De-oiling peanut butter...

[Rob2010SS]

Anyone ever done this? I'm looking to put peanut butter in a milk stout and I'm not convinced that PB2 powder is the best way to go. I've read some articles, like this one, about de-oiling peanut butter for a couple of weeks and then using that in the fermenter. Just wondering if anyone has done this...

The article talks about using paper towels but I've also heard about people using cheese cloth. Not sure the best route to go...

 

[JJ900]

I’ve only done it once and I used paper towels across 10 days. Changed them maybe 4 times after the initial draining of oil. It worked very well.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I’ve only done it once and I used paper towels across 10 days. Changed them maybe 4 times after the initial draining of oil. It worked very well.

Thanks! I just realized that my post said I'm convinced that pb2 is the best way to go, and i meant to say pb2 ISN'T the best way to go. Can i ask you for details of what you did with it? Did you use it in beer, how much, what style?

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Apex flavorings. Peanut butter cup flavoring. 10x better than pb2. Takes 10x less work too.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I'll look into that. Im thinking i'l have to use a combination of pb2, de oiled pb, and the extract for the perfect pb flavor. Thanks!

 

[RPh_Guy]

FWIW I did lots of reading before brewing a peanut butter porter. Seems like the only people that are consistently happy with the PB flavor are the folks that used flavoring (I hear even the big boys like Duclaw use flavoring - Sweet Baby Jesus). I used the natural PB flavor from Brewer's Best. Love it.
Even BOS from competitions.

Also noticed a lots of PB2 users getting contamination.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Interesting. I hadnt heard about contamination from pb2 yet. My thinking was pb2 in the boil at the end, de oiled peanut butter in the secondary, and extract flavoring to taste at kegging. Adding the pb2 in the boil should prevent contamination. Thanks for the information!

 

[JJ900]

Can i ask you for details of what you did with it? Did you use it in beer, how much, what style?

I put 1/2 lb of it along with 1/2 lb chopped peanuts into an imperial stout.
It’s just now bottled and not ready to drink but the samples were encouraging. After 10 days in primary I tossed in the above for 7 days then bottled.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

http://www.apexflavors.com/Beverage...up-Type-Natural-and-Artificial--Nut-Free~2981

Don't bother with PB2. Use this stuff. Or if you don't want chocolate just use the peanut butter one. The one I linked is exactly what DuClaw uses for Sweet Baby Jesus. Tastes just like a Reese cup. 0 risk of infection, you'll get exactly the flavor you want, and you'll spend less money.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Thanks for the link. Do you know if DuClaw uses ONLY this or do they use this in combination with other ingredients like PB2 or real peanuts?

I guess I'm thinking I can still use the PB2 and peanut butter as planned, and then use this to adjust to taste. THoughts?

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Thanks for the link. Do you know if DuClaw uses ONLY this or do they use this in combination with other ingredients like PB2 or real peanuts?

I guess I'm thinking I can still use the PB2 and peanut butter as planned, and then use this to adjust to taste. THoughts?

As far as I'm aware they use only this. I have made a clone and it tastes exactly like Sweet Baby Jesus. I see no need to use peanuts or PB2 when using this stuff. It's spot on.

I've also used a few of their other ones and they're amazing. Smore's and French Toast especially.

 

[JJ900]

I’ll add that the way I did it, half chopped peanuts and half de-oiled peanut butter is tasting great so far. Strong natural flavor and a little of that viscous peanut butter sensation.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I’ll add that the way I did it, half chopped peanuts and half de-oiled peanut butter is tasting great so far. Strong natural flavor and a little of that viscous peanut butter sensation.

Thanks! How long did you de oil the PB for?

 

[JJ900]

Approximately 10 days changing paper towel every second or third day.

 

[okiedog]

That's a lot of trouble for something you can by in powder form. The powder is not oil/fat free, but close to it.https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=peanut+powder&qpvt=peanut+powder&FORM=IGRE

 

[Rob2010SS]

That's a lot of trouble for something you can by in powder form. The powder is not oil/fat free, but close to it.https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=peanut+powder&qpvt=peanut+powder&FORM=IGRE

Right. However that stuff usually tastes fake in my opinion. I used it in the boil and wanted to use real peanut butter so I'm using it in secondary. I think there's a real difference in flavor between real pb and pb powder.

Next time i'll take real peanuts and roast them to de oil them and add those to secondary.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Adding Snickers bars makes a great beer too!

 

[JJ900]

That's a lot of trouble for something you can by in powder form. The powder is not oil/fat free, but close to it.https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=peanut+powder&qpvt=peanut+powder&FORM=IGRE

Not really. It took about 10 minutes total including draining off the original oil. If you start this on or near brew day you're all set because you'd add at end of primary or secondary. Its unclear to me actually how much a threat the oil is - people say it will kill head retention but the recent BYO article commenting on this said that if you get a peanut product that was de-oiled, don't get one that was done too much as you'll lose too much flavor. I'll track down the quote.

