Brewing With Spices - Where Do You Get Yours?

[HoppingMad]

Dabbling with beers on the spicy side currently.

Got inspired by a talk by Radical Brewing Author Randy Mosher at ANHC last year.
He handed out a bunch of different spices for the attendees to check out and got us all thinking
about how a bit of spice in a beer can really enhance a brew.

The talk was great - however, his recommendation of a spice store to check out wasn't.

He recommended this place:

Gewurtzhaus
342 Lygon St Carlton Vic
543 Malvern Rd Toorak Vic

Trouble is most of the stuff there is pre-mixed spice. The ones that weren't mixed were quite expensive.
(Admittedly I only went to Toorak - possibly my problem) Do you have a local spice place that suits you?
Or do you simply go through your LHBS or sponsors? Not fazed about people posting their stuff from
interstate, as this thread could help others wanting to spice it up.

Hopper.

 

[bconnery]

A local Indian shop is usually the cheapest and easiest I've found.
There's a couple around me in the southern suburbs of Brisbane.

Or an Asian supermarket for some things.

I haven't been to that particular store but it is possible you might be getting much fresher, which might be worth paying a little premium for.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

What sort of spices we talking about ?
GB

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

A local Indian shop is usually the cheapest and easiest I've found.
There's a couple around me in the southern suburbs of Brisbane.

Or an Asian supermarket for some things.

I haven't been to that particular store but it is possible you might be getting much fresher, which might be worth paying a little premium for.

3 Indian shops opened up in Nundah in the last year.

Another at Aspley, though a little more expensive.

For anyone on the northside.

Goomba

 

[benno1973]

I shop at Kakulus Bros in Perth, which is handy as I work in the CBD and sometimes catch the train. Lots of spices, all in garbage bins that you can scoop out yourself. And cheap too!

If they don't have them, there's an asian grocery across the road from the Queens Hotel that has pretty much every spice imaginable, in bulk packages.

 

[felten]

Essential ingredient have a large selection.

 

[Howlingdog]

I shop at Kakulus Bros in Perth, which is handy as I work in the CBD and sometimes catch the train. Lots of spices, all in garbage bins that you can scoop out yourself. And cheap too!

If they don't have them, there's an asian grocery across the road from the Queens Hotel that has pretty much every spice imaginable, in bulk packages.

If I lived in Perth I'd shop there every week. Call in when ever in Perth.

HD

 

[HoppingMad]

What sort of spices we talking about ?
GB

Sorry should have expanded a little. The question was 'in general' (ie. a spice shop, international grocer or market that has heaps of cool things to throw into a batch - the sort of place where you can wander around and scoop up a few things).

Stuff I was hunting high and low for over the weekend were:

- Cardamon Pods (found these at Gerwurtz but very pricey - 30g was over $8).
- Indian Corriander pods - large pods as favoured by Dogfish head and other US & European Brewers - Small pod Australian Corriander everywhere but no large pod Indian stuff to be found.
- Vanilla Bean - Found at Coles - two pods in a fancy box cost me $8! Jeezus!
- Any cool stuff you can chuck in a brew. ie. Wattleseed etc - just interesting stuff that goes beyond the supermarket aisle.

Just figured that there'd be people looking for cool stuff in various states to experiment with and if they'd found any cool places they could post it up for their radical brew and help the rest of us out.

Hopper.

Edit - Cheers for the tip on Essential Ingredient Felten, will check it out.

 

[benno1973]

- Cardamon Pods (found these at Gerwurtz but very pricey - 30g was over $8).
- Indian Corriander pods - large pods as favoured by Dogfish head and other US & European Brewers - Small pod Australian Corriander everywhere but no large pod Indian stuff to be found.
- Vanilla Bean - Found at Coles - two pods in a fancy box cost me $8! Jeezus!
- Any cool stuff you can chuck in a brew. ie. Wattleseed etc - just interesting stuff that goes beyond the supermarket aisle.

Try most of the asian grocery stores. They're generally well cheaper than supermarket prices, and they stock a far greater range. In Perth we have loads of them at the top end of Northbridge, and you can buy Jaggery, Indian coriander seeds, cardamon pods, fenugreek, and all sorts of stuff Randy mentions in the book.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I'm yet to find Black Wattle Seed and Lemon Myrtle (obvious reasons why I want those two).

