Reese's Peanut Butter Stout

Anybody ever used Peanut Butter in a brew?

I am planning on throwing together a Sweet Stout this weekend and I was thinking about a Chocolate Stout and then It hit me. ADD peanut butter to the recipe.

I am concerned that the oil in the peanut butter will screw with the fermentation and the head retention. I thought about adding it to the secondary so it does not screw up the fermentation, but the head retention will still suffer from the oil.

So I am left wondering if I should just add Ground roasted Peanuts to the secondary.


Chocolate and Peanut has to be one of the alltime greatest taste combinations.

I think you hit it on the head with the issue with the peanut oils. There are still a lot of oils in roasted peanuts.

Personally, the idea of a peanut-flavored beer doesn't appeal, it's just not a flavor that seems like it would mesh particularly well. Like, I think chocolate can and does work really well, as does coffee, because it has a complementary bitterness. I'd be more inclined to experiment with some speciality grains, don't some impart kind of a nutty flavor to a brew?

**** it, man, **** it, just throw some all-natural freshly ground peanut butter (get it from whole foods or a local health store) into the boil. I think it's a stellar idea. I'm a huge sucker for peanut butter and chocolate...I agree, one of the great combos...60% cocoa dark chocolate dipped into freshly ground peanut butter...mmm. Ranks right up there with fresh espresso poured over hazelnut gelato.

Yeah, add it to the boil, what's the worst that could happen. Otherwise, I think you're right, the oils will be a prob.

Sounds more like a milkshake than a beer. Peanut butter can be pretty sweet, too, and I'm not sure how one would deal with that (of course, I've only been brewing for a year or so). If you could get a nutty flavor without the danger of oils or preservatives, it might work. Whatever you decide to do, let us know how it goes!

Specialty grains hit the Hazelnut-Almond range, but nothing gets close to peanut flavor.

OK....I will have to add something to fortify the head. Add peanut butter to the secondary after dissolving in some boiling water. Or use ground roasted peanuts to cut the oil to a minimum.

Any tips on what to use to fortify the head to help offset the oil?

Oatmeal? May impart too much oatmeal flavor.

Malto Dextrine-- Maybe...It needs to be sweet anyway but it will not help offset the oil enough.

What special ingredients do you know of that are made to help head retention?

Licorice sticks aid Head retention and are commonly used in Stouts, but I do not know about the flavor of licorice.

Try and find some de-fatted peanut meal. People keep coming up with the idea, but we don't seem to get much feedback on the results. Since the oil will float, you can rack the ale repeatedly and very carefully to eliminate the remaining oil.

De-oiling peanut butter

Buy a jar of natural peanut butter (the kind without stabilizers that has an inch of oil floating on top).

Poor out the oil and leave the jar on its side on a counter. Every day or 2 open the jar and poor out the oil that has collected, and stir the peanut butter together.

After 5-6 weeks the peanut butter should be very crumbly and oil will no longer be rising out. That's when it's ready to use.

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I would have though the lipid content of the peanut butter would separate out, you would have to either mix vigorously to emulsify it (which would oxidise your beer) or add natural emulsifier.

Your can get hazelnut extract; there might be a peanut butter commercially available?

There are peanut butter flavorings but they all seem to be oil based. I am still looking for an artificial water or alcohol based flavoring.

I think boiling the peanut butter for a few mins should make the oils float so that you could seperate them out. Of course it would have to be a natural peanut butter or else all the peanut butter would probably float because of emulsifiers.

I think I will give it a go and see what happens. Maybe a 1 gallon test batch.

Of course my luck is that we need the oil to get any Peanut butter flavor to transfer to the beer.

I made this very beer and will give you my advise.

Buy "natural" PB that has no emulsifiers in it. You will see a layer of oil in the top of the jar.

Pour off the oil daily until no more rises to the top.

Place a paper towell or simular in the top of the jar to wick off any remaining oil. You will have to change it several times. Keeping the jar in a warm place will help a LOT.

You will know you are getting to the right consistancy when the PB is more like clay than PB. Mine was almost a solid when it was done.

Add the solids to your boil as usual.

The trub is nasty, like brown mud.

In hindsight, I would have used more than the 8oz I did use, 12oz would have more flavor as the PB taste was fairly soft.

In short, it is a really good idea, is quite tasty and Mrs. knewshound found it to be one of her all time fav brews.

Good luck.

Cheers,

knewshound

3 test batches planned

Test 1.... Add peanut butter to the secondary to avoid fermentation problems due to the oils. Since the oils will float, a simple racking should be able to seperate out the oils. Maybe this will keep us from having headless beer.

Test 2.... Drop peanut butter into boiling water and skim off oils that float. Add this to the boil to try to impart the peanut flavor more.

Test 3.....Found an artificial Peanut Butter Flavoring that appears to be water based. I ordered some and will add it to the secondary. Or should I add it to the primary??? I will flip a coin.

