Peanuts???

[BuddyChrist]

I just picked up the BB Imperial Blonde Ale again and I am thinking about mixing it up and making it a peanut ale. Has anyone done something like this before? Should I add whole peanuts, shells and all, to the grain bag? Should I add de-shelled peanuts to the secondary later? Or any combination of the two? Thoughts, suggestions, or any experience would be very appreciated!

 

[jonmohno]

I think when it comes to peanuts,that powdered PB2 or whatever its called is preferred. Because its defatted or something. Good luck. Ive never brewed anything with it but its not too uncommon either. Maybe someone with experience with it can chime in for ya or Im shure you can find info doing a search on it also.

 

[SixStrings]

I know people have added nuts to either their mash, boil, secondary, or some combination thereof with good results. You can also make a sort of nut "tea" by steeping crushed nuts in boiled water to extract the flavor, then freezing it and skimming off the fat before adding it to your beer. This seems like the best option if you're concerned about head retention.

Or you could get some PB2.

 

[TBBrewer]

A local brewery has a peanut porter and he uses the powdered peanut butter. Huge peanut flavor.

 

[BanginBanjo]

I've used the PB2 powder near the end of the boil before and still had issues with little head and bad head retention. I would expect that using whole peanuts would not be a great idea due to the oils present, unless maybe they are roasted/dried out enough.