Okay, bear with me. I am totally new to home brewing having only done two kits from Brewers Best. The Belgian Stout and the DIPA. Both have come out very good and I'm pleased with the results. I have been creeping around the site for the past 6 months or so and know there are quite a few of you in the know. I would like to continue with the kits for a few more brews until I am totally comfortable with the process, but I want to add flavor (coffee, pumpkin spice, vanilla....) and I was reading the thread about adding to the second fermentation to accomplish this. How is this done without infecting the brew? I am very basic in my setup right now, just the buckets and 2 carboys. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! ps- I am also posting the same question on another home brewing forum so I can get as much info as possible!!!
I think you mean "secondary" rather than "second fermentation." Anyway, what are you specifically thinking of adding? The approach would depend on the ingredient (and doesn't always need to be done in a secondary).
Some kits come with those secondary additions in them as well. As for additions on your own, some additions are better in the boil or at flameout, while others can be done in secondary. I have added coffee at both flame out and at bottling. I used preboiled water, and sanitized my French press before cold steeping the bottling addition. I dryhop in secondary, no need for sanitation as they have their inherent antibiotic affects on microbes. I am doing a giant stout next and putting rum soaked vanilla in secondary as well. The rum should stave off an bugs on the beans...
Sorry, still learning the lingo....anyway I am looking to do a kit stout or a brown ale. I would like to add coffee, pumpkin or vanilla flavor. Also I should ask, when do you add and for how long?
Pumpkin spices could work well with a brown Ale. I would most likely add them with a few minutes to go in the boil. Though I have also 'dry spiced' in the keg. If you bottle, you could add spices to a secondary, or even in the primary. I haven't had any infection issues with spices, though YMMV.
vanilla is best added with some fresh whole beans. chop them up, split them open and get all the good stuff out of them. I've added them to a neutral, or somewhat neutral spirit and added to a beer after fermentation is complete, and I've added just the beans cut open to the beer without the spirit. 2-3 beans in a moderate OG 5-5.5 gallons batch is a sweet spot for me. Subtle but there, just a layer.
Vanilla and spices have been covered sooooo.... Coffee additions can go in at the end of your boil, after you turn your flame off add the amount of coffee you desire and let it steep for 10-20 minutes before you start chilling your wort. I use about 2 oz of coarse ground espresso roast in my last stout at this point and it added subtle espresso notes. You can also "drybean" in secondary by adding whole beans or coarse ground coffee to a neutral spirit and adding the concoction to your beer as it conditions before bottling. Lastly you can cold steep coffee and add at bottling. Make sure you use preboiled water and sterilize your French press if you go this route. I used 2 oz espresso cold pressed in another stout and it added a whole lot of coffee presence after I got carbbed up in the bottles. Unfortunately this beer also turned into an infected mess at about six months. So be careful with that sanitation.
