Anyone have any luck using meat?

Hey guys,
I have been thinking of brewing a beer that has a sausage flavor. I have seen bacon flavored beers but i'm thinking breakfast sausage. Any advice on the best way to get the sausage flavor to the beer? I was going to add some fennel at the end of boil but the smokey flavor is the tough part. I am not a fan of liquid smoke, so that is not really an option. I was thinking of maybe soaking some cooked sausage in everclear for a week or so, then add to secondary. I might consider vodka but I definitely don't want any vodka flavor in my beer.I also comsidered trying to smoke some fennel with Apple wood. Any thoughts or suggestions?

If your all grain brewing I think the best option would be to take some of your base malt and smoke it with the apple wood. Then add the fennel and any other sausage spices to the end of the boil.

Even if your using extract you could buy some grain and smoke it and then steep it for flavor

Well, to be honest, I am brewing today and it's still winter in Montana, so I might have missed my opportunity to smoke anything that is going into the boil. I would be willing to try something smokey for secondary though. I am thinking that adding flavors,to secondary could be more easily controlled. I generally don't like smoked beers, so I wouldn't wanna over do it. I planned to add the extracted sausage to taste. I would entertain the idea of adding sausage to boil, but I dunno about that one. What do ye think? I am doing a partial mash recipe by the way.

Homebrewtalk search results- "Bacon"

Thanks Revvy. For some reason, the iPad search function is TERRIBLE. This helps a ton. Any personal opinions?

kman6234 said:

If your all grain brewing I think the best option would be to take some of your base malt and smoke it with the apple wood. Then add the fennel and any other sausage spices to the end of the boil.

Even if your using extract you could buy some grain and smoke it and then steep it for flavor

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Yeah, this is the approach I'd take too. Smoke your grain or use some smoked grain (Weyerman smoked malt, Briess cherry smoked malt, etc.). If you're extract brewing, I think there is some smoked extracts on the market but I hear it can be hard to find. Definitely don't use liquid smoke.

Add your spices during the last 15 minutes of the boil. The spices might be a little tricky. When I think of sausage they're pretty strong flavors so it'd be real easy to overdo it.

If you do take the meat in everclear approach, I'd recommend putting it in the freezer for a while then strain it through a fine mesh strainer or coffee filter. This should help prevent grease from getting into your secondary.

The brew went really well. The spices ring through quite a bit on their own. I might just add some lactose for sweetness and mouth feel and roll with it.

It sounds like I could get some decent sausage flavor doing some dry hogging though. Maybe I will try it for kicks. Just cook my sausage well and get out all the grease that I can. I am a little concerned about meat bacteria though...

I would keep the meat away from the fermenters. The flavor we think of as "sausage" really is more in the spices than in the pork. Smoked malt would go a long way to help it but it's a bit late for that. Better to make this a good first try to learn from and then make a second try with the smoked malt and anything else you learn from this batch.

When we're trying something new and experimental, rarely do we get it right with the first batch.

Soaking meat in secondary sounds disgusting. Just use the spices and smoked malt. Thats the flavor you're looking for anyway.

I second the be wary of meat in fermentor sentiment. If you are really inclined to use it somehow, I would do a cold extraction in Everclear, then get it real cold and get the fat to congeal at the top so you can remove it. Then you could add that extract to taste. But I think smoked malt plus fennel and sage would do it too.

ChshreCat said:

I would keep the meat away from the fermenters. The flavor we think of as "sausage" really is more in the spices than in the pork. Smoked malt would go a long way to help it but it's a bit late for that. Better to make this a good first try to learn from and then make a second try with the smoked malt and anything else you learn from this batch.

When we're trying something new and experimental, rarely do we get it right with the first batch.

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This is very sound advice. Like all of you have said, it's the spices that matter most. Sausage flavor especially is not as dependent on smoke, as say, bacon would be. I am thinking that you guys are very right as to keep actual meat out of the equation.

Like I say, the fennel, black pepper and cayenne I put into the boil mixed very nicely in this brown porter. I'm going for a biscuits and gravy thing (I know it's a little weird). So far, it's coming out nicely A little lactose for milky sweetness and away we go.....

SenorPepe said:

But I think smoked malt plus fennel and sage would do it too.

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Dang it!! I forgot sage..... Maybe dry hopped in secondary

The breakfast sausage cure that we use in our shop contains a touch of maple, salt, nitrate, and we smoke with beechwood shavings.

Maybe there is a smoky wood chip out here to add to secondary?? I doubt it. It would probably taste like ash.

Do you have a smoker? I get you could smoke something to put in if you want a little smokey character (I like smoked sausage) as well as the spice. Maybe lightly smoke some fresh sage leaves and put that in secondary?

ChshreCat said:

Do you have a smoker? I get you could smoke something to put in if you want a little smokey character (I like smoked sausage) as well as the spice. Maybe lightly smoke some fresh sage leaves and put that in secondary?

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I do have a smoker......I might think on the smoked sage. Thanks for the suggestion

wow wrong thread, very wrong thread. Gotta remember not to open multiple hbt tabs at once.

SenorPepe said:

wow wrong thread, very wrong thread. Gotta remember not to open multiple hbt tabs at once.

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HAHAHA:rockin:

Before this thread ends all of you must google Porkfelwein.

Revvy said:

Before this thread ends all of you must google Porkfelwein.

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Ha, funny!!

You could also do the Good Eats trick for homemade liquid smoke...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcaFpCd19k8&feature=player_detailpage#t=554s

ChshreCat said:

You could also do the Good Eats trick for homemade liquid smoke...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcaFpCd19k8&feature=player_detailpage#t=554s

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Interesting...I had no idea that was how liquid smoke was made. Maybe I'll try that this Summer while Bar B Queing

ha

I'd probably rack onto 5lbs of raw sausage. Steam the sausage for about 5 minutes to sanitize.

I've had a bunch of bad meat beers, but a few goods ones. Notably at this year's EBF, Stillwater had a beer aged on fancy cured ham (jamon iberico) and Funky Buddha had a stout with bacon, coffee, etc. in it that was delicious.

Sadly many beers come off as too smokey or they have a weird chemical flavor when you use meat or meat flavors.

And I don't know if you consider chicken "meat" technically, but there is the legendary "Cock Ale" recipe.

At least one hbter on here has attempted it.

Revvy said:

And I don't know if you consider chicken "meat" technically, but there is the legendary "Cock Ale" recipe.

At least one hbter on here has attempted it.

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Yeah, I read that one.....Somehow this thread makes me wanna go vegetarian

ChshreCat said:

You could also do the Good Eats trick for homemade liquid smoke...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcaFpCd19k8&feature=player_detailpage#t=554s

Click to expand...

Is that legal?