attempt a portion of the others recorded beneath.

Vanilla – Throwing a couple of split vanilla beans into your lager is an astounding method to make or improve a sweet and smooth flavour.

Vanilla is a typical expansion to doormen, stouts, and cream lagers. It runs well with sweet flavours and in addition citrusy augmentations like orange peel, and can even adjust hot flavours like ginger or dark pepper.

Garden Herbs – Garden herbs like Thai basil, orange amber thyme, cilantro, and pineapple sage can give citrusy as well as lush tones which work brilliantly in invigorating, light mixes. Less basic herbs like lemon verbena, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass are additionally incredible decisions.

Coriander – Adding pulverized coriander seeds contributes a nutty smell and upgrades the citrus seasons in a lager. It is scrumptious in witbiers and comparable styles.

Botanical Additions – Lavender, chamomile, and rosehips have a fragile flavour which does best in lighter lagers. Flower augmentations can be fantastically one of a kind and invigorating, however, they can taste lathery on the off chance that you try too hard.

Piney Additions – Spruce tips, rosemary, and juniper berries add extraordinary piney flavour to lager. These increments can upgrade, supplement, or even supplant bounces altogether.

Hot and Spicy Additions – Chilies, jalapeños, dark pepper, and ginger can give an amazing and fulfilling punch. In the event that you haven't had a hot brew previously, simply envision bean stew chocolate forceful or a jalapeño pale beer.

Salt – Salt is never utilized in the brew and is by and large not a prescribed expansion. The special case is the point at which you are preparing a sharp style brew like a Gose. For this situation, a spot of salt, alongside flavours, for example, coriander or caraway, can improve the acrid, vegetable-like kind of the lager.

what no lemon grass, only non hop thing I would use...vanilla works to make a stout palatable a lot faster by smoothing over the edges that normally require ageing. And what not hibiscus flowers / Jamaican sorrel. I'm glad sloes were not mentioned...a friend of mine said the other day that I've never made a bad beer (lier) except 'that pink one' which was sloe.

Cinnamon and ginger are very easy, I'd potentially just chuck in dried/tinned/jars versions of either with no prep at all. Fresh ginger I probably would soak in boiling water then strain the result in - done that before with success.

You can also buy ginger syrup though note it will cause more fermentation if it's not sugar-free.

Orange peel can be tricky. When doing this before with mead, it killed the priming fermentation due to, we think, pesticides on the peel.

I've done exactly as described and it turned out well - added some treacle too.