Has anyone ever used this spice in a beer? I’m planning a blood orange wheat with honey and I read that cardamom was a good complimentary spice to orange but I have no idea how this would work in a beer. I may give it a go regardless but I wanted to get the advice of someone who may have tried this spice.
Thanks
I’m planning a beer that will use cardamom, so I’ve made a cardamom extract and it’s sitting in the bucket o flavors right now. My recommendation would be that since it’s such a weirdly potent aromatic spice, I’d go easy at first - treat it like nutmeg.
I only used it once. I put two pods in the kettle for the last few minutes of the boil, and it was more than enough. In fact, I never wanted to use that spice again after that first beer. I highly recommend erring on the side of caution.
Thanks. I may do a tincture instead of adding to the boil. I won’t use more than 1/4 tsp based on your comments.
I used it in a wit once with orange peel, and the flavors do complement each other nicely. And yes, it’s really easy to overdo it, so be careful. The good news is that it mellows over time, so if you go too far, just wait.
I have used the little seeds from one pod in a ten gallon batch of saison and it was subtle, but I could just pick out the flavor. I put it in the boil for 10 minutes. I wouldn’t suggest using much more, and you could even back off a little to start.
I used it in a tripel a few years ago. 5 g, cracked, and added at flameout. I don’t think that was too much, but I can’t say that I cared for the flavor either.
i have made a coffee malt stout with cardamom and with coffee and cardamom. i used 4 pods and crushed them in a mortar and pestle. i liked it a lot. i sometimes put cardamom in with my coffee grounds to be brewed, that may help you judge the strength.
All I have is ground which worries me because I don’t have as much control over the freshness but to be honest, I just want a tiny amount for background flavour, not a dominant flavour so I think I’ll start with 1/4 tsp or less and see what it gives. I may also drop in 1/2 tsp Indian Coriander too.
Just realized blood oranges aren’t in season so it’s gonna have to be Tangerine Wheat instead.
Here’s my preliminary shot at a recipe:
4 lbs Pils Malt
4 lbs Wheat Malt
1 lb honey (local honey, no specific “flavour”) added for the last 10 mins
1/4 tsp Cardamom@10 mins
1/2 tsp Coriander @ 10 mins
2 lbs tangerines - Juice and zest added @ 10 mins
1 oz Hallertau @60
Unsure if I need any later hops because I want the orange and spices to be prominent.
Wyeast 1056 or maybe a Kolsch yeast
I have used cardamom in a wit before. I recommend going easy. It is very pungent. I would start with 1/4 oz. per 5 gallons.
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