Right. However that stuff usually tastes fake in my opinion. I used it in the boil and wanted to use real peanut butter so I'm using it in secondary. I think there's a real difference in flavor between real pb and pb powder.

Next time i'll take real peanuts and roast them to de oil them and add those to secondary.

I used trader joe's roasted unsalted peanuts (so roasted with some type of veggie oil)...I couldn't find any dry roasted at the time. But comparing the calories and fat on dry roasted vs roasted peanuts it looks like using peanuts with oil on them may add such a small amount it may not matter.

I was going the natural route hoping for a more authentic flavor but its also just cooler to actually drink/eat what you wanted to rather than some "flavoring."

 

[JJ900]

So the BYO article I referred to was advocating for using real peanuts rather than flavorings or powders. Here's the quote on real peanuts and oil content:

"There are many partial extract peanut options out there... Look for fresh options ... with a maximum oil removal of 80%. This will ensure there's still enough oil and therefore flavor in the product."

 

[Rob2010SS]

Approximately 10 days changing paper towel every second or third day.

How was the head retention on that? Oils in the pb affect it much?

 

[okiedog]

Right. However that stuff usually tastes fake in my opinion. I used it in the boil and wanted to use real peanut butter so I'm using it in secondary. I think there's a real difference in flavor between real pb and pb powder.

Next time i'll take real peanuts and roast them to de oil them and add those to secondary.

Don't use it in the boil. Peanut flavor can be subtle when boiled, and usually doesn't leave much in the way of peanut flavor. For best results, add to the fermentor after fermentation. It's a bit messy to clean out of the fermentor, though.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Don't use it in the boil. Peanut flavor can be subtle when boiled, and usually doesn't leave much in the way of peanut flavor. For best results, add to the fermentor after fermentation. It's a bit messy to clean out of the fermentor, though.

I noticed this actually. From the start, I planned on using PB2 in the boil and actual PB in secondary. When I tasted the sample yesterday, no peanut butter flavor that I can detect. Nice chocolate flavor though. But I also did the peanut butter powder at 15 min so maybe that was too long. We'll see what the real PB adds to it.

 

[JJ900]

How was the head retention on that? Oils in the pb affect it much?

Good enough for me. Its an 8% stout that I bottled carbed to 2.3 volumes. Started off with a 1/2 inch head that dissipated over a couple of minutes. First half of the beer, there is still a tiny foam cap on the whole top. Then for second half it gets down to a ring of foam around the edge and then that finally disappears. I'd say don't undercarb and don't skimp on carapils.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Good enough for me. Its an 8% stout that I bottled carbed to 2.3 volumes. Started off with a 1/2 inch head that dissipated over a couple of minutes. First half of the beer, there is still a tiny foam cap on the whole top. Then for second half it gets down to a ring of foam around the edge and then that finally disappears. I'd say don't undercarb and don't skimp on carapils.

That's not bad at all. I can live with that. I may extend the drying out period for my PB to 15 days or so just to help with that a bit. But we'll see. The beer is already brewed and there was no carapils, lol. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Good enough for me. Its an 8% stout that I bottled carbed to 2.3 volumes. Started off with a 1/2 inch head that dissipated over a couple of minutes. First half of the beer, there is still a tiny foam cap on the whole top. Then for second half it gets down to a ring of foam around the edge and then that finally disappears. I'd say don't undercarb and don't skimp on carapils.

Something else that came to mind. How did you sanitize the peanut butter? Can i take the dry peanut butter cake and spray it down with star san or something or do i not need to worry about it?

 

[RPh_Guy]

StarSan isn't magical. It can only sanitize non-pourous surfaces (contact time and pH dependent).
The pH of peanut butter is over a thousand times more basic than StarSan can function.

Heat pasteurization generally works.

Many people just take their chances with the wild microbes. Some get contaminations and some don't.

 

[Rob2010SS]

StarSan isn't magical. It can only sanitize non-pourous surfaces (contact time and pH dependent).
The pH of peanut butter is over a thousand times more basic than StarSan can function.

Heat pasteurization generally works.

Many people just take their chances with the wild microbes. Some get contaminations and some don't.

Interesting, didn't know that star san wouldn't work on something like peanut butter. Learn something new every day!

How would you use heat pasteurization on peanut butter? Bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes or put it in a pan on the stove and heat it? As soon as you heat it, it'd turn into a puddle of goo I would think. Actually, having it turn into a puddle might not be bad... It'll mix around in the beer a bit easier than it would being a dried cake...

