beer and protein powder...

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DodginBUIs

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ok so i got the idea to brew a chocolate stout but with the addition of muscle milk protein powder. just got back into the gym and that damn muscle milk is tasty... i was curious if anyone has ever brewed a beer with protein powder and if there are any problems with that concept. also, if its possible, when can the powder be added?

before you just dismiss the idea and explain why its better to just drink the protein powder by itself, realize i already know this. im just wondering if i can add protein to my beer either during the boil or during fermentation, etc. if anyone has any input its much appreciated!
 
If you added to the boil it'd probably just precipitate out with the rest of the break. I'd say you'd have to add it during fermentation. I remember somewhere hearing about fermented milk mead, and was struck by how they commented that the ferment looked really weird (curds and junk floating around), but they said it turned out pretty good.

I think it would be good to do it as a dark beer so that clarity isn't an issue...I'm not sure how much lipid is in the stuff you were thinking to add, but lipids can really prolong the clearing time, if my chocolate mead is any indication.
 
ok so i got the idea to brew a chocolate stout but with the addition of muscle milk protein powder. just got back into the gym and that damn muscle milk is tasty... i was curious if anyone has ever brewed a beer with protein powder and if there are any problems with that concept. also, if its possible, when can the powder be added?

before you just dismiss the idea and explain why its better to just drink the protein powder by itself, realize i already know this. im just wondering if i can add protein to my beer either during the boil or during fermentation, etc. if anyone has any input its much appreciated!

Funny, I was going to make a post about protein powder earlier today. Not related to brewing, just interested in seeing what type other guys out there use (on a non-bodybuilding/sports forum) and what kind of results they were hoping for. I started using Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydrowhey recently (no other affiliation :D) and it is AWESOME (tastes fantastic, no issues mixing, next to no carbs/fat...) Only problem is that it is expensivvveeeee.

/offtopic

I don't know what it would do to your beer, gonna have to wait for one of the brewing science guys to chime in on that... I do know that I've tried cooking with it and once the items cooled they hardened and were pretty gross. That said, I did some research on the subject of denaturing protein when it is heated above ~40*C (120*F) and it will lose some of its nutritional value... so I'd add it during fermentation if it were me trying it.

Though you already know this, my opinion is: add chocolate flavoring (extract, powder, w/e) to your beer if you're after flavor, drink/enjoy your delicious whey on its own (add some irish cream if you want it alcoholic, I love a good beer after a workout:drunk:) and kick-ass :rockin::rockin::rockin:
 
To add to the /offtopic:

I use EAS myoplex whey protein, just the plain vanilla. It's really inexpensive (something around 25 bucks for a 5 lb bag at Sam's Club), and tastes good on its own, but also really easy to flavor. A really small quantity of Hershey's syrup makes it chocolate, and you can add a tiny dab of any number of flavor extracts to make a huge quantity of flavors for variety. Try the following:
hershey's and rum flavor - tastes like Irish cream
hershey's and coconut - yum
hershey's and almond - yum
base shake w/ orange and almond - tastes like amaretto
base shake w/ lemon - tastes like lemon icing

/end offtopic
 
I don't have any brewing input but can tell you that spending money on supplements is a waste of time and money if you are not competing in a body building or strength event. Anybody can get plenty big if they put in the work. If a person doesn't do the work in the gym supplements won't help anyway.
 
I looked into this some and the only concern that I have is what all of the added minerals would do to the taste and body. I say give it a shot and let us know.

ON is a great protein but there is always something cheaper with a similar if not exact profile. I sacrifice some taste for price. Check out whey2buy, wheycheap, etc... and you can get some great deals. I think Reno is partially correct but from experience there are some essentials that any person that regulars a gym should use. Protein is a basic component of our diet and I would venture to say that most do not ingest nearly enough on a daily basis. A simple shake can be a great supplement for it but there are also a number of traditional ways to get the protein without supps (peanut butter, eggs, etc...).

