Melted Marshmallows for priming?

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Ksosh

Ksosh

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Hi All,
Can anyone think of why I shouldn't be able to use melted marshmallows as a priming sugar?

I figure I can calculate the oz of sugar per X marshmallows, and just melt down enough (with some water) to get 4-5 oz of sugar in the priming solution. Am I crazy-pants for thinking this? Am I forgetting/missing something important to avoid bottle bombs?

On a side note, last week was my first boil over (5th brew) and my first bottle bomb... hooray?
 
Would probably work to an extent, but those things are more sugar- you get flavorings and starches and what not, and it might just make a mess and re-congeal inside your bottles. The gelatin that is in most marshmallows could be especially unpleasant in a pint glass of beer. Not so much bottle bombs as gross beer. I'd just use sugar, if I were you. The more I think about it, the more I think maybe priming with molasses or maple syrup makes sense, if you want to add more flavor. Personally, I just use corn sugar, and add any adjuncts earlier in the brewing process.
 
My bag of marshmallows say: sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, corn starch, gelatin, flavors. Don't see how any of those would be a major show stopper. Not saying I'd try it, but keep us posted.
 
I can picture in my head the bottles exploding not from over-carbonation, but from the re-solidifying of the 'mallows expanding and wrecking your s***.

But yeah, it'd probably work, however it might add some interesting things you REALLY didn't want.... unless this is for that S'more beer. I'm almost tempted to try making it myself...
 
Yep, it's for the smore beer... I'm not sure how the molasses and vanilla extract will actually turn out (i.e. taste like marshmallows), so I'm trying to hedge my bets...

Any other suggestions to get marshmallow taste into a beer (that's currently fermenting)?
 
ksocia said:
Yep, it's for the smore beer... I'm not sure how the molasses and vanilla extract will actually turn out (i.e. taste like marshmallows), so I'm trying to hedge my bets...

Any other suggestions to get marshmallow taste into a beer (that's currently fermenting)?
Click to expand...

Did you use lactose? That'll get you some sweetness, and with the vanilla, should do the trick. I like the idea of a s'more beer (at least in the abstract, not ending up with 50 of them). I think lactose and maltodextrin (for body) would be the way to go. You could add them to secondary if you want- just give them a few days before you bottle, as they are slightly fermentable, and you don't want to mess up your priming calculations.
 
Ya know, I feel like the vanilla/molasses combo might do ya just fine for the S'more beer. I'd stick with corn sugar, personally. It would be better to make a successful batch using standard techniques and maybe not get the desired end result then to trying something radical, ruin the beer and never get a chance to see how it really would have turned out. The former will at least allow you to tweak it to your preference for later batches
 
I mean this as respectfully as possible, but WTF??? Apparently, somewhere along the line, I became a rigid, inflexible crotchety old man who wonders what the hell is wrong with kids these days and their marshmallow-flavored beer . . . .

And stay the hell off my lawn! :mad:
 
Alright, I've got lactose, molasses, and (planned) vanilla extract, so I'll just prime as normal and hope for the best.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

*Puts a flaming bag of poo on Pappers' porch, rings bell, and runs*
 
the molasses in my trench town brown tasted like Graham cracker while green. so the mix of vanilla and the molasses should mix quite well.
 
ksocia said:
Alright, I've got lactose, molasses, and (planned) vanilla extract, so I'll just prime as normal and hope for the best.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

*Puts a flaming bag of poo on Pappers' porch, rings bell, and runs*
Click to expand...

C'mon... giving up that easily. Why not prime a few bottles with your marshmallow concoction. There's nothing wrong with gelatin it makes a great fining. The only problem I could see might be the cornstarch making an unclearable haze (but maybe the gelatin would counteract that;) )
 
Marshmallows are just sugar, cornstarch, gelatin, and vanilla flavoring. The sugar will ferment completely, leaving little blobs of gelatin, some haze from the cornstarch, and just maybe a slight hint of vanilla. Since cornstarch and pre-set gelatin aren't desirable in beer, and the sugar will ferment out, perhaps you should just add a little vanilla extract, then prime as usual.

EDIT: I just read the thread a little more closely. Seems you've already come to a similar conclusion!
 
Along the same lines, has anyone tried marshmellow in the secondary? I know this is an old posting, but hopefully someone will check it.
 
Ksosh said:
Hi All,
Can anyone think of why I shouldn't be able to use melted marshmallows as a priming sugar?

I figure I can calculate the oz of sugar per X marshmallows, and just melt down enough (with some water) to get 4-5 oz of sugar in the priming solution. Am I crazy-pants for thinking this? Am I forgetting/missing something important to avoid bottle bombs?

On a side note, last week was my first boil over (5th brew) and my first bottle bomb... hooray?
Click to expand...

OK, so I showed up about 3 years too late but I'm really curious. Did you ever try your smore beer? I was just considering how to do it myself and worked in reverse of what you were thinking. I started by thinking of marshmallow extract (decided it's probably nasty), then vanilla and molasses and then wondered if I could just add marshmallows at flameout. I hadn't considered priming with them.

So, did you ever make this smore beer? If so, how did you do it and what were the results?
 
I'm on a similar quest for marshmallow flavor. My story is that I was interested in brewing a toasted marshmallow brown ale, and once I stated that, my other brew friends decided to brew something similar to a Youngs Double Chocolate Stout, and the other a Honey Graham Ale. We're each trying to brew something that could be tasty on it's own, but perhaps the 3 mixed together would do something crazy... like rip a hole in the space/time continuum... or make a delicious, layered s'more experience.

Regardless, I've read a lot about how burning honey will give a toasted 'mallow flavor and aroma, since you're basically just caramelizing sugars... I decided instead of boiling honey and diluting it with water for a burnt 'mallow taste, why not use straight up 'mallows? I have thusly taken half a jar of marshmallow fluff and burnt it in a pan (it doesn't really melt, so much as char). I added a bit of water, let it boil, and stirred it up. I did this several times and eventually was left with a caramel colored liquid that tastes exactly like toasted marshmallows. NOW, where I seek advice:

Should I put something like that in secondary, or will fermentation kill most of that taste I desire? Could I use that liquid in place of my priming sugar? I suppose the only problem is that I don't know exactly how much sugar is actually in that concoction, so I can't properly calculate how much to use when bottling.
 
A day (or really, year) late, a dollar short - but any update on this beer?? Sounds like an amazing experiment!

antihero414 said:
I'm on a similar quest for marshmallow flavor. My story is that I was interested in brewing a toasted marshmallow brown ale, and once I stated that, my other brew friends decided to brew something similar to a Youngs Double Chocolate Stout, and the other a Honey Graham Ale. We're each trying to brew something that could be tasty on it's own, but perhaps the 3 mixed together would do something crazy... like rip a hole in the space/time continuum... or make a delicious, layered s'more experience.

Regardless, I've read a lot about how burning honey will give a toasted 'mallow flavor and aroma, since you're basically just caramelizing sugars... I decided instead of boiling honey and diluting it with water for a burnt 'mallow taste, why not use straight up 'mallows? I have thusly taken half a jar of marshmallow fluff and burnt it in a pan (it doesn't really melt, so much as char). I added a bit of water, let it boil, and stirred it up. I did this several times and eventually was left with a caramel colored liquid that tastes exactly like toasted marshmallows. NOW, where I seek advice:

Should I put something like that in secondary, or will fermentation kill most of that taste I desire? Could I use that liquid in place of my priming sugar? I suppose the only problem is that I don't know exactly how much sugar is actually in that concoction, so I can't properly calculate how much to use when bottling.
Click to expand...
 

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