spices

[adama]

hello,

  So I'm brewing my first batch of beer (long overdue) and I was so glad to come across this forum with so many knowledgeable people willing to help the new guys such as myself. The beer I'm planning is a Christmas ale and I was wondering about the amount of spices to be added and when.
(cinnamon clove and clementine peel) any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks - Taylor.

[BobBrews]

Whatever recipe you use, you should have a amount. What I would suggest would be to keep track of the amount so that you can adjust it next time. I just brewed a pumpkin ale and I tried it for the first time yesterday. I think it needs a little more spice for next year but... I know I "tweaked it" from the recipe and I can't remember what I did? Did I add a little bit more than the recipe or a little less? Good luck. Trust the recipe and brew it the way it is written. If you tweak it, write it!

[jomebrew]

For clove, I recommend 1tsp at 45 minutes (times are all left in the boil)
Cinnamon, 4 - 6 sticks at 45 minutes or about .5 tsp in the last 5 minutes.
Orange peel, I recommend the thinnest zest of just the outer colored peel and none of the white, bitter parts.  up to 2 oz is nice.  I would add this in the last 5 minutes.

A neutral yeast is a good idea.  you don't want the yeast overwhelming the spices.  Maybe a white labs wpl060 or wpl028 or wpl001.  I really like the 028.  I plan to use it on my upcoming spiced wheat.

[adama]

thanks for the advice guys .I'm planning on brewing this beer twice as I'm sure I'll need to tweak it quite a bit seeing as its my first attempt at this. this gives me a good place to start. I"m glad you mentioned leaving the white pith of the orange peel out of the recipe, i probably would have just thrown the whole peel in. also I'm hesitant about adding cloves at all because i've heard it can impart a real medicinal flavor which i would like to avoid. thinking instead on adding a bit of fresh ginger which would go nicely with the orange flavor.

[jomebrew]

Brewing Classic Styles page 271-272 has Jamil's Christmas/Winter spice beer.

He uses
1/2 tsp powered cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice

all at 1 minute