Adding Nuts to an Extract Brew

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RedneckBrewer

RedneckBrewer

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I've got a good recipe for a Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan clone. As you might imagine, it requires pecans. I know the oils in nuts generally ruin the head of the beer, but the guy that created the clone roasted the pecans 3 times to remove the oils and had good success. My question is, when would you add the pecans? He added them to his mash for 90 minutes.

Should I add them at boil, in the primary, or maybe even rack the beer onto them in a secondary for a while?

Thanks for the replies
 
Why not mash them on their own? Just soak them in some water at 155ish for 90 minutes, strain and add that to the kettle and start your brew.
 
The answer to your question depends on what you want to do with your nuts.

OK ok, I know that sounds dirty, but it's true. Mashing sparging is useful for a couple of reasons, one of which is that it rinses the sugars off the grains. Another, though, is it converts unfermentable compounds in the grains into fermentable sugars. There's a good wiki on that here.

If you're trying to convert the nuts into fermentable sugars, then you'll have to mash them yourself. You can do a mini-mash with them, and use extract for everything else if you'd like.

I'm not sure why you'd mash the nuts though (ALSO dirty - and painful!) unless you were trying to use them as an alternative to grains. I know some people do this with chestnuts to make a gluten-free beer.

If you just want some nut flavor (heehee!) then you can really add the roasted nuts at any point in the process. You'll get more flavor if you add them earlier, and less if you add them later. You could also choose to leave the nuts in the fermenter for a really strong flavor, or "dry-nut" with them (instead of dry-hopping) for a MUCH subtler flavor.
 
pericles said:
The answer to your question depends on what you want to do with your nuts.

OK ok, I know that sounds dirty, but it's true. Mashing sparging is useful for a couple of reasons, one of which is that it rinses the sugars off the grains. Another, though, is it converts unfermentable compounds in the grains into fermentable sugars. There's a good wiki on that here.

If you're trying to convert the nuts into fermentable sugars, then you'll have to mash them yourself. You can do a mini-mash with them, and use extract for everything else if you'd like.

I'm not sure why you'd mash the nuts though (ALSO dirty - and painful!) unless you were trying to use them as an alternative to grains. I know some people do this with chestnuts to make a gluten-free beer.

If you just want some nut flavor (heehee!) then you can really add the roasted nuts at any point in the process. You'll get more flavor if you add them earlier, and less if you add them later. You could also choose to leave the nuts in the fermenter for a really strong flavor, or "dry-nut" with them (instead of dry-hopping) for a MUCH subtler flavor.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Made me laugh. :ban:
All that the pecans are there for is the flavor. Since it's a pecan beer, it should taste like pecans. :D
I don't want the flavor to take over, but I also want to be able to tell it's there. Since the original creator had them in the mash for 90 minutes, I supposed I'll add the roasted nuts (ha!) at about 10 minutes into the boil.
 
Since the original creator had them in the mash for 90 minutes, I supposed I'll add the roasted nuts (ha!) at about 10 minutes into the boil.
Click to expand...

That doesn't make a lot of sense. I wouldn't boil them if the recipe I had doesn't boil them. Why not just steep/'mash' them for 90 minutes? That's really all the guy did he just did it along with the grains.

Than you could taste the 'nut wort' and determine how you did with flavor extraction at the start of your brew and adjust accordingly.
 
BendBrewer said:
That doesn't make a lot of sense. I wouldn't boil them if the recipe I had doesn't boil them. Why not just steep/'mash' them for 90 minutes? That's really all the guy did he just did it along with the grains.

Than you could taste the 'nut wort' and determine how you did with flavor extraction at the start of your brew and adjust accordingly.
Click to expand...

That's not a bad idea either. So just toss the roasted pecans in with the other specialty grains and steep them too?
 
So just toss the roasted pecans in with the other specialty grains and steep them too?
Click to expand...

Yes, but I would start with the pecans and use enough water to cover them, maybe an inch above. Keep that at a good stable temp of 155 or so. After an hour, add the amount of water (at 155 ish) you would use to steep the grains and add them for 30-40 minutes.

Strain and start your boil.

Oh and let me know how it works out. I have no idea what I am talking about.
 
Be sure to get ALL the none nut parts off from between the rib structure in the nut. It is very bitter.

Taste a little of the shell stuck there and you will agree. Not a good thing in beer. :(
 
I used to be able to name all the nuts there ever was. It used to drive Momma crazy. I'd start on... peanut..... pine nut.... pecan nut.... walnut.... macadamia nut... that's the one that would set her off.... brazil nut.... pastaschio nut...


 
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