Spicing_up_your_beer.pdf

Spicing

YoUr Beer

[

WhY ShoUlD hopS

hAve All the fUn?

Europe used herbs such as sweet gale

( Myrica gale ), juniper and meadowsweet

( Filipendula ulmaria ) in their beers and

meads, and these are still used today in

farmhouse brews such as Finnish Sahti.

The Scots were famous for the use of

heather blossoms as a beer seasoning.

A s we homebrewers seek to widen the

boundaries of beer, we sometimes

reach into the past and make use of long-

discarded techniques. Wild fermentations

and barrel-aging have made a comeback,

and so has the use of herbs and spices.

In the right hands, these techniques can

result in beers as complex and sophisti-

cated as any wine.

Before about 900 CE, hops were unknown

in beer, so other substances lent their

bitterness and flavor. A seasoning mix

called gruit was the monopoly of the local

bigwig; its high price and mandatory use

constituted an early beer tax. A trio of

wild herbs including sweet gale is usually

cited as the backbone of gruit, along with

more normal culinary spices such as nut-

meg, juniper and others. Gale has a pleas-

ant resiny taste, finds use in Scandinavian

and Scottish historical beers, and actually

makes a nice addition to a beer like saison.

The other two herbs, yarrow and Ledum

palustre , are unpleasant tasting and mildly

toxic, so there is clearly a lot about gruit

beer we don’t understand. The switch to

hopped beer in Europe began about 1000

CE and was complete by 1500, although

the use of sweet gale continued in the

backwoods until modern times.

Of course, we are brewing herb beer

already, but we tend to forget that hops

are an herb like any other. We love ’em,

but why should they be the only thing

we use to season beer? In our search for

great beer, why not use everything that’s

available to us?

A DASh of herB Beer hiStorY

From the very beginning, we liked our

beer with a lot of flavor. The people of

the ancient Middle East had a big spice

cupboard, and it’s likely they put it to

good use. Spices like coriander, cinnamon

and cumin—all still used in brewing—are

well documented. Many of them surely

found their way into ancient beer.

Modern analytical techniques like chro-

matography have revealed details of the

chemistry of ancient food and drink,

including beer. Researcher Patrick

McGovern was responsible for the work

behind the Dogfish Head historical beers

Midas Touch and Chateau Jiahu. His new

book on ancient beverages, Uncorking the

Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other

Alcoholic Beverages is fascinating reading

for anyone interested in the topic.

Spiced beers were widespread in pre-

industrial England, but by the early 18th

century, a law was enacted that specified

only malt and hops be used, and a tax

was paid on these ingredients. Wealthy

landowners, who maintained breweries on

their property to lubricate staff and family,

were not subject to these limitations, so the

recipes of these house breweries abounded

with alternate seasonings including cori-

ander, ginger, grains of paradise, orange

peel, licorice and other spices. Rare old

Residues from vessels have demonstrat-

ed that the ancient tribes of Northern

BY rAnDY MoSher

books like The London and Country Brewer

are full of fascinating recipes and are avail-

able for free on the Internet.

Licorice was especially popular in darker

beers such as porter, and one early 19th-

century brewing writer noted that if it

didn’t have licorice in it, then it wasn’t

really porter. Both powdered root and a

solid extract called “Spanish juice” (iden-

tical to modern brewers’ licorice) were

used to give the beer an unctuous qual-

ity and sweetish finish. Capsicum (chili

pepper) is also common in the old 18th-

century porter recipes.

MAckenzie’S WinDSor Ale

All-grain recipe (calculated @ 75% efficiency)

There was also a sinister side to spiced

beers in England. Unscrupulous brewers

battling cheap gin resorted to illegal, nar-

cotic and toxic seasonings like Cocculus

indicus , a stimulant berry from Asia, and

Faba amara , aka bitter bean, which con-

tained strychnine. With the help of cru-

sading brewer Frederick Accum, who

wrote about the problem in the first “pure

food” book on any subject, the problem

was cleaned up by about 1810. And with

the closing of the country house breweries

during the 19th century, English spiced

beers’ tradition passed into oblivion.

This is one of those rustic English country ales that have a lot in common with

whatwethinkofasBelgianbrewing.ItwastakenfromMackenzie’s5000Receipts

(Philadelphia, 1851), but the recipe resembles an earlier one inMorrice’s Practical

TreatiseonBrewingtheVariousSortsofMaltLiquors(London,1819).It’samouthful.

ingredients

for 5 U.S. gallons (19 liters)

Directions

Mash 1 hour at 153° F (64° C), then

step up to a mash out at 170° F

(77°C)with an addition of near-boiling

water. Hop calculations are based on

pellets. Figure on 25 percent more if

using whole hops. If you want to be

completelyauthentic,theoriginalrecipe

suggested soaking the hops overnight

incoldwaterand thenadding thehops

and thewater to thekettle.At racking,

add 1.5 g each of ground ginger and

groundcaraway.Fermentatnormalcel-

lar temperatures (60-68° F/16-20°C).

