Hazelnut Brown Ale

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ChasidicCalvinist

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Somewhere I saw a recipe similar to this, not gluten free of course. In the original recipe they used store bought liqueur but I'm a fan of making your own. Not being able to have tasted it I don't know how it turned out but this is what I have developed. I'm not sure when I'll brew this, definitely in 2013 but since it is on my mind now I thought I'd share it. I'm open to yeast suggestions. Nottingham?

I'm going with Buckwheat because in my experience with it before it definitely has a nuttiness factor.

5 Gallon Batch

5lbs medium toasted Buckwheat, crushed and steeped for 40 minutes.

Bring to boil and add:
2.6lbs Sorghum Extract
2.6lbs Brown Rice Syrup
1 oz Fuggle hops
6 oz maltodextrine

At 15 minutes add .75 oz East Kent Goldings

At 5 minnutes add .25 oz East Kent Goldings

At zero add 8oz brown sugar

At zero add 1lb Buckwheat honey

When in primary and cooled appropriately pitch Ale Yeast

Bottle with 2 cups of homemade hazelnut liqueur and .4 oz corn sugar

1 week before brewing beer make hazelnut liqueur.

Hazelnut Liqueur recipe:
• 1/2 pound raw hazelnuts with skin, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup vodka
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 vanilla bean, split

Combine chopped hazelnuts, vodka, and brandy in a sealable jar. Shake and let steep at room temperature for 2 weeks.

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Let cool, then add to the hazelnut mixture. Shake and let steep for 3 days, then add the vanilla bean and let steep for additional 3 to 5 days.

Strain through sieve and then again through cheesecloth or coffee filter. Yield: 2 cups.
 
I'd use Safbrew S-33. It usually contributes a nice buttery breadiness that I think will accentuate the hazelnut nicely. Looks like a great recipe! Where did you find the hazelnut liquer recipe?
 
I found the hazelnut liqueur recipe online somewhere. It is pretty standard liqueur recipe though. Think Limoncello or peach "brandy." You can make both of those using pretty much the same procedure.
 
Chasidic,

Did you ever find time to try this recipe? If so, any feedback? I'm a brand new rookie, but before being diagnosed Celiac, brown ales were always my favorites. Thinking about giving this a try after brewing a pale ale with buckwheat a few weeks ago...

-MGDawg
 
No, I decided this would be a good fall/winter beer. So I'll be brewing this probably at the start of August.

But I have re-worked the recipe some, FWIW:

5lbs medium toasted Buckwheat, crushed and steeped for 40 minutes.

Bring to boil and add:
2.6lbs Sorghum Extract
2.6lbs Brown Rice Syrup
1 oz Fuggle hops
8 oz maltodextrine

At 15 minutes add .75 oz East Kent Goldings

At 15 minutes add 1 cup lightly toasted, chopped hazelnuts

At 5 minutes add .25 oz East Kent Goldings

At zero add 8oz brown sugar

At zero add 1lb Buckwheat honey

When in primary and cooled appropriately pitch Ale Yeast

Bottle with 2 cups of homemade hazelnut liqueur and .4 oz corn sugar

1 week before brewing beer make hazelnut liqueur.

Hazelnut Liqueur recipe:
• 1/2 pound raw hazelnuts with skin, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup vodka
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 vanilla bean, split

Combine chopped hazelnuts, vodka, and brandy in a sealable jar. Shake and let steep at room temperature for 2 weeks.

If you make it please post results!
 
Got it, thanks. I think I'm gonna try it! Pending cost of ingredients that is... there's quite a few things on the list I don't have. Would you consider the base recipe (i.e. without adding the liqueur at bottling) a decent recipe for a simpler brown ale? I'd like to make a brown ale using as little sorghum syrup as possible, given the often unpleasant aftertaste, and this recipe looks like a great one for that. I'll look to use the liqueur pending cost like I said, but wanted to get your feedback on the recipe without that step.

Thanks!
MGD
 
I think the base would be an excellent beer. In fact, when I make it I might leave out the liquor or bottle half with the liquor and half without to see what difference it makes.

Sorghum really isn't bad if it is used correctly. But if you want to avoid it you could up this recipe and use all brown rice syrup, so approx 5lbs, and it should still work. Someone on here has found that brown rice syrup and buckwheat honey make a great combination. Or, you could use 1lb of sorghum and 4lbs of brown rice syrup. I'd be more inclined towards that rather than nix all of the sorghum. Part of what GF beers lack is complexity and so if you have a mixture, sorghum, rice syrup, candi syrup, honey, you can recover some of that depth of flavor found in "real" beer. But yes, I think the base would make an excellent beer.
 
