AHS Pecan Porter reviews???

just planning my next brew and the AHS Pecan Porter mini mash has got my attention but I don't know how much I like using extract flavoring??? Had a raspberry beer that used extract raspberry flavor and it ruined the beer... Has anyone made/drank this kit?
Thanks in advance

considering they just added it to the site like 4 days ago, I doubt it. this one definitely caught my attention though.

Ok so I went ahead and ordered this kit, mini-mash with White Labs yeast............ so i guess in just over a month I'll post a review But if anyone else wants to in the mean time, I would be extremely interested in your thoughts!

Wonder if it's based on (512)'s pecan porter. That'd be great if so.

Spent Thanksgiving in Alabama, and Pecan beer was all over the place down there this year. I didn't get up the nerve to buy a six of it to try it. This caught my eye, though, in terms of being Southern-themed for this year's Mardi Gras party...

If I was too apprehensive to pick up a six pack try, I don't see how I'll convince myself to make 5 gallons of it, though.

troub said:

Spent Thanksgiving in Alabama, and Pecan beer was all over the place down there this year. I didn't get up the nerve to buy a six of it to try it. This caught my eye, though, in terms of being Southern-themed for this year's Mardi Gras party...

If I was too apprehensive to pick up a six pack try, I don't see how I'll convince myself to make 5 gallons of it, though.

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Too bad, the Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan is a staple down here. Excellent session beer - only about 4% or 5% ABV. The pecan flavor is much more "natural" than many other similar beers, which I think use a pecan extract (I know Abita does). According to Lazy Magnolia's website:


"Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale is the first beer in the world, to our knowledge, made with whole roasted pecans. The pecans are used just like grain and provide a nutty characteristic and a delightful depth to the flavor profile. This beer is very lightly hopped to allow the malty, caramel, and nutty flavors shine through. The color is dark mahogany. Southern Pecan won a Bronze Medal in the 2006 World Beer Cup in the Specialty Beer category."

Pick up a 6-pack next time you're down here!

No, it says they don't use an extract

which I think use a pecan extract

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made with whole roasted pecans. The pecans are used just like grain

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there is a post on here from a guy that chatted with a micro-brewer about how to use pecans *(u gott get the oil outta the nut first)* .... i'll edit this when I find it.....
I'm brewing the AHS Pecan Porter tomorrow... of course it has pecan extract & I hate extracts but so far AHS has impressed the **** outta me...so...i'm gonna do what they say to do..........

JeffersonJ said:

Too bad, the Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan is a staple down here. Excellent session beer - only about 4% or 5% ABV. The pecan flavor is much more "natural" than many other similar beers, which I think use a pecan extract (I know Abita does). According to Lazy Magnolia's website:


"Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale is the first beer in the world, to our knowledge, made with whole roasted pecans. The pecans are used just like grain and provide a nutty characteristic and a delightful depth to the flavor profile. This beer is very lightly hopped to allow the malty, caramel, and nutty flavors shine through. The color is dark mahogany. Southern Pecan won a Bronze Medal in the 2006 World Beer Cup in the Specialty Beer category."

Pick up a 6-pack next time you're down here!

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He said OTHER beers use extract, not Lazy Magnolia. There is a thread on here from a brewer from Lazy Magnolia that divulges crucial information on making a successful pecan beer. If I could find/think of that thread, I would post it here. I'm sure Revvy will roll in with that info sooner or later.

Had a buddy age on dry pecan wood... came out nice but not big pecan flavor.

Interested on pecan extracts... not a big extract fan either... BUT anybody have a good one?

pecan stout or porter?

devilishprune said:

He said OTHER beers use extract, not Lazy Magnolia. There is a thread on here from a brewer from Lazy Magnolia that divulges crucial information on making a successful pecan beer. If I could find/think of that thread, I would post it here. I'm sure Revvy will roll in with that info sooner or later.

