Creating a gradient and triangulating tinctures for beer

[rhoadsrage]

Materials:
5 Small cups (3 oz)
2 big cups (6 oz)
Eye dropper
Tincture of spices, wood or other
10 oz. of beer
Glass of water
Bread or pretzels to clean your tongue

Important Numbers:

1 fl. Oz. = 600 drops = 2 Tbls. = 1/8 cup = 6 tsp.
1 oz/ gallon = 4.68 drops/ oz.
1 gallon = 128 oz. = 76800 drops
1 Tbls. = ½ oz
¼ cup = 2 oz.
½ cup= 4 oz.

Note: I know it is not possible to cut drops into smaller parts but I left the decimal place incase you want to ramp up the tinc to more oz/gal. This will make your math more accurate.

Instructions:
- I add my spice mix to 4-10 oz. of vodka and let sit for about 2 weeks or more. If it is wood cubes I let it go much longer.
- Pour mixture through a coffee filter to get spices out.
- Pour two cups of 5 oz. of beer. Label 1 stock and 1 tincture. Add 46.8 drops of tincture to the last glass (this is equal to 2 oz tincture/1 gallon of beer)
 5 oz beer * 4.68 drops/ oz * 2 oz.
- Label 5 small cups to be your gradient. They will be 2 oz, 1.5 oz., 1 oz., 0.5 oz and 0oz. (That refers to the oz of tincture /gallon of beer prospectively)
- Fill cups as follows (pour stock first, then fill tinc. Beer)
o 2oz. cup (2 oz. tinc. And 0 oz. stock)
o 1.5 oz. cup (1.5 oz tinc. And 0.5 oz stock)
o 1 oz. cup (1 oz. tinc. And 1 oz. stock)
o 0.5 oz cup (0.5 oz tinc. And 1.5 oz stock)
o 0 oz cup (0 oz. tinc. And 2 oz. stock

Taste each and pick which is the best blend. Make sure to try them chilled, and even carbonated if possible. Then add that amount of tincture to the beer before bottling.

You can also blend the sample cups to dial in the spice if you prefer. For example, after sampling if you blend 1 oz. from the “1.5 oz” cup with 1 oz from the “1 oz.” cup then it will be 1.25 oz./gallon in that sample.

If the 2 oz. cup is still not enough flavor and you didn’t drink much of it. Just keep adding 9.39 drops (2 oz. * 4.68 drops) to it and taste each time, essentially adding an extra 1 oz. per gal to each time you taste it.

 

[rhoadsrage]

Triangulating beer spices

This is used when blending two tinctures together in the same beer.

Materials
3 large cups (6 oz.)
7 small cups (3 oz.)
Eye dropper
15 oz. of beer
Two tinctures of spices

Instructions:
- I add my spice mix to a little of 4-10 oz of vodka and let sit for about 2 weeks or more. If it is wood I let it go much longer.
- Pour mixture through a coffee filter to get spices out. Pour 3 glasses of beer with 5 oz. of beer in each glass
o Glass A is 5 oz. beer plus 46.8 drops of Tinc. A
o Glass B is 5 oz. beer plus 46.8 drops of Tinc. B
o Glass C is 5 oz. beer (stock beer)

Label small glasses and fill as follows:
Tinc A (2 oz. Tinc A)
Tinc B (2 oz. Tinc B)
Tinc C (2 oz. Tinc C)
AB 1:1 (1 oz. A and 1oz. B)
BC 1:1 (1 oz. B and 1 oz C)
CA 1:1 (1 oz. C and 1 oz. A)
ABC 1:1:1 (1 oz. A , 1 oz. B and 1 oz. C)

Arranging these in a triangle with the Tinc. A, Tinc B, and Tinc C as the points will help. AB, BC, CA will make up the perspective sides and ABC in the middle.

Pick which one you like and blend accordingly. Remember if you like glass ABC 1:1:1 that is 1/3 of an oz. of each per gallon not ½ like the three other blends.