Using kinako (roasted soybean flour) in beer

[deadwolfbones]

If you’re unfamilar, kinako is a chocolate-y, peanut buttery flour made from roasted soybeans. It’s commonly used in Japanese desserts. I was thinking it’d make a nice addition to a brown ale and was thinking about doing a 1gal batch to try it out.

Anyone have any thoughts on how soybean flour might react with malt and brewing yeast? I want to use it primarily for the flavor, but it appears that soy peptides are fermentable, and some breweries in Japan are even using them to produce so-called “third beers”—beers made from non-malt sources.

[dannyboy58]

How were you planning to use it? As an adjunct or a fermentable? Do you know what it’s diastatic power is?

The “third beer” concept is interesting and maybe another alternative to rice for gluten free beers?

[deadwolfbones]

I was hoping to use it primarily for flavor, but if it’s fermentable, I guess it’d do that, too. I’m not familiar with diastatic powder—what’s the deal there?

Here’s some reading on the “third beer” concept: "Third Beer" | Science and Technology | Trends in Japan | Web Japan

The “third beer” boom was sparked by Sapporo, which launched a beverage called Draft One in February 2004. Made with protein extracted from peas, Draft One’s selling point is its light taste and drinkability. Meanwhile, Kirin’s Nodogoshi Nama, made with soybean protein, touts its good flavor and crispness. Asahi’s Shin Nama, which uses soy peptide and a yeast that the company also employs in beer making, offers a dry finish. And Suntory’s Super Blue, which contains low-malt beer mixed with liquor distilled from wheat, has a crisp, refreshing taste.

[dannyboy58]

Diastatic power is a measure of how much starch-converting enzyme any given malt contains. When you look at a malt’s properties the degrees L(Lintner) number is it’s diastatic power. Higher numbers indicate higher conversion, higher “potential” = higher contribution to abv.

http://www.eckraus.com/blog/what-is-diastatic-power-definition-chart

I just found it interesting that you could potentially make a “soy bean beer” that’s gluten free. Seems there’s a market for it…

Draft One looks familiar…Sapporo doesn’t make bad beer but I prefer Kirin Ichi Ban for a dry crisp Japanese lager. I think a local hibachi steak place we frequent serves Draft One. I’m tempted to try it but some of the descriptions of the “aroma” kind of frighten me.

[deadwolfbones]

Ah, sorry! I misread power as “powder.”

I’m not sure I can find the diastatic power for kinako, but it’s certainly worth doing some research.

I don’t think I’m quite ready to jump feet first into making “third beer,” but it’s certainly something interesting to think about for the future!