Spices/extras I've put in beer:

Cloves
Star Anise
Cinnamon (quills)
Nutmeg (I buy them whole and grate them in)
Cardamom
Cherries (tinned) the best dark beer
Honey (not supermarket)
Orange Zest
Dark Brown Sugar
Molasses
Treacle
Syrup

I've got a reasonable grasp on spices, given I've been raised on curry (the fallback of having an indian grandfather, though looking at me, you'd never know it, other than the flat nose), so not afraid to use them.

I should use coriander seed, but I've never done a wit, so never got to doing it.

Whilst we are on the indian spice shop thing - I wonder how besan flour would go if mashed into a beer (the same as Bribie using wheat flour).

Goomba

 

[Amber Fluid]

Funny this post has come up today. Whilst I was looking at doing something with Honey and Cinnamon I come across THIS thread with some interesting choices.

 

[Galamus]

No affiliation but I do a lot of cooking, typically I use these guys: http://www.aussiespices.com/ I have found them to be really good in the past. It seems like their site is down at the moment though...

 

[Silo Ted]

I bet a lot of interesting, medicinal & cauldron-stuffing herbs from Accolent . Top woman to deal with, and cheap also.

She has liqorice root for anyone doing a winter stout.

For any other spices, you can't go past an Indian (Red Dot, not Woo Woo) supermarket.

 

[Wolfy]

Or do you simply go through your LHBS or sponsors? Not fazed about people posting their stuff from
interstate, as this thread could help others wanting to spice it up.

If you can't find an authentic Indian spice shop, take a trip to Clayton, on Clayton Rd, just near the train station you'll find a shop (or two) with shelves full of fresh and cheap spices.

 

[bum]

A local Indian shop is usually the cheapest and easiest I've found.

Usually high turn-over too. Big +1 here.

 

[HoppingMad]

If you can't find an authentic Indian spice shop, take a trip to Clayton, on Clayton Rd, just near the train station you'll find a shop (or two) with shelves full of fresh and cheap spices.

Is this the one you're suggesting Wolfy? Just had a dig around for it.

Truspice Clayton
145, Carinish Road 
Clayton, 
Victoria 3168 
Tel: 03 9544 1634
Opposite CLAYTON Railway Station
Truspice Mitcham
20-22, Station Street 
Mitcham 
Victoria 3132 
Tel: 03 9873 8897

Might have a look. Yeah Gerwurtz was a beautiful looking store with lovely little girls that gift wrap everything - but when all you want to do is stroll a couple of aisles and go "Hey I could brew with that!" I was hoping for a bigger range. Randy handed out roasted wattleseed which he had sourced from Gerwurtz at ANHC, but they sure didnt have it at their Toorak store.

Cheers for the other suggestions guys. Will go through them and get a little spice store shopping list together! :icon_chickcheers:

Hopper.

 

[time01]

interesting subject guys, I love cooking with spices, and am quite new to brewing, at what point would you add spices? and how much?

 

[felten]

It depends on the spice, how strong it is, and how much flavour you want to get out of it. Common additions are at the end of the boil EG. adding citrus peel+coriander to a witbier, or in a 2ndary after fermentation is complete EG. adding cocao nibs or oak for a long steeping time.

 

[smilinggilroy]

To the OP, try Green Valley Spices. They are in Sydney, have a on-line shop, but I use the stall at Sydney's Flemington Growers Market (Saturdays).
Good variety and fresh.
They have franchises, so there might be one your way.
Hope this helps.

 

[going down a hill]

I'm not sure if it's still there, but up the road from Glen Iris train station there is an Indian grocery shop. It's next to that weird expensive trinket shop on the corner of from High and Malvern, the grocery shop is around the corner on Malvern Rd.

My special lady friend makes ice cream and she raves about the quality of vanilla bean from the Spanish supermarket on Johnston St in Fitzroy, near Nicholson St, while youre there I highly recommend getting a couple chorizo sausages, tasty!