Been awhile since I have been on boards. Hope everyone doing well.
I am using PB2 in a Choc PB Imp Stout. I was going to boil it then add to secondary but, Denny said to use Vodka to do this. Just wondered who has done this and does the vodka impart any off flavors? It also says to blend them together which I am not sure if he means blend like add them together or actually blend them in a blender?
Thanks guys!
Stir the PB2 into enough vodka so that it is all moistened, and after sitting a few minutes, a thin layer of vodka is on top of the mixture. Most vodkas will not impart a noticeable flavor to your beer. There are some that are pretty harsh though. I buy cheap Caliber vodka at Walmart for my Bloody Marys, has a very mellow taste.
Thanks, I figured this would be best way to do it.
I did it last year with 151 grain alcohol. Reconstituted the PB2 with enough to make a sludge/paste and then I let that settle up and decanted the alcohol off the top.
End result: NEVER AGAIN. The alcohol was noticeable. I entered the batch into a brew competition to have constructive feedback (the wife and neighbors are never too harsh on me).
My score was a 25. And to me that is unacceptable. The reason for such a low score was because the beer was too hot. No other constructive feedback was given for such a pedestrian score other than it was too hot. So in my opinion, I would find another way of adding the peanut butter flavor in, but again that is just me. I have heard adding about 1 lbs of PB2 to the boil for 30 minutes can get the flavor in there. The good thing is this is homebrew so what failed for me may possibly work wonderfully for you.
But, in the end, try it and see if it works. I am just a little jaded because of the score and the little feedback I received to justify it. I tasted it and it was “hot”, but it did also taste slightly oxidized, so there were other problems that were not detected. Maybe it would have scored higher without the oxidation and I would have applauded this neutral spirit/PB2 approach.
If you go this route (vodka) kick it around with other brewers about using a lower attenuating yeast to counter the potential alcohol that you will be adding with the vodka mix. And maybe avoid too many heavily roasted notes as they can contribute to drying sensation; which can also highlight some of the hot notes.
If you have the time and money, Denny Conn and Drew Beechum have a great book called “Experimental Homebrewing”, they cover this process in detail and that should get you pointed in the right direction.
If you do decide to brew this beer, please post the results as I would love to do another Peanut Butter Beer, but am a little intimidated after my last attempt.
Best of Luck
:cheers:
But wasn’t it denny that said the grain alcohol way was the way to go? I used peanut butter extract before and worked great but wanted to tinker with this way for a change.
In the book they state that grain is the way to go, but I had to use a lot to get the consistency needed for the PB2 slurry. With that in mind it spiked the ABV considerably and more than likely was confused for fusel alcohol. Which is not a good thing. I want to do this again, but am hesitant due to the time and money involved with brewing this kind of beer.
If you have success please post your process as I will probably give it a go during my Winter vacation.
:cheers:
