Crustovsky

Recipes 

I did a pecan porter awhile back that turned out quite nicely. Really need to get around to making it again.

I took 200g of pecan halves, and crushed them up a bit. Not too fine, just a bit of time with a rolling pin. I then threw the pecan halves on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper (don't recall what the wisdom was with the wax paper, but there was SOME reason for it), and threw them in the oven for 20 minutes@275F. I'm not sure if this time was optimal, but at the very least I think the temperature was right. After that I threw them in at the start of the mash, and they did the job from there. I would highly recommend you use them in the mash as well, as I don't think using them at a later stage will be beneficial. Yes, they were oily (incredibly so when I took them out of the oven), and yes they killed the beer's head retention, but I consider it to be a worthwhile sacrifice. Honestly I don't think there's any saving it doing this kind of thing; pecans in particular can just be so damn oily. The flavour was nicely balanced, so if you want a strong nutty flavour I'd suggest you increase the amount you throw in, and if you want it more a background note decrease it.

I'm going something similar with hazelnuts in a month or two; if this thread is still kicking I'll update it on how that went.

Roadliner

Recipes 

You can deaden the oilyness of nuts when roasting them by:

1 lining a large mixing bowl with a few layers of paper towels

2 covering bowl with lid (plate, whatever will keep the nuts from coming out)

3 then slowly toss the nuts inside (similar to when you toss wings in hot sauce)

4 pour the nuts out onto 1 layer of paper towels on a counter/cookie sheet and let sit for about 10 minutes.

I've had to do this for a few cooking recipes, and it works well. Just throw away the towels, or if you use a very large amount of nuts.. you might be able to ring out somet of the oils to use elsewhere

It works a lot better if you toss them multiple times during the roasting process, but also becomes very time consuming.

Crustovsky

Recipes 

I might give this a try with the hazelnuts in the future. I have two concerns though:

1. How does this affect the flavour of the nuts?
2. Just how long would it take for this to actually be effective in preserving head retention? I mean, if people get nervous about a fraction of a drop of olive oil in a batch of beer, is this even a battle you can win?

Roadliner

Recipes 

You will still extract a good flavor from the nuts. It creates a subdued taste (I used it for sauces, and it kept the oil from separating in the final product) Which keeps the nuts from overpowering other flavors.

Far as head retention, I don't know, honestly. I imagine it will still affect it, but less oil should affect less, right?

I'm new to getting away from extract kits, so I can't offer any expertise to brewing with nuts, but It's the heat that will transfer flavors from the nuts, so based off of culinary experience, I agree you should put them in the mash and not a fermentation vessel.

zmanzorro

Recipes 

Look for the Shiner Cheer clone thread under the Recipes/Ingredients forum. Within the first couple of responses, there is a description how to remove the oils from the pecans. Something with a saltwater soak and a vodka soak.

__________________
"Apu, I need a keg and a six pack to hold me until I tap the keg." -Homer Simpson

Next Brew: Possum Kingdom Pale Ale
Primary/Secondary: All gone!
Bottle: All gone!

BoomerHarley

Recipes 

Make sure you wash them or it may end up being too salty. This goes for all kinds of nuts.

Bithead

Recipes 

There is a recent (Oct 2012) BYO article about using nuts and seeds. Has good information about using and preparing nuts and a few recipes.
http://www.byo.com/component/resource/article/2611-brewing-gone-nuts

There's also a blog article about about "fat washing". I haven't seen this information anyhere else.
http://ryanbrews.blogspot.com/2011/10/fat-washing-using-fatty-or-oily-foods.html

__________________
"...allowing the beer to become what it is." -- Jason Yester, Trinity Brewing Co.

Roadliner

Recipes 

Nice links, Bithead!

dcarter

Recipes 

I have known people who used peanut butter powder and cocoa powder to make awesome peanut butter cup stouts. They were fantastic but since I usually make 25 gallon batches, I haven't made it myself. Not sure that I want 25 gallons of peanut butter cup stout after all.

__________________
Primary:Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone

My trash heap fridge rescue and conversion to a first class fermentation chamber

If you don't like your job, you don't strike!.....You just go in everyday and do it really half a$$ed, THATS the American way! - Homer J Simpson

WhiteDog87

Recipes 

Thanks for the info all! I was a little quick on the draw so it was too late to add them to the mash, but I toasted them and let them sit on a paper bag, them roasted them and let them cool. I tossed 1/2 a pound into the last 15 minutes of the boil, and a 1/2 pound into the primary.

After reading what everyones advice was I probably should have toasted them a couple of times to get the oils out and then roasted them, and then added them to the mash so they would have a good long time in contact with the heat to get the flavor out. Im hoping since i put half in the last 15 of the boil and half in the primary I will get good flavor, but I'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.

Will update when its finished!