Seems possible. I'm thinking 5 lbs of two row, five pounds of raisin bran or the like. Probably need rice hulls for lautering. Would this work?
Breakfast cereal beers???
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BrewinHooligan
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I have spoken to brewers who do this, they typically stick to one box of cereal. One guy in particular said that Grape Nuts went into the best Nut Brown he has made. Nothing wrong with trying, but with 50% of the grist being cereal I would imagine you would get a pretty low efficiency.
ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
I'd look at those cereals to see what kind of preservatives are in the mix. Something like corn flakes is pretty much the same as flaked or maize but lucky charms might have some other stuff going on. A significant amount will make fermentation lag but too much will definitely stall it entirely. That said, I know I've read about people making beer out of all kinds of cereal. My biggest concern would still be about the yeast so I would pitch a massive amount of yeast to make sure it can still ferment.
ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
Grape Nuts is pretty much just malted barley and wheat so not really seeing a benefit in using that cereal over the actual grains. Certainly costs more for the cereal. However I have seen Grape Nuts used in almost every one of the cereal-in-beer threads.
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Tiroux said:
I'm interested in expanding the range of what's possible AND a subset of my friends (beer consumers) gravitate towards novel ingredients.
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OClairBrew said:
Maybe but I did a wit with 50% malt and 50% unmalted flaked wheat. Worked OK
It's not really novel ingredients.
If you put Grape Nuts because there's malted barley and wheat in it....
Well it's malted barley and wheat. Really not new stuff.
You better buy real brewing cereals that are the same, but cheaper, and certainly more dedicated to be brewed.
I've seen a thread that had Yooper talking about capn' crunch in a beer.
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Tiroux said:
Really? You know what I'm better off doing? How's that?
Your fact based points (such as beer ingredients are made for making beer and therefore are more suitable to this purpose) are indisputable (if not self-evident) but that's not always what carries the day.
I acknowledge the tone of this post is annoyed but that's my reaction to your comments.
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
"Hey guys, give me your input on this!"
"Worth a shot, but it's been done before, and will cost more"
"How dare you say anything negative!"
"Worth a shot, but it's been done before, and will cost more"
"How dare you say anything negative!"
porcupine73
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I will say one thing, a lot of the boxed cereals contain plenty of added sugar and corn syrup that's for sure, should give you a nice abv boost maybe. I'm thinking Count Chocula Stout ...
I like the chocula stout. I wonder if you'd have to pick those little dried marshmellows out..
I brewed a porter with Reese's Puffs cereal for an Iron Brewer competition our club had. I ended up putting about 4 ounces in the mash and then soaked some in vodka and adding to the keg to adjust the flavor. Both the chocolate and the peanut butter flavor came out.
I'm not a big peanut butter fan but several of my neighbors liked it.
I'm not a big peanut butter fan but several of my neighbors liked it.
Did they disintegrate in the keg and settle out? Or did you add the vodka to the keg?
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Tiroux said:
Think I answered it. The folks who drink my beer (not necessarily all educated in the Tao of brewing) appreciate the novelty. Think Raisin Bran IPA. Captain Crunch Amber Ale or some such. Is it a false novelty? Perhaps, but if it makes a reasonable tasting brew, I'm interested.
I'd expect the cereal to add something in the way of flavor. After all, they don't all taste like barley and wheat.
I'm going to sparge my next novelty beer with about 2 gallons of troll juice
.Seriously though, I'd expect the cereal to add something in the way of flavor. After all, they don't all taste like barley and wheat.
The prickly pear penzoil black pepper zinc strip IPA stout does seem like something a first year brewer would try to go for though... I've had my fair share of bad ideas.
likewise. i think my second (maybe third) batch was a result of my trying to be too clever in reinventing the wheel.
Added the vodka to the keg, not the cereal.
Interestingly, the cereal did not dissolve in the vodka. They felt like little sponges.
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Oof. Rough thread. Seeing things more clearly after a couple pints of honey nut frosted mini-wheat saison. Thanks for the info and apologies to the offended.
what about putting together a grain bill that matches something like frosted flakes or whatever cereal you're thinking of, maybe combining and toasting it in your oven even. that way you get twice the novelty factor (i made my own cereal to make this cereal beer!), you can save the expense of all the boxes of cereal, avoid all the modified corn syrup and preservatives, and probably end up with a pretty fantastic beer?
porcupine73
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That might work, except commercial cereals almost certainly rely on many food processing tricks to achieve their trademark 'taste'. Let's face it, they are nearly all marketing purely on the basis of taste. Even the 'low fat granola' versions. They rely on synthetic vitamins to make it look like it is a healthy food product, ala 'frosted mini wheats big nutrition' yah right, as if there could be a more dead processed food product to eat.
yeah, i can understand all that. i'm just trying to provide an alternative to my trolling response earlier...one that addresses what the OP is looking for.
porcupine73
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Oh yah no problem, I mean I'm sure cereals can be good adjuncts for beers. I just hate how they market them as this super healthy food when they're mostly corn syrup and other sugars, specifically using different kinds of sugars so sugar doesn't have to be the #1 ingredient, and other food processing tricks. Though I will say - all those sugars?!?! Yes perfect food for our yeast!!!!
axeman9182
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Cinnamon Toast Crunch porter > other cereal beers.
Ogri
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This thread kinda reminds me of the Buffalo Wild Wings advert thread:fro:
:fro:
Ok seriously? I may just have my wits dulled by a few pints of Reno_NV's punkin ale, but that looks like a joke.
But it does sound worth at least a pint.
Bradinator
Well-Known Member
I remember watching a brewing show way back where one award winning brewers secret ingredient was Grapenuts, so I decided to give it a shot several months ago. The final product was one of the best beers I had made (though to be fair I have only made around 30 or so)
For another one of my beers it was the only 'specialty grain' I used to give me a better idea of what it was contributing to the beer. Basically I found it imparted a toasted, nutty, caramel flavour, as well as some body and some deep amber colouring. Using more then 1.5lbs ended up making it almost cloying, though after a couple months in bottles it mellowed.
I don't really know if there is a specialty grain available that contributes a similar character to beers, and there could very well be, though I have yet to find it in my limited brewing experience.
I would take my results with a grain of salt, but considering how happy I was with those beers I decided to try it again in two more batches of IPAs I have sitting in primarys back home.
Not sure how well fruit loops would work though... :fro:
For another one of my beers it was the only 'specialty grain' I used to give me a better idea of what it was contributing to the beer. Basically I found it imparted a toasted, nutty, caramel flavour, as well as some body and some deep amber colouring. Using more then 1.5lbs ended up making it almost cloying, though after a couple months in bottles it mellowed.
I don't really know if there is a specialty grain available that contributes a similar character to beers, and there could very well be, though I have yet to find it in my limited brewing experience.
I would take my results with a grain of salt, but considering how happy I was with those beers I decided to try it again in two more batches of IPAs I have sitting in primarys back home.
Not sure how well fruit loops would work though... :fro:
bigbeergeek
Well-Known Member
To hell with the haters, it's an intriguing idea. How about honey bunches of oats in an amber ale? I've toyed with the idea for years. Perhaps once I build my micro mash tun for 1-3 gallon sized test batches I'll work a cereal beer into my mini pipeline 
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Ok seriously? I may just have my wits dulled by a few pints of Reno_NV's punkin ale, but that looks like a joke.
Yes. Funnin with ya
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