[Westley]

I have two batches that are finished in primary, and ready for secondary flavor infusions. Both are my own recipes. The first being an oak-aged vanilla cardamom baltic porter, and the second being a smokey irish red ale. I'm really excited to see what the flavor profiles are like on each at this point. As I go, I'll keep you updated. I'll try to get some pictures of the finished product. If they turn out well, I'll be happy to share my recipes.

[Westley]

Both beers turned out exceptionally well! the baltic porter is sitting at 7.6 ABV, and the Irish Red is sitting at 5.1 ABV. The initial flavor of both was almost exactly how I had envisioned when developing the recipes. The baltic porter is a smooth, rich dark-amber color, slightly sweet and pleasantly malty. The irish red is a medium amber-red color, crisp, clean malt flavors, medium body. The secondary flavor infusions have now been added. Some smokey oak for the red (it's supposed to have peated malt,but I couldn't get any in time so I'm improvising with dark roasted oak). And some vanilla bean, cardamom, and oak for the porter.

[GarretD]

That Irish Red....peated malt sounds like a great addition!

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

I've never tried cardamom.  How much do you add for say 5 gals?

Thanks

[Westley]

I've never tried cardamom.  How much do you add for say 5 gals?

Thanks

Well in a week or so, I'll let you know. I've used about 6 pods. Cardamom is extremely strong, and I didn't want to over-do it. I think cardamom will balance very well with the vanilla and malt, if I can get the quantity right.