Since we have someone who has actually tried this, I will take his advice.

Did the beer have a good head?

How long did it take to get the oil out of the peanut butter. I have 2 days to do it. I think I will try to seperate the oil out of the peanut butter by adding it to hot water and letting the water overflow carrying the oil with it. Then add that melted peanut butter/water to the boil.


The trick is going to be getting the perfect ratio of PB and chocolate flavor.

12 oz of Peanut butter.
6 or 8 oz chocolate malt
8 oz Malto dextrin


How much real chocolate?? What type of Chocolate?

What about adding a couple of shots of Frangelico into your brew prior to bottling?

Ever try a PB&J martini? One part Frangelico, one part Chambord, one+ part good vodka.

No. But Frangelico is Hazelnut flavored, I have tried it before. I can't imagine it would tast like peanut butter in that combination. It tastes nothing like Peanut Butter.

I made a peanut butter porter over the summer. I used all natural PB, no salt added. I did the same thing that was mentioned before, poured off the oil and I but cheesecloth on it and inverted it. I think I did it for about a week. The PB was almost crumbly to the touch.
I racked the beer to a tertiary and it was pretty easy to leave behind the oil. It always floats to the top. I'm sure you could leave it at the top when bottling as well.
The smell of a beer when you open it is awesome, just strong strong nut smell. The head disintegrates in a matter of seconds. The taste was like nut ale, reminded me more of the roasted peanuts you can buy at the ballpark. It ended up smelling and tasting like peanuts, not so much the Jiffy you would spread on bread.

I didn't add any chocolate flavor so I can't help there too much...

What about Fluff flavor? Fluffenutter in a bottle. hmm... i had a fluffenutter for lunch today in fact. well, now i'm just rambling...

Watkins extracts makes Chocolate and Peanut Butter extracts.

I just ordered both. I guarantee that I can get the flavor proportions right with those.

I have heard that chocolate essence is the best way to get a good chocolate flavor. Looks like I will try a extract-extract recipe. It will be less expensive and easier to tweak.

I've been wanting to do something like this for a while now.. Do you have a recipe in mind yet?

7 pounds LME
1/2 chocolate malt
1/4 lb black patent( or roasted Barley or both... can't decide)
1/2 crystal 120L
1 lb lactose

1 oz Nugget, Fuggles, or goldings(bittering 60 min)
Maybe Goldings for aroma

1 oz Watkins peanut butter extract in secondary
1 oz watkins chocolate extract in secondary

Maybe more extract at kegging.....have to taste to see to balance the peanut butter cup flavor.

White Labs WLP002 English Ale


That is just off the top of my head....Think that will be dark enough>

dougjones31 said:

... How much real chocolate?? What type of Chocolate?

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I recently did a Russian Imperial Stout using chocolate. It was my second time to do this recipe and the first as an all-grain. I was going for something like Young's Double Chocolate Stout, only with the wallop of a RIS. And I got it!:rockin:

I used 8 oz. of Droste Cocoa Powder in the last 15 Mins. of the boil and ~0.33 oz. of White Star Chocolate Extract at bottling. The cocoa powder falls out of suspension and creates a real sludge at the bottom of the carboy!

Hope that helps!

I have heard of people using cocoa powder in amounts from 1/2 lb to 1 lb and not getting much chocolate flavor. The chocolate essence/extract is the way to go....you get to skip the terrible trub. and it is less expensive to just use extract.

dougjones31 said:

... chocolate essence/extract is the way to go... it is less expensive to just use extract.

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Um, not if you're getting true (not artificial) extract. At least the initial outlay is pricey! I paid ~$9 for a 4 oz. bottle. But that should last awhile!

Whatever happened with this? I'm preparing to make a peanut butter brown ale in a few weeks, and I was curious what happened with the extract/extract recipe. I'm planning on using natural peanut butter that I've been de-oiling for a few weeks so far.

Whatever happened to finding grains that match the flavors of chocolate and peanuts? To me, adding these adjunct turns your beer into a malt beverage. They sound great, don't get me wrong, but it also sound different from beer.

I would stick to locating specialty grains that fit the bill. JMHO!

Please post what the outcome is. It will be interesting to hear the results.

- WW

I tried a peanut butter beer at the GABF. It was a brewmaster's special at the Blue moon booth. It was actually really good in my opinion, so I asked the brewer what I could do as a homebrewer to make something similar. This brew is next on my list. He suggested that I add 1 lb of peanutbutter at the end of the boil. I'll let you all know how it turns out. I won't actually be able to do it until after the new year I'm thinking. (I'm trying to find a time that a couple of buddies can come over to see how it's done. They're both really interested in learning the ropes.)

End of the boil, eh? For some reason I thought I'd read something about adding it at the beginning, to help get the remaining oil out. I'm trying to dry and de-oil mine as much as possible; the actual brewing is still weeks away.

I would suggest using a little more Irish moss than usual? I've found that it works really well for head retention; too well .