This would be a good candidate for

some extended wood aging if desired.

Serve at low carbonation levels, ideally

asrealaleincaskorbottle.

15.5 lb

(7kg)MarisOtterpaleale

malt

2.0 oz

(57g)Honey,addedatthe

endoftheboil

1.0 oz

(28g)E.KentGolding

pellets5%AA(90min)

the BelgiAn ApproAch

We tend to think of the traffic between

England and Flanders as being one-

directional—after all, it was the Flemish

who first brought hops to England when

they began moving into Kent around

1400. But loads of English and Scottish

beer was being shipped into Flanders as

well and local brewers would have taken

notice. G. Lacambre, in his monumental

tome Traité Complet de la Fabrication des

Bières (Brussels, 1851), mentions corian-

der, grains of paradise, orange peel and a

number of others, and says “of course we

all understand these are English spices.”

So the history we think we know is not as

solid as we would like to believe.

1.0 oz

(28g)E.KentGolding

pellets5%AA(30min)

1.0 oz

(28g)E.KentGolding

pellets5%AA(5min)

0.14 oz

(4g)Indiancoriander

(endofboil)

0.07 oz

(2g)Grainsofparadise

(endofboil)

0.35 oz

(10g)Groundlicoriceroot*

(endofboil)

0.14 oz

(4g)Sour/bitterorangezest

(SpiceHouse)(endofboil)

partial extract version: Extract +

steeped grain recipe can be made by

substituting 9.3 lb (4.2 kg) of pale dry

extract plus half a pound (250 g) of

pale/20°L crystal malt for the Maris

Otter.

0.05 oz

(1.5g)Groundginger

0.05 oz

(1.5g)Groundcaraway

YourfavoriteLondonale

yeast

* Generally available at Indian grocery

stores.Cansubstitute½stickofbrew-

erslicorice.

The Belgians developed a taste for these

“English” spices, and they are still found

in many Belgian beers, including saison,

strong dark ales, and the many eccentric

beers unrelated to any style. The Belgian

touch with spices is a light one. Spices

are used to augment the flavors of the

ingredients or yeast, and give the beer

original gravity:1.088/21°P

Alcohol:8.5%abv

color:deeptawnygold

Bitterness:28IBU

2 8

ZYMURGY

March/April 2010

www.HomebrewersAssociation.org

a unique twist. If you can pick out an

individual spice, the brewer is doing

something wrong.

characteristic of Celis’ witbiers.

Coriander seed can be problematic. Much

of the coriander for sale through culinary

sources has a strong vegetal quality—

think stale hot dog water (coriander is the

primary seasoning in hot dogs). This can

wreck the mood of your delicate witbier,

so choose your coriander carefully. I have

found six or more different types, each

with its own distinct aroma. For brewing

I prefer the pale, oblong Indian variety

(mild, fruity, a little citrusy) or the small

Chinese types (pungent, piney, almost

Witbier is always spiced to some degree,

with orange peel and coriander as the

base. Pierre Celis once confided to me

that his “secret” ingredient was chamo-

mile. You never know whether such a

nugget from a crafty old brewer like Pierre

is a gift or a trick to throw you off track,

but he wasn’t kidding. I’ve brewed witbier

with and without and can confirm that

chamomile adds a soft “Juicy Fruit” aroma

SUPPORTING HOMEBREWERS EVERYWHERE

ResouRces

Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages

A great site with detailed information

on a large range of spices and herbs,

but nothing for sale.

www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/index.html

Wild Weeds

Botanical/herbal supplier with a big list.

they have Myrica gale.

www.wildweeds.com

Monteagle Herb Farm

Another botanical supplier.

www.monteagleherbs.com

San Francisco Herb Company

large culinary herb supplier.

www.sfherb.com

The Spice House

culinary herbs and spices including

bitter orange and grains of paradise.

retail stores in many cities.

www.spicehouse.com

Penzeys

culinary herbs and spices.

retail stores in many cities.

www.penzeys.com

AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL HOMEBREW SHOP OR RETAILER

www.HomebrewersAssociation.org

March/April 2010

ZYMURGY

2 9

menthol). Coriander is cheap and easy to

find at all kinds of ethnic markets, so get

out there and get a snootful.

ground dried zest that is quite nice. If you

live near a Caribbean neighborhood, you

may be able to find fresh sour oranges.