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Thanks for clearing up what I was trying to say. That thread you mention is here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/lazy-magnolias-southern-pecan-58853/

See page 2 for some tips from a Lazy Magnolia worker. Also, Birmingham's LHBS, Alabrew, has clone kits of Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan. I've never made it but I've heard it's pretty close. I also don't know if the clone recipe uses pecan extract or not.

Brewed the AHS pecan porter mini-mash last night with a mod from their recipe after reading up on it here and chatting with one of the guys at AHS. I picked up some raw pecans, crushed them up a bit, and roasted the heck out of them 'til they were nearly burnt looking. Then I just put them in the grain bag with the rest of the grains by picking them up with paper towels and trying to get some of the oils into the paper towels. I think I used about 15-18 oz of pecans or so.

The kit came with some french oak chips as well, that I'm soaking in scotch for the duration of the primary fermentation.

Given the use of the real pecans, I'm not sure wtf to do with the pecan extract flavoring. Thoughts on that?

Sammy75 said:

Given the use of the real pecans, I'm not sure wtf to do with the pecan extract flavoring. Thoughts on that?

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A pie?

But really, keep us updated on this beer and let us know how strongly the pecan flavor comes out.

interested in how this works out

Anybody convert into an all grain recipe yet?? And I have a whole backyard full of Texas pecans just waiting for this brew

Having enjoyed Texas pecans all my life, I wanted to point out something to anyone looking to brew with Pecans.

Whenever you are shelling and eating pecans, if you fail to remove ALL the shell between the grooves in the nut, you WILL notice it. The shell has a very bitter astringent taste.

I tried a Pecan Nut Brown a few months back that was NOT the Lazy Magnolia beer. It had that twang from the shell. It was very slight, but I just could NOT finish the glass.

Moral: Be sure to inspect every groove of every nut. I would imagine that all it would take is a tiny bit to ruin a whole batch.

Beer_Guy said:

Moral: Be sure to inspect every groove of every nut. I would imagine that all it would take is a tiny bit to ruin a whole batch.

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So you're saying to have a good look at deez nuts? :cross:

Sammy75 said:

So you're saying to have a good look at deez nuts? :cross:

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That was just too easy, wasn't it?

I know, I know. I think I'd had a few and couldn't resist.

I'll definitely keep folks up to date on how this goes.

I suppose I'll just taste it and see whether I need to add any of the pecan extract, I'm kinda hoping not.

He said OTHER beers use extract, not Lazy Magnolia

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Doh!!! Guess I had to many homebrews...
So I've got this brewing up too but I was curious as to the french oak chips (also, I lost the instructions for when to add).... I think its a 4 ounce bag, & as I have been reading and that seems to be quite a bit, I was going to add about 2 ounces of steamed chips this friday, then next friday give it a taste test and decide then if I should add the other 2 ounces.. (?) ... I do expect that this beer will have to age a while before prime, and I'm ok with that.

@sh00t:
it says to add 3 oz of the oak chips in secondary and 1 oz of flavoring before bottling.

Sammy75

@sh00t:
it says to add 3 oz of the oak chips in secondary and 1 oz of flavoring before bottling.

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Thank you, so I guess I'll add 3oz of the chips (steamed) for 2 weeks, then rack on 1 oz and leave for a week then keg..........

to be clear, that last oz was of that little bottle of pecan extract flavoring...not an additional oz of the chips. Dunno what you're supposed to do with that extra oz of chips, though.

I just ordered this kit on Thursday. It sounds pretty good. GREAT idea on soaking the wood chips in scotch. I'm definately leaning towards doing that too.

Sammy75

to be clear, that last oz was of that little bottle of pecan extract flavoring...not an additional oz of the chips. Dunno what you're supposed to do with that extra oz of chips, though.

