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→When and how to add
===When and how to add===
Spices are commonly added between flameout on the hot side and secondary on the cold side. In order to preserve the aromatic properties of spices, they are generally better added later in the brewing process. They can also be added by preparing tinctures and dosing the beer or by soaking the spices in hot water in a sealed mason jar and then adding the mixture. Both of these methods can help to limit the possibility of microbe pickup from adding spices on the cold side.
'''Decoction''' – A decoction is made of roots, leaves, and berries. simmer these tougher plant parts for 20-40 minutes or more in order to extract their constituents. This higher heat and longer deration gentle boil, helps to extract bittering compounds. The benefits of doing this as a tea extract vs simply adding to the boil is added control and to prevent over bittering/ overpowering flavors
'''Alcohol extraction''': Tincture – Pure alcohol best extracts essential oils, resins, alkaloids, glycosides, organic acids, chlorophyll, acrid and bitter constituents, and castor oil, but not minerals, gums, or mucilage. A tincture is an alcohol extract of a plant, made using varying alcohol percentages. Some say to always use 50% alcohol (vodka) in order to get equal parts water and alcohol, and some say to always use 98% alcohol . Others tailor the alcohol percentage to the herb and its particular constituents. Tinctures are generally a very concentrated and convenient form to take an herb, and they have a long shelf life. Another benefit of a tincture is that you have a high control over the dosage. Normal dosages of tinctures are between 10 and 90 drops. 20% alcohol is the minimum requirement for shelf-stability..
* not viable if trying to measure or maintain a certain ABV*
Barley wine or wine extraction – . Wine can also be used as a extraction tool using as a method of preserving herbs. White wines are more often used traditionally due to the high tannin content of red wine, which may interfere with alkaloid rich herbs. this also applies to adapting wine extraction to imperial or high gravity beer samples , such as using a barleywine to steep high volumes of herbs and then adding this back to larger batches weeks later . the blending of a small amount of white wine to wheat beers is also a great way to impart flavors in a traditional method*** again not recommended if you are needing to maintain a strict ABV
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==Herbs==