The peel of half an orange, shaved off

with a potato peeler, will season 5 gal-

lons. A workable substitute can be made

from two parts sweet orange to one part

grapefruit peel.

like grains of paradise, black pepper, long

pepper ( Piper longum , a close relative of

black pepper) or even mustard seeds can

add aromatic top-notes that complement

the phenolic dryness of many stronger

pale Belgians. Saison Pipaix even uses a

“medicinal lichen” (probably Pulmonaria

lobelia ) as a seasoning, so it can get pretty

wacky out there.

Orange peel is most often from the sour/

bitter/Seville orange, known as Curaçao

when in its green, unripe form. It is sold

to brewers as chunks of whole peel, which

have the potential to impart a “pithy” bit-

terness to the beer. Culinary spice suppli-

ers like The Spice House offer a coarsely

Darker beers may use licorice, star anise

or cumin to add a little mystery. Spices

Lacambre also mentions elderflower

( Sambucus nigra L. ), another herb with a

strong English connection. It has sweetish

floral and grassy aromas, especially appro-

priate for lighter and more delicately

flavored beers. Lime leaves (politeness

suggests the racially derogatory term kaf-

fir not be used) can be used, sparingly , to

impart a pungent citrusy note, also best

in pale beers.

neW clAUDe of zeplY

All-grain recipe (calculated @ 75% efficiency)

ThisisastrongishBelgian-inspiredspicedamberwheatalebrewedbymyselfandmy

originalbrewingpartner,RaySpangler. Itwasservedas theAHAconferencebeer

waybackin1990,andalwayswasatremendouscrowd-pleaser.

ingredients

for 5 U.S. gallons (19 liters)

Directions

Mash 1 hour at 152° F (67° C). Hop

calculationsarebasedonpellets.Figure

on25percentmoreifusingwholehops.

Mix all the spices with enough cheap

vodkatogenerouslycover,andallowto

standforaboutaweek.Drainthrougha

coffee filter and add tobeer atbottling

or kegging. If you’re spice-shy, do a

testwithanounceofbeerandapipette

or syringe. Try varying amounts of the

potion until you determine the desired

level of dosing, then scale up and add

theappropriateamount.

AMericAn herB BeerS

Early Americans were much more likely

to be sipping rum, cider or whisky than

beer. The lack of quality brewing ingre-

dients often meant that beer was brewed

“of pumpkins and parsnips and walnut-

tree chips,” as the old ditty goes. The use

of a mildly toxic plant called wood sage

( Teucrium canadense ) as a bittering agent

was common before the Germans brought

their “modern” lager to these shores. The

Wahl-Henius Handy Book (1906) mentions

a brown ale called Pennsylvania Swankey

that was seasoned with aniseed. In Alaska,

sitka spruce tips are so rich in vitamins

and sugar that native people used them

as a spring tonic, and early settlers often

added them to whatever homebrew they

made. Alaskan Brewing Co. founder Geoff

Larson became fascinated by the idea, and

uses spruce tips to season Alaskan Winter

Ale. It is sweetish and deeply fruity, not

the piney mouthful that one might expect.

2.0lb

(1.4kg)Palealemalt

4.0lb

(1.8kg)Munichmalt

1.5lb

(680g)Melanoidinmalt

4.0lb

(1.8kg)Wheatmalt

1.0lb

(454g)Oatmeal,toasted

untilitsmellslikecookies

4.0oz

(67g)SpecialB/verydark

crystal

0.5oz

(13g)NorthernBrewer

pellets8.5%AA(60min)

0.5oz

(13g)NorthernBrewer

pellets8.5%AA(30min)

0.5oz

(13g)Coriander(Chinese

orIndian)(endofboil)

Mini-Mash version: Substitute 3.5

lb/1.6 kg of amber dry extract for the

pale andMunich, andmash the restof

the ingredients for an hour at 150° F

(66°C).Addthedrained,spargedwort

totheextract.

2.0oz

(67g)tangerinezest

(endofboil)

2.0oz

(67g)Indiancoriander

1.0oz

(28g)tangerinezest

2.0oz

(57g)Longpepper,cracked

(substituteblackpepperif

unavailable)

2.0oz

(57g)Staranise,whole

4.0oz Cassiabuds,wholeor

crushed

The Reinheitsgebot -toting Germans threw all

that out when they started brewing here,

and their “pure” style of beer still domi-

nates the market nearly 170 years later.

1.0oz

(28g)Crushedcocoanibs

(optional)

Belgianwheatorabbey

strainyeast

It wasn’t until the resurgence of home-

brewing in the late-1970s that beers

with alternate seasonings were regularly

brewed here. And with many home-

brewers turning pro, those notions came

right along with them into their commer-

cial breweries. Like Dogfish Head’s Sam

original gravity: 1.069/16.8°P

Alcohol: 6.4%abv

color:deepamber,calculatedat

14°SRM

Bitterness:24IBU

3 0

ZYMURGY

March/April 2010

www.HomebrewersAssociation.org

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