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Ahhh, I did misunderstand your post... thank you for setting me straight! I'm gonna add the 3oz chips today... Its in primary & is just finishing up its 2nd week... it fermented well and long!
I dont think I'm going to 2ndary it...?... Just add the steamed chips to the primary... i was just thinking of leaving it on the yeast to let it clean up...?... any thoughts on that? its not that i'm to lazy or don't have the equipment to 2ndary but i've read alot about benefits of leaving it on the yeast... i did use the white labs yeast option from ahs for it.

I don't plan on doing a 2ndary either. I'll do probably at least a month in primary, then add the oak chips and do another week or two on that. I think I'm at 2 weeks in primary now, and my gravity is already past the target (target was 1.017 and I measured 1.015 last night), which could be slightly concerning, or could just be in the noise. Tastes great though so I'm not stressing it.

I decided to let it ferment out for an extra week and added the oak chips on sun Jan 2nd, let that go for a week and then racked into keg and its now chilling in my fridge at 7 psi & 42F. I can't wait to have some this weekend! When I racked I took a small sample before the pecan extract was added and it was delicious.... not quite like a porter in my mind but whatever. Here's to hoping the pecan extract is awesome

The oak chips went in this past weekend for me, which made it about a month in primary sans chips. I'm going to bottle this weekend so it'll be about 5 weeks total in primary.

Using a nifty priming calculator my plan is for about 3 oz of priming dextrose, then sit on my freaking hands for another month or so in the part of brewing I like to call "hell for the impatient."

waiting is brutal... but I am going to have my first taste of the sweet nectar tonight at midnight (get off work) and I am looking forward to it, of course I might be rushing it a tab but I'll have to check and see how long its been since fermentation... I think I let it ferment a month, then wood chip soak a week then been letting it carb a week.... I might be overestimating it a week tho..... I'll see how it tastes tonight!

I kegged it and force carbed it for a week at 42*F... It taste pretty good but I don't like the aroma that I attribute to the pecan extract flavoring. Other ppl have said they love it tho..... Think if I made it again I'd cut the pecan flavoring in half.... Before I added the flavoring I tasted a sample and thought it tasted pretty great

Mine turned out great ! 4 weeks in the bottle the pecan was too strong. 6 weeks it is perfect !

2 weeks in bottle and counting. Tasted great upon bottling though!

Keeping an eye on this thread! Still on the fence about brewing this one.

i just brewed this kit today? why are some of you soaking the chips in scotch? i hope your using the cheapest scotch you can find!

(512) brewing did a whiskey barrel aged pecan porter. I'm trying to replicate that. In chatting with one of the dudes at AHS, he made that suggestion to soak in whiskey. Scotch was all I had on hand. To be fair, I threw in some vodka cuz I couldn't bear to use that much of my Scotch.

i didn't use any scotch.... just steamed them..... ended up soaking them in boiling water. I do have to admit that the head was small until I got further into the keg, at which case it became a lot creamier (weird).
Does anyone have the grain bill for this because I think I'd love this brew minus the pecan flavoring?

Same here Shoot, I've been wanting to take a stab at this for some time. Still waiting to learn more about the whiskey, oak, and pecan additions. Tried to get ahold of 512 for advice, but no luck. Guess I'll just have to make something up


But lemme know if you think of something cuz I'm still not sure when this will happen

Cheers

Sammy75 said:

(512) brewing did a whiskey barrel aged pecan porter. I'm trying to replicate that. In chatting with one of the dudes at AHS, he made that suggestion to soak in whiskey. Scotch was all I had on hand. To be fair, I threw in some vodka cuz I couldn't bear to use that much of my Scotch.

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Sammy, I take it that you ended up using the AHS recipe? Could you hook us up with the recipe? I've got something cooking but still wondering about the base grain bill

Thanks

hey duffman2, your PM box is full.

Made some room in the old mailbox, I probably need to update my membership one of these days :cross:

Thanks again and as always,

Cheers!

Had one yesterday, a bit early I know.

I'm really happy with it, even if it is a little young. It has an oaky scotch bite up front that chills out into a mellow (and subtle) pecan finish. I'll report back again in another week or two.