Maple Pumpkin Porter

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by BigAB, Dec 6, 2012.

Tags:
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. BigAB

    BigAB Initiate (0) Aug 4, 2008 Iowa

    I brewed Jamil's Robust Porter recipe about 12 days ago with some pumpkin pie spice and maple flavoring. When I sampled, I will admit that the base beer tasted amazing, but the added flavor points were lacking-to-non-existent - there was a hint of spice on the nose, but that was it.

    3 gallons
    OG: 1.064
    Intermediate Gravity upon sampling: 1.022 (was a decent krausen going)
    3/4 TSP pumpkin pie spice @ 1 min
    1/4 TSP maple flavoring (contains fenugreek) @ KO

    So my question is: how much spice and flavoring would you add once fermentation is complete? A couple of things...

    1) I was planning on adding 1/4 TSP flavoring directly in the bucket, along with 1-2 oz of bourbon that's been extracting flavor from the 1/2 TSP spices (for a few days). Thoughts?

    2) Preferably, I would like to add the desired flavors to the beer - not overwhelm my awesome porter :wink:
     
    #1 BigAB, Dec 6, 2012
  2. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    1. Just add the spice once you hit FG. No booze needed. The beer should be fine.
    2. Don't rush it. You've got about 6 weeks before you have to worry about moving your beer to a secondary or bottle/keg If you need to crack the bung/lid twice for more additions, so be it.

    Edit: I don't have the recipe on hand. If you can't taste any spice, I'd recommend about a tsp of spice--total. I'm a big fan of nutmeg and all spice. Cinnamon and cloves can be that overpowering flavor that you DON'T want really quick.
     
    #2 inchrisin, Dec 6, 2012
  3. BigAB

    BigAB Initiate (0) Aug 4, 2008 Iowa

    Thanks for the advice. Only thing - I thought that I've read/heard numerous times that simply adding the spice at room temp can have issues reaching the desired results since it won't dissolve very well in the beer at 70 deg F (even with a decent amount of gentle stirring)...? This is why I was looking into the extract route (via booze).
     
    #3 BigAB, Dec 6, 2012
  4. Travisurfin247

    Travisurfin247 Initiate (0) Dec 20, 2010 South Carolina

    I made a pumpkin porter with my secondary addition spices soaked in a little spiced rum. It turned out fantastic. Keep the liquor at a 1/2 cup or so and it won't overpower the porter flavor. Based on your recipe, I would add another 1 tsp of spice. It's good that you're adding spices in increments, so that you can taste at various stages of conditioning and add more if you like.
     
    #4 Travisurfin247, Dec 7, 2012
  5. BigAB

    BigAB Initiate (0) Aug 4, 2008 Iowa

    Thanks! I've got about 1-2 oz sitting with 1/2 TSP of spices in it - if I feel it needs more I can always add before bottling.
     
    #5 BigAB, Dec 10, 2012
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.