New ways to add a bit of flavour

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matthew_pullin

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Hi Guys

Im on my third batch now and im looking to get a little bit inventive with the flavoring of my brews without trying some of the more complex recipes. Other than different hops, yeasts and malts can you add flavor in other ways? I found a thread about adding cherry syrup which i cant link to because apparently its "to spamy" for a noob like me to post links :-). Have any of you tried adding other sugary treats such as maple syrup, treacle, golden syrup or honey to a brew? If so can you point out a few good "simple" recipes?

On a slightly more crazy note would it be possible to use any of the above as primer? i was thinking as a substitute to bit of sugar in the bottom of the bottles? would this just cock it up and not have any impact on the taste or add a subtle hint of what ever i choose to put in?

There is some great advice on here for beginners, its helped me a lot. So thanks to all that post here.

Regards
 
the amount of sugars used for priming is minimal no point in using anything els than common Tate and Lyle.
You can use flavourings during the boil of in fermenter...what ever you want. Lots of recipes incl sugars treacle's syrups...
 
Ive used orange blossom water in a summer ale before. And lemongrass in a witbeer too. Both tasted lovely... Less is more when it comes to flavours though.
 
I've tried making a couple of flavoured beers but I have struggled getting the amount of flavouring right both times.

An imperial coffee stout I made was only rescued because i aged it and it eventually mellowed out. If iwas to do one again i'd say no more than 100g for a 5 gallon batch. I added it by steeping the freshly ground beans into a sterilised demi-john with a litre of cold water for 48 hours before running it through a funnel lined with the perculator papers and adding the filtered liquid.

More recently i added 4 of these (http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/groceries/i ... 1425284340) into 5 gallons of smoked marzen style ale. In hindsight I think 3 would have been better, but luckily with it being sugar it only made it too sweet so I boiled some hops in water for extra bitterness to bring it back to drinkable.
 
Thanks guys

Im intrigued by the lemongrass flavored beer, i think that might be a good one to try. I think i might switch it round and put the lemongrass with a summer ale or an ipa. How did you incorporate the lemongrass?

I have been meaning to try a stout but its something i rarely drink so it would take up valuable bottling supplies :tongue:

i know i want to try a Cherry beer at one point have any of you tried this with fresh cherries? or used one of the Kriek cherry beer kit?

Cheers
 
You might also consider adding spices to your beer.

Adding one or two cinnamon sticks and/or five or six whole cloves to final 10-minutes of the boil (of a five gallon/19 liter batch) can impart and really nice aroma and flavor to your beer.

Adding fruit can also be an interesting experiment. Generally I am not a big fan of fruit beers but in the past I've made a really nice cranberry spiced ale. It is a good beer for the Holidays.

With fruit though you can end up with hazy beer if you boil it. One can add the enzyme pectinase to clarify it or avoid boiling. I usually just remove a portion of the wort and steep the fruit at about 140 F (60 C) for about 20 minutes and then add it to remaining wort as it cools down to that point from the boil.

At any rate, give spices and/or fruit a try.

- Scott
 
Stihler said:
You might also consider adding spices to your beer.

Adding one or two cinnamon sticks and/or five or six whole cloves to final 10-minutes of the boil (of a five gallon/19 liter batch) can impart and really nice aroma and flavor to your beer.

At any rate, give spices and/or fruit a try.

- Scott

+1 for the spice, I do this with some of my red wines :thumb:
 
The lemongrass went in with the boil. A great way to get all the volatile compounds out of flavour additions is to soak them in a small bit of vodka for 48hrs, just enough to cover. Then put the vodka infusion in the barrel when you bulk prime just before you bottle. Works well with lime leaves, cocoa nibs in stout, or even coriander and citrus peel for a wit. The shot of vodka doesn't add any discernible flavour or alcohol over 23ish litres.
 

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