Help me design a morel mushroom beer

[sudsmcgee]

I pick morel mushrooms this time of year and I would like to make an ale with them. The problem is I have no idea how to begin designing a recipe that might taste good. I figure it should be amber in color and probably 20-30 ibu. Morels have a meaty earthy taste, so what kind of hops would compliment this? Any grains that might compliment this? I have a lot of 2-row and white wheat as a base malt to work with. I'll probably need some crystal 60 or 80 too I imagine.

This could become a new style that I'd make yearly and I'm looking to make it awesome. Anyone willing to help me design a great recipe?

 

[crawfman]

I also love hunting for morels! I never knew how expensive and rare they were until I moved to the city. But...morels can be poisonous raw (not sure if to the extent of death) but still something to consider when using them. Possibly if they were boiled with the wort, they would be safe.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Thanks, I'm familiar with their properties. They're also more likely to be problematic when consuming alcohol....

 

[StittsvilleJames]

Don't think I would put morels into beer.
I think I would put them into butter and then my tummy. Preferably on top of a sirloin tip steak. Little buggers are too hard to find to use in beer....

 

[jmo88]

Mmmm. Morel hunting tomorrow actually! I'd try to pair a beer with morels instead of putting them in the beer. As much of a mycophile I am, I think it sounds unappetizing to put them in beer.

 

[shutupjojo]

I remember there being a few mushrooms that can be harmfull if eaten while consuming alcohol. One I remember is the alcohol inky mushroom. it inactivates the enzyme that detoxifies alcohol in your system making you very sick if you drink. Not trying to scare anybody just found this interesting while learning about mushrooms.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Don't think I would put morels into beer.
I think I would put them into butter and then my tummy. Preferably on top of a sirloin tip steak. Little buggers are too hard to find to use in beer....

I find lbs at a time. Quantity is not an issue. I still have a Quaker oats tube full of them dried from last year.

 

[Yooper]

I also love hunting for morels! I never knew how expensive and rare they were until I moved to the city. But...morels can be poisonous raw (not sure if to the extent of death) but still something to consider when using them. Possibly if they were boiled with the wort, they would be safe.

I love them, but I don't think I'd use them in beer. They have a great meaty flavor that goes great in risotto, but I can't imagine it in a beer. It's sort of a gaggy idea to me.

 

[PhelanKA7]

I could see maybe trying to boil them 30 minutes when doing an Irish style "Guiness-like" stout. Might add to that meat-and-potatoes effect in the style.

Anything else sounds puke-inducing though and I still think this working would be a long-shot. But that's why you're the brewer and who's to tell you what you can or can't do?

 

[phished880]

Suds,
Wanna make a trade? Not sure what I have to offer, but I do love those morels.

 

[sudsmcgee]

I was thinking of only making a 1 gallon test batch just to see how it turned out. It sounds like no one thinks it will work, which either means I should quit or prove everyone wrong. I'll have to think about it.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Suds,
Wanna make a trade? Not sure what I have to offer, but I do love those morels.

Let me see how this year goes. I'm short on time to hunt for them these days, but I usually find upwards of 10-15 lbs each spring and that only because I give up looking for them after I have that many.

 

[StittsvilleJames]

Maybe we're on the fringe of morel country. I am lucky to find a lb or two each year.
Then again, I'm not one from tromping around in the bush, and don't have any special secret places to hunt.

I remember my grandma used to be able to spot them at 60 km/hr out the car window and would yell at my grandpa to stop the car all the time! She was like a mushroom savant.

 

[Scroto]

I think this is a grand idea!

I also thought about doing a mushroom beer but with chaga and artists conk (both medicinal mushrooms.)

Anyways, as for a suitable beer to put your morels in, I would think something along the lines of a porter or stout perhaps with some smoked malt in there to help add to the "meaty quality." Another thing to maybe consider is using a different bittering herb besides hops and making a gruit.

As for actually utilizing them, I wouldn't know whether you should boil them in the wort or try dry-shrooming with them.

Again, way cool idea dude.:rockin:

P.S. 10-15lbs of morels a season!!!!! Color me jealous! I live a veritable shroom-mecca but have yet to find one in my hunting.

 

[sudsmcgee]

There have been times where I have to stop picking around a single tree, go empty my bags at the car, and then finish that tree. It doesn't happen every year, but it's not uncommon.

 

[Lan]

Right off the bat, I have no real suggestions on this one...although if it helps there was a special beer made by Dieu du Ciel which reportedly contained a large portion of morels; here's the description from the website; it may be worth doing some research on this beer to help you out:

Umami (Umami)
Morel beer
5%

The Umami is a red German beer, hardly fruity, but with lovely malt and cereal flavours complemented by a delicate bitterness. Morels, added in very large quantities in the beer, are very subtle in the bouquet and in the mouth. They bring about a mild smoky taste and surround all the other flavours in a veil of delicate sweetness, as well as giving the beer certain dryness.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Right off the bat, I have no real suggestions on this one...although if it helps there was a special beer made by Dieu du Ciel which reportedly contained a large portion of morels; here's the description from the website; it may be worth doing some research on this beer to help you out:

Umami (Umami)
Morel beer
5%

The Umami is a red German beer, hardly fruity, but with lovely malt and cereal flavours complemented by a delicate bitterness. Morels, added in very large quantities in the beer, are very subtle in the bouquet and in the mouth. They bring about a mild smoky taste and surround all the other flavours in a veil of delicate sweetness, as well as giving the beer certain dryness.

Thank you. I sent them an e-mail. Hopefully they will share the recipe or at least the basic ingredients.

 

[Yooper]

If you end up with more dried morels than you can use and you want to swap for hand harvested wild rice, let me know!

 

[lakedawgs]

Suds, did you have any luck with this recipe?
My brewclub is doing a 'weird ingredient' brew competition and my team drew FUNGUS.
Let me know if you had any luck with this.
Thanks,
Lakedawgs

 

[sudsmcgee]

Unfortunately I never did make this beer. I got scared off by the comments!

I do think I will give it a try with spring though with some fresh morels. Even if it tastes bad it will still be beer. Aiming for a stout type beer.

 

[Bithead]

You may want to check this thread. Seems that he has his process down for doing Chanterelles. Maybe some can be applied to the morels. I def think a stout is the way to go...maybe Imperial Morel Stout.:rockin:

 

[MoeIPA]

u better sell me some morels before you go and brew a batch of beer with them! lol.. Morels out by me are hard to find let alone expensive!

 

[TimFarAway]

I was talking to some guys from a local brewery about maybe doing a morel or truffle saison? I know this thread is really old, but has anyone done it? Whether or not YOU think it would be good, how would one go about such an endevor? Put 'em in the boil? Dry in a secondary? How would you best sanitize them? Other thoughts? I may try a small batch and see how it comes out.

 

[sudsmcgee]

I never did make a morel beer because I just can't part with that many morels for an experiment when I know that I can eat them! If I ever come across a motherload again I'll give it a whirl. In years past I would find nearly 10 lbs each spring with ease, but I've only been finding 1-3 lbs per year lately.