grains of paradise

[texasliam]

Ive read some references about grains of paradise. I would like to use some in a Belgian strong ale, trois pistoles attemt. Does anybody know how much and when it goes in the boil? or any other considerations?
Liam

[corkybstewart]

They are powerful, a little goes a long way. In my wit I use 1 or 1.5 teaspoons for 10 gallons, crushed and added for the last 5 minutes of the boil. But that's for a spiced beer, I never think of Trois Pistoles as being spicy.

[beerking]

I don't know the specifics, but I do know they are very strong, and should be added in small amounts, for a short period.
They are used in SA Summer Beer.
You might try making an extraction by soaking them in vodka. Add this in small amounts to the finished beer until you get the flavor you are looking for.

Note: Unless you are brewing a "spiced ale," spices should be added to the point that they create a subtle character in the beer, but not enough to overtly convey exactly what spice is there. This is especially true of Belgian style beers.

[seafra]

Note: Unless you are brewing a "spiced ale," spices should be added to the point that they create a subtle character in the beer, but not enough to overtly convey exactly what spice is there. This is especially true of Belgian style beers.

Spoken like a true like a true BJCP judge.

BK is right, though. You can always add more spices after primary, but you can't take out what's already in there (Well, that's not totally true: you can blend it with another batch).

I recently used a 1/4 Oz of paradise seed with 1.5 Oz of coriander and 1 Oz each of bitter and sweet orange peel in a 10 gallon wit (all pitched @ 10 minutes). I wouldn't describe it as subtle; more like moderately spiced. The lemony peppery notes of the paradise seed compliment the other spices well. BK would NOT have advanced my wit to the next round of competition (especially with 1# of rye), but a dozen less trained palettes have enjoyed the heck out of it.
________
FOURTH-GENERATION FORD TAURUS PICTURE (http://www.ford-wiki.com/wiki/Fourth-generation_Ford_Taurus)

[wild]

My Trois Pistoles recipe calls for ⅛ teaspoon of Anise and some Bitter Orange Peel
but my Chimay Grand Reserve' recipe calls for ⅛ teaspoon Grains of Paradise. Both for 5-gallons.
+1 on a little going a long way.

[beerking]

BK would NOT have advanced my wit to the next round of competition (especially with 1# of rye),

That may be true, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like it, or wouldn't advance it as a spiced ale.

Judging and enjoying are two different things. Fact is, they can be the same, such as the case of the "Specialty" category. I LOVE judging that category because, basically, "anything goes." The bottom line for this "style" is "does it work?" I have judged highly a mint stout (it was actually pretty good, believe it or not), and even once enjoyed a pineapple mead that had some wild yeast phenols in it. Tasted kind of like Hawaiian pizza mead. The smokiness of the phenols substituted for the ham. I did not judge that one, I was in a another category and a friend gave me some at lunch.

If the beer is entered in a specific style, it needs to match that style. If it is not entered, I only care the style to know what to expect before I try it. If the answer to that is "no specific style, I just did a strong unmalted wheat beer with a pretty good boost of spice" I can handle that. Just don't ask me to judge it as a wit. ;)

[texasliam]

Funny story. I entered a belgian wit made with american yeast and hops. I double batched in a 5 gallon pot so it was carmalized and was dark orange. 2 judges said it tasted pretty good but was entered in the wrong catagory, but I got the following coment from the third judge. "I'm not sure what you were thinking" That was humbling