In my opinion it is always good to take a multivitamin and some form of fish oil or joint support. I did/do power lifting so I am a little different on what supps I need but that is where the grey area is. Not any one person is the same so supplementing a diet should not be the same for everyone. As we get older we need more support so I supplement when necessary to keep my body as agile as I can. Youth are lucky and need to just simply eat and work out since they still produce test. Unfortunately I don't..... :(

There are a ton of supps that exploit one specific deficiency and advertise them as being a wonder drug.... Never the case. Keep it simple with the basics and read read read before you put anything in your body.. Even if your not that into it, check out bodybuilding.com and you can find an enormous amount of info on whatever your questions may be.
/steps down from soapbox
 
If you look at the protein powder container, I believe they all instruct you to consume it within like 20 minutes of putting it in liquid. Amongst the problems already addressed, have you ever smelled the protein residue in a glass after it has sat at room temp for a couple hours? Now imagine that smell after weeks. Would you really want to drink that????

Another problem is, what benefit do you seek from adding protein? Alcohol is generally considered to slow or stop muscle recovery so it is the worst time to try to infuse protein into your body...
 
I don't have any brewing input but can tell you that spending money on supplements is a waste of time and money if you are not competing in a body building or strength event. Anybody can get plenty big if they put in the work. If a person doesn't do the work in the gym supplements won't help anyway.

ehhh.... not quite.... the supplements wont turn you into the incredible hulk, but it damn sure doesnt hurt a bit to have a protein shake after a workout. its almost hard to find someone that DOESNT do that.

i take muscle milk (i know it isnt miracle grow) and think its tasty so i just thought i might give myself yet another reason to drink more beer by adding some to a chocolate brew. im considering trying to add some to the primary to see what the result is. if anyone has already done this, i certainly welcome any advice so as not to reinvent the wheel
 
What sweetner is used in Muscle Milk? I'm guessing its artificial, and that means it could use one that cannot be heated.

Nutrasweet is a great example of a fake sweetner that cannot be heated or it breaks down into some horribly bitter chemicals.

Sucralose is another story.

I would do a small test batch because I suspect this is going to be aweful.
 
I don't mean to say that protein shakes and other supplements are useless but I think that the costs outweigh the benefits for most people.

I don't take protein shakes or any other supplements, never have. I can bench 350 and dead lift 535 while working out each body part only once per week. Now when I am in the gym I know what I am doing and work hard but I could be even stronger. I drink too much beer, don't eat right, and so on. If I were a more motivated or dedicated person I really believe I could achieve 400 - 450 bench and 600 on the deadlift and be completely natural. I have always said that I could take any guy off the street and train him to do at least 225 on the bench. What do you think?

Most people take way too much of the supplements and end up pissing it down the toilet. If you are fully hydrated and you still have yellow urine then you are wasting money and its hard on your body to filter out the excess.

so not to be completely off topic: I would vote against adding protein powder to a beer.
 
It is a fact that you need protein to build muscle. Whey protein is a food made from milk not a supplement. Whey protein powder is probably the least expensive form of food protein you can buy. The costs do not out whey the benifits.

However muscle milk has a lot of fat and oil in it, ala or cla if I remember right, not sure what that will do to the beer.
 
It is a fact that you need protein to build muscle. Whey protein is a food made from milk not a supplement. Whey protein powder is probably the least expensive form of food protein you can buy. The costs do not out whey the benifits.

However muscle milk has a lot of fat and oil in it, ala or cla if I remember right, not sure what that will do to the beer.

That's whey too much info this early in the morning.
 
I don't mean to say that protein shakes and other supplements are useless but I think that the costs outweigh the benefits for most people.

I don't take protein shakes or any other supplements, never have. I can bench 350 and dead lift 535 while working out each body part only once per week. Now when I am in the gym I know what I am doing and work hard but I could be even stronger. I drink too much beer, don't eat right, and so on. If I were a more motivated or dedicated person I really believe I could achieve 400 - 450 bench and 600 on the deadlift and be completely natural. I have always said that I could take any guy off the street and train him to do at least 225 on the bench. What do you think?

Most people take way too much of the supplements and end up pissing it down the toilet. If you are fully hydrated and you still have yellow urine then you are wasting money and its hard on your body to filter out the excess.

so not to be completely off topic: I would vote against adding protein powder to a beer.

Just wondering, but how can you objectively form an opinion on something you have never even tried? Your achievements at the gym sound impressive, but how do you know that supplements could not have made them even more so, or at least got you there faster?

I could see if you said you tried it for a month or two and noticed no major improvements and then stopped using them, but you never even gave them a chance. It just seems unfair to dismiss something as not worth the money when you haven't even tried it.