I've read several places that the fats/lipids in nuts can be dangerous in the brewing process (off flavors, etc.)... are you assuming that the toasting process will neutralize this threat to a certain extent? Just want to make sure I fully understand while I plan.

Thanks again!
-MGD
 
I made an Imperial Amber with pecans, roasted, crushed, then roasted again and drained on paper towels for a week. No problem with head retention that I can see. Also did an IPA with pecans that's still in secondary. I'm really exploring nuts right now....
 
Ok, I'm going to give this a go. Given the experimental nature, I'm thinking I'll do a 2.5 gallon batch. I've been told that generally speaking, you can cut the recipe in half. gathering ingredients and double checking inventory as we speak.

So Chasidic, my rookie question is first, is the cutting the recipe in half generally accurate...and second, does this mess with the hop utilization, or am I safe cutting those amounts in half as well?

Thanks again.
-MGD
 
Those are great questions. I hope someone who understands them can answer them for you :)

Just to be clear...I don't own a hydrometer :)
 
So Chasidic, my rookie question is first, is the cutting the recipe in half generally accurate...and second, does this mess with the hop utilization, or am I safe cutting those amounts in half as well?

When in doubt, use Beer Calculus--open two windows, and start a blank recipe in each one. In one, input the original recipe; in the other, input the halved recipe (make sure to adjust the batch size at the top of the screen), and then check to see if the gravity and IBUs match up between the two recipes. If not, adjust the halved recipe as necessary to make them match up.

But in general, I've found that halving the quantities works just fine! :cross:
 
Ok, I'm going to give this a go. Given the experimental nature, I'm thinking I'll do a 2.5 gallon batch. I've been told that generally speaking, you can cut the recipe in half. gathering ingredients and double checking inventory as we speak.

So Chasidic, my rookie question is first, is the cutting the recipe in half generally accurate...and second, does this mess with the hop utilization, or am I safe cutting those amounts in half as well?

Thanks again.
-MGD

MGDawg - did you actually make this yet? If so have you had a chance to try it? I'd be curious to know the results, I'm thinking about giving it a try soon, using some malted buckwheat from the Colorado Malting Company, and maybe leaving out the liquor for the first go around at least to try and get a handle on what the base is like.
 
Camnavo-

Really sorry for the delay. I've been out of the US for a bit and haven't had the chance to tend too closely to personal emails. I actually did go through with this brew. I made a big rookie mistake (only my third GF brew), and under-estimated the boil-off rate and so my final volume was a little over 2 gallons vs the 2.5 gallons I was aiming for. In the moment on brew-day, I didn't know the best way to help fix the problem and so I went ahead with the just over 2 gallons in volume and wound up with a very strong, higher-than-expected-gravity brew.

I didn't malt my buckwheat. I simply roasted it. I pretty much followed the original recipe that started the post to a "T", except for the liquer... I'll leave that step out for when I get the base tasting good. I would point out that while the color was a pretty amber in the carboy during fermentation and towards the end, by the time I had poured it into bottles for whatever the reason, it appeared much lighter, almost like a slightly darker than normal pale ale. I'm not sure how to fix this either, although I'll certainly roast the buckwheat much longer next time - get them smoking good.

All in all, it's very drinkable. It packs a punch and I feel it after a couple, but they're decent. Hopefully I can improve next time I brew... and I will brew it again. I don't have my notes with me from brew day so sorry for the lack of specifics, but hopefully this is helpful.

One question out there for anyone who reads: My biggest recurring problem that's happened on all three brews has been absolute lack of head... there's always a fine thin lace of white as I'm pouring but it dissipates almost instantly and the resulting beer looks like a carbonated apple juice or wine. I tried maltodextrin on the most recent attempt, but same result. Tips???

Let us know how it goes... good luck!

MGDawg
 
Hey MGDawg,

The lack of head is a common problem in gluten free brewing. I have had some success with adding flaked oats. I've considered adding some Guar Gum or Xanthan Gum but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
 
You have to add a lot of maltodextrin. 8 oz in 3 gallons does the trick. And make sure to calculate your priming sugar correctly. Oh, and cold-condition the beer for a day or two before drinking--don't pop in the freezer for 30 minutes to cool just before drinking. That makes a surprisingly large difference. Adding some sweet potato, banana, or oats can also help a little. I haven't had problems with head retention in a long time.
 
I'm happy to hear this turned out well! I still haven't brewed it. I've been on an IPA/Cider kick (with one hard lemonade that is awesome). Although just the other night I was drinking one of my last doppelbocks and I thought I could use more non-IPAs and REMEMBERED this recipe. I have all the ingredients, I just forgot about it. D'oh!
 
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