This award-winning rich black ale with dark roasted malt flavors is blended with bittersweet chocolate, a blend of three Mexican chile peppers, and cinnamon.
Courtesy of Luc Lafontaine of Godspeed in Toronto, this unusual IPA recipe represents a fusion of influences. (It also includes tips for extracting flavor and aroma from green tea without unwanted tannins.)
__Aroma:__ “Really fruity. Plum, raisin, dark cherry, blackberry, banana, cherry cola, and sherry notes dominate, with very little malt or adjuncts coming through. Slight spiciness of cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg.” __Flavor:__ “More blueberry fruit up front with malt sweetness washing over the entire palate. The flavor lingers with flavor of nutmeg, light amounts of dark cocoa, and a mild barrel character.” __Overall:__ “Lots of fruit and lots of sweetness. The barrel is subtle. On paper, the combination of spices and ingredients should be an easy slam dunk, but this beer is an example of how ingredients alone do not make the beer. It’s a thin, overspiced, cloying, and nowhere near as enjoyable as other beers we’ve had in the flight.”
The most common interaction most of us have with ginger comes from a soda or as an ingredient in many Asian dishes. When it comes to beer you should let the assertive spice with the distinctive bite speak to your tastes during brewing and fermentation.
**Aroma:** “Sweet aroma with perfumey herbal notes and slight spices. Subtle citrus, but the herbal spice is far more prominent. Bright wheat with bits of tangerine and black pepper. Floral with earthy almost coffee-like aromas.” **Flavor:** “Floral and herbal spice are balanced by the sweetness of wheat and citrus orange. Finish is not as crisp as one expects from a wit. Fruity acidity with some honey malt character backbone. Some spicy, peppery notes. No coriander and no citrus, but nice acidity.” **Overall:** “A refreshing and complex take on a wit. Spices are showcased, but the creaminess of unfiltered wheat comes through nicely. No obvious flaws, but grain sweetness seems out of balance and could use more coriander and citrus. The balance improves as you drink it.”
So, how do you make a spiced beer? “Brew a beer and add spices.” If only it were that simple! Spice opens up an enormous range of flavors to us, and Josh Weikert shows you how to deploy various spices to get something you’re going to love drinking!
Josh Weikert takes you on a rapid-fire journey through a range of spices and herbs that enhance, augment, imitate, and/or intensify both traditional beer flavors and beer-adjacent flavors that you might want to work into your recipes.
__Aroma:__ “Getting more oak character than actual vanilla on the nose, which is good because vanilla can be overwhelming. Warming, it settles with a touch of malt sweetness, biscuit malt, brown sugar, and light floral hop.” __Flavor:__ “Simple: beer, vanilla. They’re both there, but they don’t play together much at all. Light earthy hops, mild bitterness, some clean malt. There’s oxidation, too, but might be an extra dose of the vanilla character. Fairly big bitterness in the tail end.” __Overall:__ “The base recipe for this beer is not necessarily up to the challenge of supporting the strong flavors they’ve added, and the addition of vanilla makes the beer muddled and a bit disjointed.”
“Light husky grain aroma punctuates the nose with hints of perfume, herbal spice, and earth. The crisp, clean malt body deftly carries the flavor profile and is perfectly balanced by a clean, floral hop bitterness and bright carbonation. Finishes crisp and snappy with just a touch of pleasant bitterness.”
__Aroma:__ “Smoky chile notes, with cinnamon and vanilla also strong. Hints of plum, sweet tobacco. The base stout’s slight bit of chocolate malt and roast reminds one of French-roast coffee with some maple sweetness.” __Flavor:__ “Notes of dried plums, apricots, cinnamon, chiles. The balance is spot on. The roast base helps balance the sweetness and chocolate, and the barrel brings things together with deep toffee flavor.” __Overall:__ “The barrel character is incredible, only made better by the base beer and adjuncts. Complexity is off the charts, while still maintaining a surprising level of drinkability. Beyond the flavors, the mouthfeel truly sets this apart. Rich, viscous, and full-bodied, but not cloying and just enough backbone to hold the line for the flavors. This is the standard by which all other stouts in this category should be measured.”
Spice in beer is nothing new, but as farmers create new peppers for market, brewers are busy trying to figure out how to incorporate them into lagers and ales. Matt Brophy talks about the spicy inspiration behind Flying Dog Brewery’s “The Heat” series.
Spice beers can be polarizing, but the intriguing flavors create exciting avenues of exploration for adventurous brewers. We asked a few of our favorite brewers to share some of their favorites.
