Cola Brew (No Actual Cola Involved)

So I was drinking a pint of an experimental recipe I came up with for a stout and as I was contemplating the flavors, I realized that the flavor was almost like a cola, and with a few tweaks on with the spices, could be damn close.

I was wondering if anyone has ever concocted a brew like this (on purpose or accident), or what some people thought of it as a concept.

I dont intend on making this a regular brew, but who knows, maybe I can make a beer that could fool some people, or entice those that swear against beer to give my homebrew a shot.

........................I think the color tricks the eye, but only for a homebrewer. I too have thought "this stout is the coke of beers!" which only really means that it is quaffable and refreshing as a coke is to a kid.

Your guests, urged to try this "coke" beer would spit it out.

Many of my friends enjoyed it, but I put way too much cinnamon in it, which kinda gives it that kick. The chocolate notes in the stout can definitely give some of the flavor qualities of a cola as do darker crystal malts.

I think it's possible. I've had this on tap for a few weeks now, but just got around to actually sitting down and really got down to breaking down the flavor profile of the beer.

If one was to set out to create a Coke flavored beer, I would be tempted to say that it is possible with some tweaks. I'm just not sure if i'd want to take the time/money to develop such a novelty. Maybe i'll do some 1 gallon batches and play around with it.

Xingu black beer reminds me of cola.

I just read a news article this week about the Coke recipe being "discovered." The article says this...

The rediscovered recipe includes extract of coca leaves, caffeine, plenty of sugar (it specifies 30 unidentified units thought to be pounds), lime juice, vanilla and caramel. Into that syrup, the all-important 7x flavourings are added: alcohol and six oils – orange, lemon, nutmeg, coriander, neroli and cinnamon.

Click to expand...

So, if you're going for a cola brew, might consider tweaking with these ingredients in mind.

And what is "neroli"?

Neroli is an essential oil from the bitter orange tree blossom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neroli

once in a while i'll come across a dark brew that isn't particularly strong or distinguishable and i'll have to dump it, because the effect is too close to coke for me...beer that mimics soda is repulsive, imo

zgardener said:

Many of my friends enjoyed it, but I put way too much cinnamon in it, which kinda gives it that kick. The chocolate notes in the stout can definitely give some of the flavor qualities of a cola as do darker crystal malts.

I think it's possible. I've had this on tap for a few weeks now, but just got around to actually sitting down and really got down to breaking down the flavor profile of the beer.

If one was to set out to create a Coke flavored beer, I would be tempted to say that it is possible with some tweaks. I'm just not sure if i'd want to take the time/money to develop such a novelty. Maybe i'll do some 1 gallon batches and play around with it.

Click to expand...

\
The major flavor in Coke and other colas is citrus, Bergamot/Neroli in Coke, along with vanilla, brown spices and cardamon. Lime zest, vanilla and a light touch of spices might get you something reminiscent of cola.

I tried posting this the other day but no one seemed to get my idea, some thought I literally wanted to use cola in beer!

I'm thinking at boil out, based on old recipes for Coca Cola as well as "OpenCola" that I've found:

(Listed in parts, proportions can be figured out according to ratio)
Orange Zest (4)
Lemon Zest (6)
Nutmeg (2)
Coriander (1)
Cinnamon (2)
Lavender (1)
Neroli Oil (?? 1-2 drops)
Vanilla (?? drops)


I think it would be a delicate balance using that many spices so it would probably be best to create a tea of sorts ahead of time and throw them in a pint of a previous brew to see how they turn out. Also would need a nice neutral beer style to balance the spices, with little hop flavor.