Mashin' yer nuts

prrriiide · 06-24-2010, 07:08 AM

No, not THOSE nuts. The kind that grow outta the ground.

Lazy Magnolia makes a nut brown called Southern Pecan, really tasty. The pecan flavor is really subtle, though. Apparently they use the pecans as a fermentable, not in the secondary, so they don't overpower the brew.

How do you accomplish that? Do you crush 'em up and mash 'em with the grain? Or do you just toss 'em in the brewpot and hope the starches release?

I have some idears for what I think will be really tasty brews, but i need to figure out the nut thing first.

demonrichie · 06-24-2010, 08:45 AM

im thinking crushing them and putting in during the boil

prrriiide · 06-24-2010, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by demonrichie

im thinking crushing them and putting in during the boil

But not in the mash?

**NewBrewB** · 06-24-2010, 12:21 PM

I read somewhere that if you want to use nuts in your beer, you should chop them or use thinly-sliced and then toast them (NOT burnt) to remove some of the oil. As I recall, the problem was that actual nuts are so oily that it will kill your carbonation, or something along those lines.

As for adding during the boil/late in the boil/into primary/into secondary.... if you add them anytime after the boil, I'd definitely soak them in sanitizing solution. The only "experience" I have with flavored beers was a blueberry. I added the extract at bottling and my buddy did the same kit but added at primary. You could hardly taste the blueberry in his batch and mine was almost overpowering. Not sure if that is helpful or not.

Best of luck though, If it works, I'm also very into the idea of trying some nutty beers, so share the knowledge!

KCPyrate · 06-24-2010, 12:40 PM

Abita made a pecan beer last fall that I loved, would love to replicate something like that. I attempted a hazelnut mead a while back & the oils were definitely a pain!

Bopper · 06-24-2010, 01:50 PM

I haven't brewed with them before but I do know that the oils (fats) in nuts will negatively effect head retention. Many brewers use nut extracts in order get around this issue. The following is an exerpt from the wiki:

"Nut Extracts

Nuts are one of the most difficult ingredients to brew with, as they contain a large amount of fat that can affect a beer's stability and head retention; their flavors can also be more difficult to get into the finished beer without crushing or other means. For this reason, most nut-flavored beers are made with flavor extracts rather than whole nutmeats." http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php?title=Flavor_extracts&printable=yes

**pjj2ba** · 06-24-2010, 02:29 PM

You can also add some lecithin to emulsify the fats. I've successfully done this for a beer that had several tablespoons of oil in the mash and had no head retention issues.

I'd crush the pecans as finely as possible and add them to the mash.

Bopper · 06-24-2010, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjj2ba

You can also add some lecithin to emulsify the fats. I've successfully done this for a beer that had several tablespoons of oil in the mash and had no head retention issues.

I'd crush the pecans as finely as possible and add them to the mash.

Good info! I knew there had to be a way to get around the oil issue but I've never researched it.

**Revvy** · 06-24-2010, 02:42 PM

There's about 4 different threads about brewing this beer. This is the best one, because at the time the thread came out, one of our members actually worked there, so he contributed immensely to the thread. including how to handle the nuts.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/lazy-magnolias-southern-pecan-58853/

Here's another thread.....found by searching the forums....

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/lazy-magnolia-southern-pecan-brown-recipe-critique-138996/?highlight=magnolia

**Revvy** · 06-24-2010, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bopper

Good info! I knew there had to be a way to get around the oil issue but I've never researched it.

I've done that with both chocolate and tortilla chips in a couple of my beers. I find that the grain in the mash tun does a lot to absorb any fats and or oils from things like that. It's kinda like bread and gravy, it sopps it up. Plus it's a lot of grain for any fatty particles to filter through on the way to the kettle.