On Topic though: I'm actually pretty interested as to how this would turn out. It's one of those crazy ideas where the only reason to do it is because you can. I don't know if I'd commit a whole 5 gallons to it, but it should be interesting.
 
Well what really matters (relating to beer) is what is in Muscle Milk. Here are the ingredients:

EVOPRO(micellar alpha and beta caseins and ceseinates, whey concentrates rich in alpha-lactalbumin, whey isolates, whey peptides, colostrum extract, l-glutamine, taurine, lactoferrin), leanlipids (trans fat free lipic complex consisiting of canola oil, sunflower and/or safflower oil, mct's, l-carnitine), fructose, cocoa powder maltodextin, cytovite 1 (vitamin and mineral premix consisting of vitamin A acetate, cholecalciferol, d-alpha-tocopherol acetate, ascorbic acid, folate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, niacinamide, pyridoxine hcl, cyanocobalamin, biotin, pantothenic acid, di-calcium phosphate, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, ferrous fumerate, magnesium oxide, copper gluconate, zinc oxide, chromium nicotinate), GCC (proprietary endogenous creatine precursor consisiting of glycocyamine, betaine anhydrous), natural and artificial flavors, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, soy lecithin.

I'd be most concerned with the different forms of whey and fats/lipids and probably the creatine. The only way you will really ever know is to try it. I'd be more inclined to use some cocktail of cocoa powder, maltodextrin and lactose and maybe an artificial sweetener like sucralose to create that thicker rick milk chocolate effect.
 
Regardless of when you add the protein powder, the yeast are going to break a lot of it down into amino acids during fermentation because it is energetically cheaper for them to do that then synthesize their own. I'd be interested to see how much of the protein would be left after fermentation and if it resulted in any off flavors.
 
My opinion is not based only on my own experience, I just didn't want to get too long winded in each individual post. During 15 years in the gym with many different lifting partners, having many conversations with other members, being a member of a division 1 college athletic team, and watching the effects of supplements on my own brothers I have formed my opinion.

I agree that protein powder is kinda a grey area. Many people don't consider it a supplement. I think that most people get enough protein from regular food. I know I do but I eat lots of red meat.
 
for the record i never wanted to turn beer into a workout supplement (but that would be nice) i just figured, if im gonna work out, and im gonna drink alot of beer, why not get some protein from my beer. some of the other ingredients in the muscle milk blend may make it less than ideal for mixing with beer. maybe its just a bad idea all together, but i figured id at least see if anyone has done it on HBT. I may try it with a small amount of my next brew, who knows. If i do, ill certainly post the results.
 
Look at it like this: If you are serious enough about working out to take supplements and protein powders then you shouldn't be drinking beer.

Looking forward to your posted results if you do decide to do this.
 
Definitely resurrecting an old thread.

Just curious if anyone actually tried this. I would give it a whirl if it were on the market. I workout and I drink beer. Seems a natural fit. Would hate to shake up or blend my beer to mix protein in it.
 
This thread is so old, it's achieved "Cougar" status. Let's take 'er for another spin....

I'm brewing an egg nog porter next weekend, and already have the ingredients to get the "nog" flavors (oatmeal, lactose, carapils, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, etc.). Now, how to get the "egg" flavor?

I visited a few local health-food stores, and none of them carried powdered eggs or powdered egg substitutes. I'm a bit leary of dumping liquid egg substitute into the batch. But, I did find some all-natural egg-based protein powder. Just a few natural ingredients to improve the flavor, but no dairy by-products. Any ideas based on experience (vice conjecture)?
 
This thread is so old, it's achieved "Cougar" status. Let's take 'er for another spin....

I'm brewing an egg nog porter next weekend, and already have the ingredients to get the "nog" flavors (oatmeal, lactose, carapils, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, etc.). Now, how to get the "egg" flavor?
QUOTE]

I just threw up a little:D Maybe just dry heaves
 
So, my two cents... I was anti-protein for a long time. I was shocked to see how much a protein shake and a red bell pepper (anti-oxidants) would help my muscle recovery and stop those nasty aches and pains. /now back to beer

I would take all of the above negativity with a big grain of salt. Some of the worlds best inventions where created because of "foolishness" - in fact it was speculated that beer was created by a guy mistakenly leaving his bucket-o-barley out in the rain on accident. However, Malkore has a good point, a small batch may be a good idea and there will be A LOT of variables in that powder that need researching. I suggest Charlie Papazian's "Complete Joy of Home Brewing". Starting with Page 43, he goes into many of the different additives that can go into beer and what they could do to your brew.

