Nuts!

[TheSheeprug]

' Evening all,

Currently it's late at night, there's too much on my mind to sleep, and I've just been skimming through Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher. I'm also considering the large bag of sweet chestnuts I collected a few days ago ahead of having another stab at brewing another chestnut stout. (See earlier thread - basically include toasted chestnuts where you might otherwise use flaked barley or oats. Results were good, but I think was too cautious - more might be more).

Anyway, as I sit nibbling almonds and sipping a nightcap I'm thinking more generally, 'what about adding other nuts to the mash'? There's no mention of them from Randy, and nothing I can see on this forum, but I guess they might add something interesting to a beer, though they might need to be ground quite finely. Hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, all have a nice flavour - especially if roasted. We often eat them with beer, so what about in the beer? I can't believe it's not been thought of before.

So I'm curious - is there some reason why mashing with nuts is a BAD IDEA, or it is worth pursuing? Anyone tried it?

SR

[mysterio]

Nuts and beer are complimentary flavours, so the idea sounds good. There are lots of fats in nuts which you generally want to steer clear of, for many reasons, in brewing. I wouldn't use them, but if I were, I'd probably roast them, grind them up finely and throw them in at the end of the boil.

Might be a bit boring, but biscuit and victory malt have a strong nutty flavour.

[jaroporter]

i have discovered that chestnuts are very popular to make gluten free beer. actually celts in ireland often brewed with them where the land was unsuitable for cereal crops. i've done a little research because i have a big bag myself and i dunno what to do with them yet! an all chesnut glutenfree ipa? your stout sounds tasty though. what was the recipe you used and how did you prepare the chestnuts?
i've read of a few breweries using them and other nuts a fair bit too so it's not uncommon
seymour used black walnuts in the mash for his mild recently.. viewtopic.php?f=24&t=57043&p=605872

[TheSheeprug]

i have discovered that chestnuts are very popular to make gluten free beer. actually celts in ireland often brewed with them where the land was unsuitable for cereal crops. i've done a little research because i have a big bag myself and i dunno what to do with them yet! an all chesnut glutenfree ipa? your stout sounds tasty though. what was the recipe you used and how did you prepare the chestnuts?
i've read of a few breweries using them and other nuts a fair bit too so it's not uncommon
seymour used black walnuts in the mash for his mild recently.. viewtopic.php?f=24&t=57043&p=605872

Thanks Jaroporter. I haddn't thought about the gluten free bit. Interesting about the Irish. The original thread was here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=54844

Best,
SR

[Underground Joe]

I currently have a brew fermenting which has a box of crunchy nut cornflakes in the mash.

[TheSheeprug]

I currently have a brew fermenting which has a box of crunchy nut cornflakes in the mash.

I like it! The full English breakie eh?

[seymour]

...seymour used black walnuts in the mash for his mild recently.. viewtopic.php?f=24&t=57043&p=605872

That's true. And an even bigger quantity of regular walnuts in this latest one: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=61647#p648407

Urban Chestnut Winged Nut is a dunkelweizen with toasted chestnuts in the mash: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/urban-ches ... ut/139194/

Scratch Green Walnut is one of my ALL TIME favourite beers, no shit. That Ratebeer rating is mine: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/scratch-gr ... ut/200114/

I thoroughly enjoyed hazelnuts in several beers such as Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/rogue-haze ... ectar/585/

I loved pecans in Abita Pecan Harvest Ale: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/abita-peca ... ale/77112/ Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/lazy-magno ... can/44781/ and Ferguson Pecan Brown Ale: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/ferguson-p ... le/122931/

Mysterio is a brilliant brewer, so don't take this the wrong way, but the notions about fatty oils from nuts not working in beer, destroying head retention, etc, are all greatly exaggerated. I've been having a lot of fun experimenting with lightly toasted nuts in the mash. If you think about it, nuts are the seeds of trees very much like grain kernels are are seeds of grasses, and they have similar tastes and effects in food preparation, so why not beer as well?

[JammyBStard]

The list of things Seymour hasn't brewed with must be very short

[seymour]

The list of things Seymour hasn't brewed with must be very short

Well, that's true, but in that last list only the first one is my own brew. The rest are delicious commercial beers.

[mysterio]

Great stuff Seymour. I'm a really timid brewer and tend to stick to the 'classic styles'. Experimentation like this is really in the spirit of homebrewing.

[JammyBStard]

Has any one tried dry hopping almonds?
I had a really nice Sloe infused pilsner in prague last year. it had a lovely almond taste to it.

Well, that's true

I
look forward to your tips on depleted uranium copper-additions