Big Brother Peanut Butter Brown

Well, today is the day. I'm finally going to try to make a peanut butter ale. Here's the recipe:

7 lbs Amber LME
1 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine
1 lb Crystal 80
1/4 lb Aromatic
1/4 lb Chocolate Malt
1/4 lb Special B
1 oz East Kent Goldings
1/2 oz Willamette
1 lb Natural Peanut Butter

~1.050 OG
~15 IBUs
~24 SRM

So, I've been debating how best to add the peanut butter. I'm steeping the grains right now, and I originally planned on adding it after the steeping grains, so I could scoop out all the oil as it floated to the top. I don't really know if there's an easier or better way to do this. I don't think this is like other things, where you have to worry so much about boiling off flavor and aroma. I mean, it's a pound of peanut butter; it's not going anywhere.

Still, I have a little while before the time comes, so if anyone has any other ideas, I'd be willing to entertain them.

If you use the natural Peanut butter that hasn't been emulsified you can pour off a majority of the oils prior to adding it. It rises to the top, the oil that is.

I forgot to mention: I've been prepping the peanut butter for about, geez, two months or so by doing just that. I've probably poured off a couple ounces of oil at this point, but it's still pretty oily.

I added it before I added the extract, and it was very dry and clay-like at the bottom of the jar, although it was still oily on top. It didn't really melt or anything, and most of it settled to the bottom of the brewpot while the oil floated on top. I couldn't really remove the oil, so I just left it throughout the rest of the boil.

After I cooled it, I used a racking cane to get it into the carboy, and I was pretty successful at leaving most of the oil behind. There was a nasty peanut butter/hops sludge at the bottom, but that was actually good because the PB glued to the hops and made it easier to rack without disturbing the sediment.

I'm letting it cool a bit more while I brew my second beer of the day, and I'll be throwing a White Labs London Ale starter on it in a few hours. I'll definitely update on this experiment. Even if the peanut butter flavor doesn't come through, I'm pretty sure this will be a good brown ale.

I remember an experiment in a Chemistry course where we burned a single peanut and measured it's caloric content. It was friggin amazing how long that single peanut burned. Oil it has!

I just racked to secondary this afternoon, after eleven days in primary. Got a little tiny taste of it afterwards.

YUM! Most of the peanut butter didn't mix in, and what little was in the fermenter either floated or settled out, but you can really taste it. A smooth roasted creaminess, and it blends fantastically with the chocolate and other dark malts. I think this is gonna be a great brew!

Golly! Someone actually reporting on their BPA. I'm not certain this is a first, but it could be. Keep us posted and if it holds up, add it to the recipe database.

[Getting close to 6666. That must be special.]

that could be really good in a 1/2 and 1/2 with Long Shot Boysenberry Wheat. A PB&J sandwich that gets ya drunk...

I recently bottled a Raspberry Wit that came out pretty good. I'm thinking about trying them together when the time comes. :cross:

david_42 said:

Golly! Someone actually reporting on their BPA. I'm not certain this is a first, but it could be. Keep us posted and if it holds up, add it to the recipe database.

Click to expand...

Well, I just cracked my first bottle of it about ten minutes ago, and I must say, I'm quite pleased with the results. Here are my (quite basic) tasting notes I put in BeerSmith:

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Appearance: Very dark brown, black really. Tiny head formed and dissipated immediately.

Smell: Chocolate notes, hint of peanuts.

Taste: Sweet chocolate front, then peanut butter smoothness, mildly bitter leading to a nice roasty peanut finish. Good balance; not too sweet.

Mouthfeel: Decent carbonation, creaminess and bite blending together. Good body, not thick and syrupy, but not thin.

Overall: Very nice. Only been in bottles for 13 days, and already coming along nicely!

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It's fairly similar to the porters I've made, actually. I now open the floor to questions!