Bacon Day & Beer

[Kungpaodog]

Some friends of mine created Bacon Day five years ago, a celebration of most glorious swine that occurs the Saturday before Labor Day. As the name would imply, it is a day to enjoy dishes with bacon. We have had everything from bacon benedicts (with bacon fat in the holandaise sauce) to bacon sushi to bacon desserts. Its a great excuse to get fifty people together to drink all day and clog our arteries. Feel free to check out their page here:

International Bacon Day

So aside from spreading the gospel of the most swiney holidays, I am also asking for help:

How would you brew bacon beer?

I'm thinking that a smoky maple stout (I know, sounds weird) might work, or at least a maple something, and then maybe some cooked and thoroughly drained (blotted? remove the fat) bacon in the secondary.

Does anyone have any first hand experience?

 

[fretsforlife]

I think just to make to even more bacony, you should loop the movie Footloose throughout the day.

 

[grammatron]

Some friends and I have kicked around the bacon stout idea before too. I think using actual bacon could be problematic, though. It's hard to remove all the fat from something that's like 75% fat. I can't imagine all that fat would be good for head retention, not to mention it would probably leave you with a beer with a short shelf life.

I think using smoked grains and maple syrup or brown sugar might get some of the similar flavors in there. You wouldn't want it to be overpowering anyway.

 

[Bopper]

I Farking Love Bacon!

 

[JohnnyKim]

Ill 2nd grammatron. i would say use smoked grains and maple syrup or brown sugar to compliment the bacon.

 

[obezyana1]

Mmmmm bacon...the fruit of the pig.

 

[jchadscud]

If you can't figure out the bacon beer thing, you should make a few of these to right your wrongs...

We made a few for the Super Bowl and they were actually really good.

Bacon Explosion: The BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes

 

[kyle415]

If you can't figure out the bacon beer thing, you should make a few of these to right your wrongs...

We made a few for the Super Bowl and they were actually really good.

Bacon Explosion: The BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes

HAHAH I saw that on http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/ and said THAT is why i'm fat. It looks soo good!!

 

[OLB]

Some friends of mine created Bacon Day five years ago, a celebration of most glorious swine that occurs the Saturday before Labor Day.

Please thank your friends for me, a bacon holiday is long overdue. Although I am only a few batches in, making a bacon flavored beer was one of my long term goals and reasons for starting to brew.

I have thought about making a smoked porter and trying to add the bacon flavor two way. 1) Smoke some of the grains with bacon 2) Make bacon flavored vodka and add a few drops at bottling time.

I don't think 1 will be very effective and 2 may not work very well either. I have read in another thread that someone was going to try adding esspresso flavor this way (esspresso vodka), but I have also read other people state that it is a bad idea to add vodka to beer. It may depend on when you add the vodka.

Anyway, I don't have any experience with this, so take it for what it's worth. Please keep us updated on any progress you make.

 

[Reverend JC]

Here is what you do.

Make a Rauchbeir with 100% rauchmalt. It will taste like you made the beer with ham. Then like you would a slice of lemon in an american wheat, you place a slice of bacon on the edge of the glass. Perfect.

And the smoke flavor of the rauchmalt will compliment all of the bacon dishes.

 

[Bopper]

Here is what you do.

Make a Rauchbeir with 100% rauchmalt. It will taste like you made the beer with ham. Then like you would a slice of lemon in an american wheat, you place a slice of bacon on the edge of the glass. Perfect.

And the smoke flavor of the rauchmalt will compliment all of the bacon dishes.

I love bacon, I love beer. I love to eat bacon and drink beer together, however, I'm not sure about bacon IN the beer?

 

[novafire]

I few years ago J.T. Whitney's brewpub in Madison, WI released a bacon beer. It was very interesting from what I remember. It tasted like beer and finished with bacon - a fair amount of bacon.

 

[bluehouse]

A guy at the LHBS told me about an old recipe he found for an ale that had a boiled chicken it it including ground up chicken bones. I told him I would pass on that one. I do think that you could brew something made to drink with bacon, smoked & with maple syrup maybe but put bacon in the brew? You first.

 

[Reverend JC]

I love bacon, I love beer. I love to eat bacon and drink beer together, however, I'm not sure about bacon IN the beer?

No, dont drop it in the beer, just use it as a garnish on the glass so you can keep in theme with the bacon everything!

