Anyone use Brandy?

I’ve seen many recipes for beers that use bourbon, which I don’t really like. Has anyone ever used brandy in a brew?

If I could somehow capture the spirit of a brandy manhattan (my favorite cocktail) in a brew if would be great.

How about a low IBU brew and adding a “volume” of a brandy manhattan in a secondary? What you wouldn’t want is a HOT beer though.

It seems to me like you could get some good results using brandy in the same way you would use bourbon. I think that would make a nice addition to an amber or a porter.

I remember brandy being very sweet. If I were trying it, I would make sure that the beer I’m putting it in is dry. That way it won’t be cloyingly sweet.

J

I used brandy to make my spice tincture for the winter warmer I brewed a couple of weeks ago. I think brandy works well in beer.

It depends on the brandy…straight brandy is generally not sweet at all…if anything, it’s rather like whiskey, except it’s made from grapes rather than grain. Try it. It may give you what you’re after.

Just stay away from the fruity, sweetened, glycerined brandies like apricot, blackberry and the like; those are ok sipped on their own but they’d be pretty insipid in beer (to me, anyway).

I’m getting ready to add a variety of spices extracted with Grand Marnier to my Christmas Saison. I will provide feedback around Christmas. I can see nothing wrong with it so far.

It depends on the brandy…straight brandy is generally not sweet at all…if anything, it’s rather like whiskey, except it’s made from grapes rather than grain. Try it. It may give you what you’re after.

Just stay away from the fruity, sweetened, glycerined brandies like apricot, blackberry and the like; those are ok sipped on their own but they’d be pretty insipid in beer (to me, anyway).[/quote]

My MIL drinks brandy, which is the only brandy I have tasted. She drinks E&J VSOP. I’ really have no idea how ‘good’ of a brandy it is.

J

I apologize in advance if I’m stating the obvious, but keep in mind that a liquor like Grand Marnier is substantially sweet, and that’s ordinary sugar that WILL ferment if you add it to beer. So, give it a chance to ferment out before you bottle, and don’t expect that sweetness to translate to the finished product. I’ve read somewhere about people actually priming with liquor (think it was in Radical Brewing, could be wrong), so that’s another option as well, provided you are able to figure out how much sugar per unit volume it has and use the appropriate amount. Never tried it myself.