Approaching spiced beers from the perspective of a chef, Jester Goldman often starts by picking a spice rather than beginning with the base beer. For this example, he chose star anise and orange zest to spice up an IPA.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.068
FG: 1.019
IBUs: 48.2
ABV: 6.4%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
10.5 lb (4.76 kg) Pale ale malt
1.5 (680 g) Munich malt light
0.5 (227 g) Biscuit malt
0.375 lb (170 g) Munich malt dark
0.5 (227 g) flaked barley
HOPS & SPICES SCHEDULE
1 oz (28 g) Amarillo [8.1%] at 60 minutes
0.5 oz (14 g) Mosaic [12.1%] at 15 minutes
0.5 oz (14 g) Galaxy [15.2%] at 15 minutes
0.5 oz (14 g) Citra [12.2%] at 15 minutes
0.5 oz (14 g) Mosaic [12.1%] at flameout
0.5 oz (14 g) Galaxy [15.2%] at flameout
0.5 tsp ground star anise in secondary
Grated zest from 1 orange in secondary
YEAST
Wyeast 1056 American Ale
DIRECTIONS
Single-step infusion mash at 150°F (66°C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 60 minutes. Pitch the yeast and ferment at 68°F (20°C) for a week or until the final gravity is reached. Before you rack to secondary, make a vodka tincture with the orange zest and ground star anise, using just enough vodka to cover the spices. Let the tincture sit for 30 minutes, then add it as you transfer the beer. Let the beer rest in secondary for a week, then keg or bottle.