Brewer Spices & Additives

These natural wonders are good for the outside as well as the inside. Elderflowers infused in creams have been used to soften skin, smooth wrinkles, fade freckles and soothe sunburn. They can be used on their own for making wine or can be added to elderberry wine to enhance flavor. On their own, they produce a wine compared to a muscatel. Hot elderflower tea, like chamomile, can make a soothing nightcap and is said to offer natural relief for the common cold.

Used in wines, teas, specialty beer and confections, rose hips are a versatile fruit/herb. Rich in vitamin C, the rose hip shells with the seeds removed are the best type to use for wine as the seeds can add undesirable tannins.

Cardamom is a distinctive spice from the same family as ginger. Its flavor, which has been described as a spicy cola combines well with coriander, cumin and orange, and often are all used together in specialty Belgian and Holiday Style beer.

Kick carrageenan (also known as Whirlfloc) encourages the precipitation of haze causing materials such as proteins and Beta glucans. This product is designed for the commercial brewer by an Irish company. Prepared in a quick dissolving formula. Use 1 per 5 gallon batch. Add for the last 10-15 minutes of the boil.

The herb takes its name from the Spanish sarza" meaning a bramble and "parilla" a vine. It is a misconception that sarsaparilla is the primary flavor of the beverage bearing its name. Refreshing sarsaparilla is made from a root beer type base to which has been added several of many roots and herbs. The sarsaparilla herb was originally added to beverages to help improve mouthfeel and head retention but mainly for its medicinal properties as an agent to cure mouth sores rheumatism and dropsy."

Native to the British Isles, the small dark colored elderberry makes an excellent "port" style wine. The appearance of berries on the bushes is said to have signaled farmers when to sow their wheat. The berries are also reputed to have been used to make one of the first black hair dyes in ancient Greece.