Bluelinebrewer

Recipes 

Ok, so I'm contemplating trying a tomato ale. I've done some searching and can't seem to find much about one. I plan on using a real light blonde as a base and then adding some tomato juice (homemade) to the beer. Here are my questions:

1. When should I add the juice? Boil, primary, secondary, bottling?

2. I'm thinking I'll need to hop very lightly, any ideas on that? Type of hops, or an IBU I should try to shoot for?

3. How much juice should I add? I'm thinking of using about 2 quarts.

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!! All comments are welcome!!

__________________
"I buried my loneliness in her for the night and left with new symptoms no antidepressant could cure." DKM


Tired of keeping the list updated!! :)

sundowner

Recipes 

Most likely because it's a bad idea. If you really want tomato juice in your beer, just add some to the glass of beer.

When I was in the Navy, I would do that for nurtrition...

__________________
A person who knows everything, knows nothing...

elkdog

Recipes 

I won't say it's a bad idea, but I will say "you go first."

Just remember that any sweetness will ferment out. I'd add it to secondary, to taste. Add a bit, and see how it tastes. You can't take it out if you start with too much.

Sundowner's idea is good- make sure you like the basic flavor combination before going all in.

__________________
Revolving Door Brewery

DRoyLenz

Recipes 

I don't want this to discourage your efforts at all, and I would be fascinated to find out how this turned out, but I think Tomato Beer sounds disgusting. (To be fair, I don't like tomatoes that much anyway.

One thing I heard about Fruit Beers in regards to when you should add the fruit is based on what flavor you want to go after. If you add the fruit in the boil, you may end up with a "cooked" flavor to the fruit, just as if you had baked or boiled the fruit alone. If you add it after the boil, you will get more of a fresh taste, like tomatoes in a salad. In my research, it seems to me that the worst time to add fruit is right before primary. The CO2 from fermentation carries away a lot of aroma, and your beer is more susceptible to infection. So if you're going to add it after the boil, I would vote for secondary.

__________________
D

All-Grain Brewing with Extract Brewing Equipment

DRoyLenz

Recipes 

elkdog, your avatar infuriates me (I'm a Michigan State Alum)....

__________________
D

All-Grain Brewing with Extract Brewing Equipment

feedbag

Recipes 

When I was in the Navy we put some salt and pepper in too and called it a red-eye, best hangover cure for breakfast in Hong Kong. You could call your beer "The Hong Kong Breakfast"!

olllllo

Recipes 

I wonder what the best way would be to capture fresh tomato vine aroma.

I'd definitely experiment with growlers in the secondary and/or doctor some beers.

__________________
Rabbit And Coyote Schwag
Rob - Phoenix Ambassador to Milwaukee
Where did your avatar go?
Ginger Beer for Moscow Mules Bacon Vodka
Twitter

pava

Recipes 

this reminds me of a story from years ago not long after I had turned 21 . . . first of all I could count on one hand the number of times I have seen my father have a drink and while I had wanted to for some time, I had never been able to sit down and have a beer with my father. So he and I are fishing in Northern PA and we stop by this old hotel restaurant for dinner and when the waitress comes to take our order he looks at me and says to her 'I will have a beer'. When she followed up with 'What kind?' He was a bit flustered but ended up with a PBR. He followed up that order with a request for a glass of tomato juice. When his drinks came out he proceeded to drink half of the tomato juice and then poured the beer on top of the remaining juice. He looked across the table at me and with a little twinkle in his eye said 'I like mixed drinks'. I about fell out of my chair. . . I will always remember that first 'beer' I had with my Dad.

Sorry, a bit off topic, I have no advice on the tomato beer, other than to say that I do not think I would want one. But hey, that is what makes this hobby so great we can make whatever the hell we want and if it doesn't turn out well, I may know someone in PA that would like a tomato juice and beer that comes premixed . Good Luck.

__________________
Bottled:
Kegged:
Fermenting:
Aging/DryHopping:
Planned:

FireNightFly

Recipes 

The basic recipe is tomato juice (or sometimes Clamato or V8) juice mixed with Mexican beer (Corona or Modelo Especial) and the juice of half a lime in an ice-cold, salt-rimmed pint glass. Add the beer by pouring it from high above the glass so the contents can mix properly.

elkdog

Recipes 

This'll make you feel better. I had great seats in the student section for our big game against MSU in December '99, during my undergrad days. Mateen Cleaves was on crutches, and your team still blew us out of the gym. Just think about that season...

__________________
Revolving Door Brewery