How would you sanitize Bell Plantation PB2 powder

[TheBrewLebowski]

Ok, I have my base stout for a peanut butter stout I'm brewing in the primary for a week and a half now. Time to start thinking about Racking to the secondary. At this stage, I plan to add a whole bunch of Bell Plantation PB2 powder. My question is, how would you sanitize this powder? I prefer not to add it to the boil, as that seems to mellow out the PB2 from what I have read here and elsewhere. I also would prefer not to add a whole lot (preferably none at all) of liquor to the beer. I am willing to use vodka if needed, but am adding 3 jars of PB2 to a 2.5 gallon batch. I suspect that the amount of vodka needed for this will adversely up the abv of this small a batch. I have also considered boiling a small pot of water, then adding the powder to it after it's removed from the heat, then stirring, and letting it cool to a pitching temp. Being relatively new to brewing however, I don't know how this will affect the beers gravity. Og was 1.060 btw. That was taken at the beginning of my 5 gallon primary fermention. At the time of racking to the secondaries, I will be splitting the batch half and half. The other half will become a chocolate cherry stout. Both batches are experimental, so I want to split them up for the trial run. That way, I can tweak further batches based on my results here without spending a ton of time and money.

So, would you bite the bullet and use vodka (no whiskey will be in this particular batch), or just boil up enough water to submerse the PB2, then add that to the carboy after it cools? A third option is also worth considering if anyone has other ideas.

 

[NorthDakota]

I added it at flameout, did not sanitize, and no infection. Other people have done this also. I was a little unclear from your post, as you mentioned "adding it to the boil", whether or not the beer was already brewed without PB and is already in the primary. If you have not brewed yet, I would add at flameout on brew day.

If the beer is in the primary without PB in it, I would probably not sanitize it (thats just me)...just mix it vigorously in some water until it dissolved and add it (you cant add it right to the beer, as it takes a lot of mixing to disolve). But if I was gonna, I would boil water, mix it in, cool it, and add the solution. I wouldnt want vodka in a PB stout.

I would add about 1 jar for 2.5 gallons, if you want moderately strong PB taste. Mine tasted moderately strong PB at bottling, but its still conditioning so I cant give you a final verdict...I guess it could mellow quite a bit.

There is 15g sugar in a jar = 0.033lbs. 3 jars = .1lbs. Add that into your calcs to determine what it will do to your OG.

 

[TheBrewLebowski]

Ok, I decided to put 3 jars of PB2 into the carboy. What I ended up doing was to boil 6 cups of water, then turn off the heat, and mix in the powder. It turned into ever so slightly thinner than normal peanut butter. I let this cool for a while, then funneled it into a sanitized carboy. Had to use a butter knife to jamb it through the funnel. If I do this again, Ill funnel it into the carboy before it cools. Would have made the process easier if I had done that, then let it cool to room temp in the carboy. Anyway, once in the carboy, and I was satisfied that it was cooled to room temp, the stout was racked in on top. A secondary fermentation started up within 36 hours. The reason I didn't add any to the initial boil was that most people reported being unsatisfied with the flavor after doing so. I'm hoping that by adding a ridiculous amount into the carboy, that the flavor I'm going for will be achieved. I've got high hopes for this brew. Hope it comes out the way I'm planning. Will keep this thread updated as things progress. Thanks for the advice.

 

[brynia]

Ok, I decided to put 3 jars of PB2 into the carboy. What I ended up doing was to boil 6 cups of water, then turn off the heat, and mix in the powder. It turned into ever so slightly thinner than normal peanut butter. I let this cool for a while, then funneled it into a sanitized carboy. Had to use a butter knife to jamb it through the funnel. If I do this again, Ill funnel it into the carboy before it cools. Would have made the process easier if I had done that, then let it cool to room temp in the carboy. Anyway, once in the carboy, and I was satisfied that it was cooled to room temp, the stout was racked in on top. A secondary fermentation started up within 36 hours. The reason I didn't add any to the initial boil was that most people reported being unsatisfied with the flavor after doing so. I'm hoping that by adding a ridiculous amount into the carboy, that the flavor I'm going for will be achieved. I've got high hopes for this brew. Hope it comes out the way I'm planning. Will keep this thread updated as things progress. Thanks for the advice.

How did it turn out?

 

[ArcaneXor]

3 jars.. wow! You're not a man for subtlety, are ya?

 

[bkasten12]

Updates, how did it turn out?

 

[jonmohno]

he lied

 

[oldstyle69]

totally lied

 

[dustinboyd]

I'm interested to see how it turned out as well. I made a peanut butter and jelly ale and only added one jar of PB2 (a little for the boil, a little at flameout, and most of it into the secondary). The one jar gave quite a strong flavor for a 5gallon batch, it turned out great. I added the powder directly to the secondary, but dissolving one jar into 5 gallons was easy, a lot easier than 3 jars into 2.5 gallons I would assume.


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