Pods from the Honey Locust

Greetings,

My brother Wayne was telling me about how they made beer from the sweet, sticky substance that comes from the pods of the Honey Locust tree. If I remember correctly, he said this was popular in the 1700's. He mentioned entire plantations of Honey Locust trees being grown for this purpose.
Is anybody familiar with this type of beer? If so, how could I go about getting more information from websites, books, etc.? It seems like something that would have a very unique flavor!

Larry

Sounds like a job for some serious google-fu and historical research. I was interested enough to look some up:

http://dirtynapkins.wordpress.com/2...ch-from-your-friendly-urban-forager/#comments

In leaner, greener times the generous honey locust supplemented our forefather’s diet in several ways. Scrape up a bit of the pulp and taste it – it’s everything your nose just promised you and more. The hard ripe seeds can be roasted and ground for a coffee substitute, though the flavor reminds me more of bitter chocolate. Come spring and early summer, the new pods and the sweet green seeds within can be sautéed or eaten raw as a vegetable. Most importantly, I am told – though I have not yet been brave enough to try it – that the following recipe yields a palatable beer. With any luck, I’ll be drunkenly typing the results of my experiments to you in the weeks to come.

Honey Locust Beer Recipe

Ingredients:

Long black honey locust pods (number depends on how big of a crock or keg is being used).
Ripened persimmons or sliced apples (number same as above)
2 cups of molasses
Water

Break the locust pods into pieces. Place a layer in a keg or crock. Add the persimmons or apples. Cover with boiling water. Add two cups of molasses. Let stand for three for four days before using.


Check out what Hubie posted at the bottom of this page:

http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/showthread.php?t=11057&page=1

Reading through this though, it appears that the honeylocust is being used as a fermentable source and not much more with the flavor coming from the fruit and molasses. Natural fermentation though, so it might get interesting.

All I know is the deer LOVE them here. When I am hunting I see them eating and even carrying the pods around in their mouths like their equivalent of a fast food drive through. Makes me believe there has to be some nice sugars in those pods.

I came across an online PDF of a book written by a Kentucky surveyor and explorer named John Filson, written in 1784. In discussing trees of Kentucky, he mentions the Honey Locust tree, and mentions that it makes "excellent" beer.

A couple years ago my son in-law collected enough honey locust pods to extract enough pulp to make a tincture that we used as an addition in the secondary of a barley-wine. At first it was bitter and not very drinkable but we let it age and sampled it over time. After 18 months the bitterness mellowed and a very interesting flavor emerged. This barley-wine tastes like it has actual honey in it! We have been enjoying this Honey Locust Barley-Wine now for about 6 months and the recipe is a keeper, perhaps aging it in bourbon barrels would take it to a whole new level!