Personally, my biggest fear would be bogging your yeast down and potentially killing it. I would suggest an extra hardy yeast like SafeAle.
 
Protein beer has been thought of, but never got any traction.. Somewhere in 2007 a group was tryin to make a protein fortified beer under the name Surpass Protein Beer.
2740117730_603d771b91.jpg


There has been other attempts/whatever which fail mainly cos it tastes like garbage.
 
Brewtus (et al) -
Thank you for the quasi-scientific response. The egg protein powder I found has no preservatives, no dairy (or other creamers), and stevia, so I think the fermentation should be fairly safe. I'm thinking of adding it right before flameout, and will have a healthy yeast starter to battle any weird side effects. I'll let you know how it goes.
 
Sounds great! Quasi-science is my specialty.

One thing that I have noticed in reading (not any actual experience with this) brewers will often say to boil additives either before adding them or in the wort itself. But flameout will likely be hot enough to render the same bacteria killing effect.
 
I don't know if I missed it somewhere along the "whey" in this thread but would simply adding protein powder to the finished beer (one bottle of beer/one or two scoops of powder) accomplish what you are trying to acheive (high protein beer). It's a very low risk option. If you don't like it you've wasted one beer and you haven't altered the protein powder chemically.

I made a chocolate stout a little while back that isn't super chocolaty(sp?) but makes a decent float if you add a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Maybe replacing the ice cream with chocolate protein powder might give a similar taste. I'll lose a lot of the carbonation stirring the powder in but in a stout it should be OK.

Tonight I may or may not be working out (still getting over being sick). If I do I'll try out the beer shake idea. If that works maybe I'll try a stout smoothie (stout, protein powder,scoop of ice cream, cottage cheese, peanut butter, frozen banana) some other time. If that tastes good Muscle Milk can take a flying leap.
 
Just be aware that heat or acidic denaturation might come into play. I know the protein type that was used in the earlier protein beer, and it is soluble in acidic conditions, and comes up clear - pls they likely filtered it. I assume you have some egg albumin powder. it may not like the heat, but no idea about its isoelectric point. But preferbaly, any lumps would likely drop out over time.
 
Thanks all. I'm not in it for the protein, just the egg flavor. Egg protein was the best I was able to come up with. 2 days until the mad science commences.
If this works, I might have a new winter seasonal on my hands.
 
Brewed it yesterday. Added the egg protein in the last 5 minutes of the boil, and it clumped up and solidified almost immediately (about the consistency of a hard-boiled egg). I'd be surprised if anything actually dissolved into the wort, and am confident that nothing made it into the fermentor. Unknown if any flavors were extracted.
 
I have not read throug this thread so pardon me if this has been mentioned before:

A Swedish brewery, the top rated one actually, named Omnipollo are about to release a DIPA with added protein for insane foam. There is basically no info on it sides it being 8% and them being extremely hyped over the foam.

Since they bring it to the Copenhagen Beer Celebration I will be tasting this on the 1st of May. I shall report on how they did then and see if I can pick their brains a bit on details.
 
Brewed it yesterday. Added the egg protein in the last 5 minutes of the boil, and it clumped up and solidified almost immediately (about the consistency of a hard-boiled egg). I'd be surprised if anything actually dissolved into the wort, and am confident that nothing made it into the fermentor. Unknown if any flavors were extracted.


How did it turn out?

Anyone been brave enough to try with protein powder?

I'm asking as a home brewer who has recently taken up weight training to combat the beer belly (and getting good results for it!)
 
I tried mixing protein powder into a glass of chocolate stout after a workout sometime last week. It clumped really bad, stirring the powder drove off all the CO2 and it tasted disgusting. Two sips in I dumped it down the sink.

Here's how I usually roll on a workout night.

-do workout
-have shower
-drink protein shake (chocolate flavoured whey powder with milk)
-glass or two of beer/wine (optional)

I usually work out after my kids are asleep so on week nights I usually don't drink any beer (it can help me get to sleep quicker though). But if I work out on Friday or Saturday then step four becomes mandatory instead of optional.
 
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