Fresh Wort Kits - adding flavours

[Hillsey]

I've only been brewing since March and I have been using the fresh wort kits from All Inn, ND and Craftbrewer. I want to start adding different things to the wort. Apart from dry hopping, I have only ever added 500g of honey to a porter. The honey didn't come through as much as I would have liked but it was still nice. I'm thinking of adding some coffee and vanilla bean to a porter FWK and I would like to get a liquorice flavour out of a porter/stout.
1) Has anyone added any extras to the FWK's?
2) Would I need to steep any grain to add these in?
3) And does anyone have any suggestions for the liquorice flavour - black jelly beans, star anise or fennel seeds.
I would really appreciate your help and thoughts.

 

[manticle]

Some hb shops sell liquorice extract. Not used it myself.

Essentially FWK is just wort so you can add spices/flavourings as you would any beer.

Some things are best added to boil (so for fwk, either remove a couple of litres, boil with flavourings then add back) some are best added during or after fermentation.

Really the best way to find out is to experiment. Don't potentially ruin a whole batch though - do small scale then extrapolate.

For example - do a straight fwk porter. Remove some wort, boil, add flavour. During/post ferment, remove a litre, add flavour. Test and see what works.

As a very general few rules of thumb -

1. Fruit is usually best post ferment. Avoid boiling.
2. Spices can work both in a boil and as post fermentation addition.
3. You can add but you can't subtract.
4. Some flavours will intensify with time. Think cloves, cinammon, oak.
5. Some flavours may dissipate with time.
6. Some flavours will integrate with time.

To repeat - small scale like a glass or a litre at a time, then scale up for the main batch.

Additionally yeast and grain choice can add some flavours as can certain combinatons. For example, some weizen yeasts can be encouraged to push clove flavoured phenolics. Roast barley has a distinct coffee character. Vanilla can also come from oak or be accentuated by sweetness (eg. lactose, lower attenuating yeast, higher mash temp) as well as essence, beans, extract. Oak can be toasted or soaked in alcohol (whisky, sherry, port, bourbon, wine....)

It's a whole world.

 

[RdeVjun]

Its been quite a while since I tried it but star anise does go fairly well in a dry stout IMO, although same in a sweeter stout becomes sarsaparilla-ish. Not necessarily a liquorice character but might get you closer if you don't use a bought extract.
Honey character seldom perpetuates in beer, I've never really sampled good one that has pleasing and identifiable honey notes, so I can't recommend it, nor am I surprised that yours was underwhelming. It is better reserved for toast etc.
HTH!