 

[emribecky]

The Bacon doesnt need to be a part of the beer.... Bacon alongside of the beer has been a tradition in decent places for sometime now....

Case in point: Another somewhat famous bar in Madison, WI: Wando's (Home of the original Fishbowl) has been serving free bacon alongside $0.50 cans of PBR since before I can remember every Tuesday night. And we aren't talking a slice or two... more like a heaping pile that would rival a decent basket of french fries.

You see, in decent places, Bacon Day is more than just once a year. Or at least, it should be.

 

[ScottyT]

We are having our annual "Bacon Roast" in conjunction with our National Homebrew Day party on May 2nd.

The main course is about 5 lbs. of bacon tied into a roast shape with butcher's twine and cooked in the oven on a rack over a pan of cubed sweet potatoes. We will probably be doing the Bacon Explosion as well. I will bring half a dozen loaves (small 1 lb loaves) of my bacon beer bread along and we should have 6-7 kegs of homebrew ready to drink by then.

It is going to be an epic day!

 

[Bopper]

A guy at the LHBS told me about an old recipe he found for an ale that had a boiled chicken it it including ground up chicken bones. I told him I would pass on that one. I do think that you could brew something made to drink with bacon, smoked & with maple syrup maybe but put bacon in the brew? You first.

Chicken = prison meat IMHO [EDIT - I am NOT speaking from experience] Personally, I stick with either cow or swine

 

[Bopper]

No, dont drop it in the beer, just use it as a garnish on the glass so you can keep in theme with the bacon everything!

Ahhhh - Now I get it. And it sounds delicious!

 

[DubbelDach]

Rauchbier, Rauchbock, Smoked Porter.... Smoke 'em if ya got 'em.

Maybe this can provide inspiration? Yards Brewing Company - Events - Philly Beer Week

 

[Kungpaodog]

I think just to make to even more bacony, you should loop the movie Footloose throughout the day.

Don't worry, Kevin Bacon movies are always a staple. As well as Babe.

 

[Kungpaodog]

Please thank your friends for me, a bacon holiday is long overdue. Although I am only a few batches in, making a bacon flavored beer was one of my long term goals and reasons for starting to brew.

I have thought about making a smoked porter and trying to add the bacon flavor two way. 1) Smoke some of the grains with bacon 2) Make bacon flavored vodka and add a few drops at bottling time.

I don't think 1 will be very effective and 2 may not work very well either. I have read in another thread that someone was going to try adding esspresso flavor this way (esspresso vodka), but I have also read other people state that it is a bad idea to add vodka to beer. It may depend on when you add the vodka.

Anyway, I don't have any experience with this, so take it for what it's worth. Please keep us updated on any progress you make.

Someone actually tried to infuse vodka with bacon, and it kind of sucked. I think that was mainly due to the fact that they started with something like Wolfschmidts vodka (or equally crappy) but the bacon flavor wasn't that great either. it just wasn't there.

 

[Kungpaodog]

The Bacon doesnt need to be a part of the beer.... Bacon alongside of the beer has been a tradition in decent places for sometime now....

Case in point: Another somewhat famous bar in Madison, WI: Wando's (Home of the original Fishbowl) has been serving free bacon alongside $0.50 cans of PBR since before I can remember every Tuesday night. And we aren't talking a slice or two... more like a heaping pile that would rival a decent basket of french fries.

You see, in decent places, Bacon Day is more than just once a year. Or at least, it should be.

My sister has that image as a sticker on her fridge, and it is brilliant.

I like the bacon as a garnish with a maple/smoky beer idea that seems to keep coming up.

 

[Christian]

I wonder if adding bacon bits to secondary would add some flavoring. Anybody think of trying bacon bits yet? They are dried out and not greasy at all and have a strong flavor and aroma.

 

[KOTHP]

Jim Gaffigan has a great bacon comedy routine...for us bacon lovers:

[ame=http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/42402/]Bacon Video[/ame]

Tony

 

[Kungpaodog]

I wonder if adding bacon bits to secondary would add some flavoring. Anybody think of trying bacon bits yet? They are dried out and not greasy at all and have a strong flavor and aroma.

I was discussing this today, since the fat would be bad, bacon bits came up. It seems like the way to go would be synthetic bacon flavor in the secondary, and bacon bits are synthetic bacon.