One of my favorite food/beer pairings is beer and arugula. For my palate, the spicy nutty flavor of Arugula is a perfect compliment to Saison, Classic Pilsner (Czech/German) and IPA. But can the two be brewed together in some way?
An Internet search led to an Arugula Saison with very few lackluster reviews, and a fellow homebrewer who showed interest, but did not post any results or guidelines. For this reason, I am going to document my thought process, and step-by-step experiments followed by an eventual brew day and tasting notes. The only thing I ask is that future homebrewers that would do me the honor of using my results, do not copy them verbatim. These choices I made are based on my own palette, my own system (with 85% efficiency), and my own brewing philosophy. Please make something that YOU like, after all that is what this hobby is all about!
Step 1: Is it Worth Brewing?
After the lack of results online, I was not even sure if an arugula saison was worth brewing. For this reason I decided to create an arugula extract, and blended into beer to see how the ingredients worked together.
Arugula Extract
1. I first put 5 oz. of arugula and a 375 ml bottle of vodka in a blender until the leaves were chopped. After it was blended, I sealed it in a 1 pt. mason jar for 24 hrs. SAVE THE VODKA BOTTLE FOR AFTER!!!
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463339813.560825.jpg
2. Strain the extract as best as you can (there will be some vegetable matter on the bottom of the bottle). Pour the liquid back in the vodka bottle.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463339838.371406.jpg
Testing the extract in beer:
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463339857.010165.jpg
A. 1/8 oz extract and 6 oz. of neutral beer (I used High Life, but Coors, Corona, Bud, etc. would be fine). Arugula was not detectable
B. 1/4 oz extract and 6 oz. of neutral beer. Arugula was noticeable, but not overpowering. The nutty and herbal flavors
We're what came through (no spice).
C. A. 1/2 oz extract and 6 oz. of neutral beer. Too alcoholic tasting and a dominating amount of arugula flavor/aroma (still no spicy character.
From this experiment I determined that:
A. Arugula and beer can go together.
B. Arugula extract transfers the herbal and nutty flavors of arugula, but not the spice.
The next experiment will be to try boiling the arugula to try to extract some spice and bitterness.
An Internet search led to an Arugula Saison with very few lackluster reviews, and a fellow homebrewer who showed interest, but did not post any results or guidelines. For this reason, I am going to document my thought process, and step-by-step experiments followed by an eventual brew day and tasting notes. The only thing I ask is that future homebrewers that would do me the honor of using my results, do not copy them verbatim. These choices I made are based on my own palette, my own system (with 85% efficiency), and my own brewing philosophy. Please make something that YOU like, after all that is what this hobby is all about!
Step 1: Is it Worth Brewing?
After the lack of results online, I was not even sure if an arugula saison was worth brewing. For this reason I decided to create an arugula extract, and blended into beer to see how the ingredients worked together.
Arugula Extract
1. I first put 5 oz. of arugula and a 375 ml bottle of vodka in a blender until the leaves were chopped. After it was blended, I sealed it in a 1 pt. mason jar for 24 hrs. SAVE THE VODKA BOTTLE FOR AFTER!!!
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463339813.560825.jpg
2. Strain the extract as best as you can (there will be some vegetable matter on the bottom of the bottle). Pour the liquid back in the vodka bottle.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463339838.371406.jpg
Testing the extract in beer:
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463339857.010165.jpg
A. 1/8 oz extract and 6 oz. of neutral beer (I used High Life, but Coors, Corona, Bud, etc. would be fine). Arugula was not detectable
B. 1/4 oz extract and 6 oz. of neutral beer. Arugula was noticeable, but not overpowering. The nutty and herbal flavors
We're what came through (no spice).
C. A. 1/2 oz extract and 6 oz. of neutral beer. Too alcoholic tasting and a dominating amount of arugula flavor/aroma (still no spicy character.
From this experiment I determined that:
A. Arugula and beer can go together.
B. Arugula extract transfers the herbal and nutty flavors of arugula, but not the spice.
The next experiment will be to try boiling the arugula to try to extract some spice and bitterness.