 

[RPh_Guy]

Probably in a brownie pan in the oven I guess.

 

[JJ900]

Something else that came to mind. How did you sanitize the peanut butter? Can i take the dry peanut butter cake and spray it down with star san or something or do i not need to worry about it?

People do roll the dice a bit with certain adjuncts. When I added toasted coconut to a stout there was no sanitizing. Fresh hops may not get sanitized. With the peanut butter I just tried not to touch it while stirring out the oil and tried to have clean hands when touching the paper towels.

I think there is a lower risk of infection once there is alcohol present.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I rolled the dice with it.... No pasteurizing done on the peanut butter. Just made sure not to touch it or let it touch anything else as it was going into the fermenter.

This smelled like a reese's pb cup as I was transferring it. We'll see how it comes out!

 

[bonecitybrewco]

Just want to chime in and say I've used PB2....and it works well. At least, for me it did. Added the perfect amount of peanut butter flavour to a robust porter I did. I added 2 lbs to secondary using a sanitized tablespoon. Lots of people have similar experience with PB2 not infecting batches either. Whatever floats your boat.

 

[JJ900]

I rolled the dice with it.... No pasteurizing done on the peanut butter. Just made sure not to touch it or let it touch anything else as it was going into the fermenter.

This smelled like a reese's pb cup as I was transferring it. We'll see how it comes out!

View attachment 591359 View attachment 591362

Sounds great. So this went into secondary? How much peanut butter did you use ?

 

[Rob2010SS]

Sounds great. So this went into secondary? How much peanut butter did you use ?

Yep this is in secondary. I used 2lbs of peanut butter on top of the 1lb of pb2 that went in the boil

 

[bornandraisedlv]

http://www.apexflavors.com/Beverage...up-Type-Natural-and-Artificial--Nut-Free~2981

Don't bother with PB2. Use this stuff. Or if you don't want chocolate just use the peanut butter one. The one I linked is exactly what DuClaw uses for Sweet Baby Jesus. Tastes just like a Reese cup. 0 risk of infection, you'll get exactly the flavor you want, and you'll spend less money.

I’m thinking of adding this to half of my 5 gal of Russian imperial stout that’s on its 6th month in secondary. Going to bottle in bombers and gift them for the holidays.

Any suggestions on how much of this stuff to use?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Yep this is in secondary. I used 2lbs of peanut butter on top of the 1lb of pb2 that went in the boil

2 weeks later, how's it going?

 

[Rob2010SS]

2 weeks later, how's it going?

So far, seems ok. I have taken 2 samples thus far - 1 week on the PB and 2 weeks on the PB. The second sample was yesterday.

Week 1 - PB wasn't anywhere near where I wanted it. I thought I could smell it just barely, but when I had my wife smell it, she couldn't smell the PB so I'm guessing my mind was playing tricks on me. Flavor was minimal.

Week 2 - PB smell is definitely stronger than week 1, but still not where I want it. My wife could pick it up this time. On the flavor, again, it was a bit stronger. Got a little bit of a nutty flavor in the aftertaste. I'm going to let it go for another 1-2 weeks on the PB to see if I can get some more out of it.

On the week 2 sample, I dosed it with a toothpick that was dipped in the bottle of the Apex Peanut Butter Cup extract. Definitely scared me away from using that extract in the whole batch. It wasn't pleasant at all.

 

[JJ900]

Rob2010 is this all for a 5 gal batch? If so I'm surprised the peanut butter flavor isn't stronger.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Rob2010 is this all for a 5 gal batch? If so I'm surprised the peanut butter flavor isn't stronger.

Essentially. It's like 5.5 gallons currently.

So im a bit of a peanut butter freak. I love peanut butter and there's no such thing as too much peanut butter, lol.

That being said, the flavor may be stronger than im making it out to be but it's not where i want it. It's definitely getting better though. I'l report back next week.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

I’m thinking of adding this to half of my 5 gal of Russian imperial stout that’s on its 6th month in secondary. Going to bottle in bombers and gift them for the holidays.

Any suggestions on how much of this stuff to use?

It gives you the % of volume to use on each one. So for some it's like .25%, so you'd use .25% of 5 gallons if that's your batch size. Usually ends up being a couple teaspoons. Definitely try their stuff out, it's fantastic.

 

[bornandraisedlv]

It gives you the % of volume to use on each one. So for some it's like .25%, so you'd use .25% of 5 gallons if that's your batch size. Usually ends up being a couple teaspoons. Definitely try their stuff out, it's fantastic.

Yeah I should have read up on it a little before I posted....

Thanks for info though I definitely using some of it here in the next moth or so.