Formulating, sampling, describing, reformulating, sampling again—the lessons Forbidden Root’s BJ Pichman learned perfecting first Forbidden Root and later Fernetic are equally useful when making a beer with just a few spices or, in fact, one with none.
Pleasant aroma: bready malt, chamomile, grassy hop—restrained pepper phenolics play well with classic hop profile. Smooth bitterness, soft cracker malt; herb and spice driven more by hops than fermentation. Soft mouthfeel. Drying, peppery finish. Easy to drink.
**Aroma:** “Mild peach note with a light _Brett_ note. Very slight herbal and spice in the background. Lemon and lime notes give way to some Pilsen malt sweetness. Aroma is a bit muted.” **Flavor:** “Candy and caramel note up front with a medium sweetness transitioning into a sour-apple note. Citrus notes of lemon and lime plus a touch of peach followed by a pronounced Pilsen malt sweetness and even a hint of toasted malt. Sweet in the start with a drying tart finish and just a touch of funk.” **Overall:** “The caramel note that I got up front was surprising given the category. Moderate fruity esters (light plum and lemon) with high carbonation. Tartness is very clean without any off notes from kettle souring or significant _Brett_ funk. A balanced version of the style but could use a bit more _Brett_ complexity, tartness, or something more dynamic to help set it apart.”
**Aroma:** “Nice floral rose notes with some pepper and sweetness from the malt. Lemony citrus with a faint hint of solvent and prominent peppercorn. Noble hop aroma and light continental malt sweetness.” **Flavor:** “Balance of moderate malt sweetness and fruity character with slight herbal spice. Some earthy hop and slight funkiness. Very nice fruity character and moderate tartness. Good balance. Effervescent, dry finish.” **Overall:** “Liked this one a lot, but really hard to articulate exactly why. Tartness is excellent and well balanced. Well hopped, but not over-hopped. A very drinkable, beautiful beer. Excellent saison.”
__Aroma:__ “Big juicy mix of tropical fruit and dank hops, with underlying notes of grass, herb, and spice. White grape, fruit salad, esters, and a pithy rind quality. Rose and iris in the background. Slight cheesiness and funkiness.” __Flavor:__ “Big tropical juicy hops notes with big juicy grape. Moderate acidity and tannins, with a bit of wine character. Bready malt and low-to-moderate sweetness that’s balanced by moderately high (and lingering) bitterness and dryness.” __Overall:__ “Excellent juicy quality with an almost seamless blend of fruity hops and actual fruit. There’s fruit sweetness without being cloying and hops bitterness without being harsh. It’s like a big juicy DIPA with a bit of a dank complexity and a bit of a New England bent. Intriguing blend of citrus and bitterness.”
__Aroma:__ “Light citrus with an herbal spiciness and light honey sweetness. Low rice and vanilla aromas as it starts to warm. The herbal tea notes come through as well with light pear, plum, and a touch of cinnamon.” __Flavor:__ “Light and crisp. Moderate herbal flavor with light bitterness toward the end. Low spiciness mixes with the carbonation, which creates a light bite at the end. A very delicate malt character is almost hidden by the fruity/floral character.” __Overall:__ “Refreshing and crisp beer with moderate herbal and tea flavors, light citrus, and a medium carbonic bite at the end of the sip. Tastes like a grown-up version of sun tea. Great for non-beer drinkers.”
__Aroma:__ “Lemon, orange peel, and hibiscus with a light yogurt-like tartness. Some caramel and light toasty malt thrown in for good measure.” __Flavor:__ “Moderate spiciness with mild orange, lemon, and cherry fruitiness. Hints of lemongrass and a subtle, floral, chamomile that complements the hibiscus. Slightly sweet but clean malt bill with just enough hops to balance. Moderate carbonic bite at the end, but finishes tart and dry.” __Overall:__ “Refreshing and thirst- quenching, this beer does a nice job keeping the floral additions subtle. It would be easy to overdo this.”
__Aroma:__ “Gin barrel comes out up front with some spicy almost peppery ginger and juniper behind it. Very herbal with a pine and tea-like character. Some bready crust and wildflower honey.” __Flavor:__ “There’s an almost lemon-lime soda character to this beer. The gin barrel, gives an herbal—especially ginger — flavor that comes through strong. The base beer is a bit overwhelmed, but there are pleasing citrus notes, and it finishes very dry and slightly boozy.” __Overall:__ “The barrel and spices are used very well. It’s complex herbal without being medicinal and still being very drinkable. The heavy spice flavor additions push past any notion of base beer style, but the spicing is deftly handled for such a light-bodied beer, and it’s still refreshing and interesting.”