I have some licorice root in powder form that I’m going to throw in toward the end of the boil on an imperial stout. Never tried it before, but I want to give it a shot. I’ve used this same powder stuff to make a tea (put roughly a teaspoon of it in a cup of hot water), and it has an interesting flavor. Its also very sweet, like way sweeter than sucrose sugar. I’m not sure but I THINK its not fermentable, so I’m hoping it will add some sweetness to the finished product.
It really doesn’t taste much like licorice candy, most licorice candy is made from anise or fennel, corn syrup, and artificial flavors. Some contains some small amount of actual licorice, but not always, and usually not a lot.
If you want to try the tea, just grate or grind up a small amount of your root and throw it in some hot water. I don’t bother filtering it out, I just let it settle to the bottom of the glass.