Beer from Grape Nuts

[Kuhndog]

I want to use just grapenut cereal as the only 'specialty grain' for this batch as it will help define the flavour it imparts easier.

I milled up my grain the bill it looks like this:

7.5lbs Pale 2-Row
1.5lbs Grapenuts cereal

Hopefully will brew tomorrow or Saturday!

Sweet! Did you actually mill the grapenuts cereal? You probably wouldn't need to since it's not really a "whole grain" it's already been milled and processed...etc. They just mimic grain in terms of size and shape.

I'm excited to hear the results.

 

[Bradinator]

I am just finishing up the boil now. I did not mill the grapenuts though one thing I found using that much was I got a lot of doughballs and had to really stir it to break them apart initially.

I am also unsure how much gravity points the grapenuts is going to add to the final product. I guess I will know shortly!

 

[Bradinator]

Oh and here is the recipe:

Grains/Adjuncts

7.5 lbs 2-Row Pale Malt
1.5 lbs Grapenuts Cereal

Hops

1.0 oz Fuggle @ 60 min
0.25 oz Fuggle @ 20 min
0.25 oz Fuggle @ 15 min
0.25 oz Fuggle @ 10 min
0.25 oz Fuggle @ 5 min

Misc

1 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ Flame out
1/2 tsp Irish Moss @ 10 minutes
Nottingham Ale Yeast

Mashed at 154F for 90 minutes.

 

[Diaperload]

Do the Grape Nuts go in the mash? Or the boil?

 

[Bradinator]

I mashed the cereal with the rest of the grains.

It would appear that grapenuts do add gravity to the beer. In my initial BeerSmith calculations I used Flaked Oats in place of Grapenuts and it seemed to work well. I pretty consistently hit 75% efficiency and was pretty close to that this time. I double milled my grain for this batch which could explain the slightly higher efficiency.

The original gravity was 1.061, with 4.2 gallons of wort.

 

[Kuhndog]

What brew category would this fall under?

 

[Bradinator]

I don't know if using the grapenuts makes this a specialty beer or not. If its just considered another grain I think this is close to an ESB or maybe an English Pale Ale? I guess I won't know until I see the colour.

 

[Kuhndog]

After looking at the BJCP Guidelines - it would fall under the:

Unusual adjunct or unusual fermentables (e.g., maple syrup, honey, molasses, sorghum) part of a Specialty beer with a English Pale Ale base category probably. You said it added to your SG so it's a fermentable. But it also gives flavor so it could be an adjunct as well.

I can't wait to hear the results though. I love grapenuts. BTW - if you love grapenuts and want a pretty decent dessert...

Grapenut Pudding Desert:

2 vanilla pudding mixes
Skim Milk
1 tub of cool whip - regular, lite, or fat free
1-2 cups of grape nuts


Mix together as you are making normal vanilla pudding per the directions. Next add the cool whip...then add the grape nuts. Refrigerate for a few hours...it'll still be crunchy but good. If you want them soft, then wait 12hrs+....freakin awesome and good! The grapenut flavor takes over and you have a slight vanilla flavor mixed in. It's always popular at get-together parties. Enjoy.

 

[Bradinator]

I took a couple gravity readings, one on Friday and one yesterday and both read 1.020 but there is still some signs of fermentation. Its pretty cool in the basement and I mashed a bit on the high side. Hopefully it will drop a few more points, but there is still a lot of time between now and bottling.

 

[spearko520]

the hobby of home brewing never ceases to educate me. I didn't even know grapes HAD nuts.

 

[Bradinator]

I think the 'nuts' is a bit of a misnomer. If Wikipedia is truthful this cereal got its name from its appearance rather then having anything to do with nuts or grapes.

That aside, I bottled the above recipe this morning. With a final gravity of 1.016 I am sitting just a hair below 6% ABV. I am not sure if the mash temperature or the grapenuts prevented it from getting any lower (I was hoping for 1.012), but it is what it is. I am going to give it a couple weeks in bottles before trying one.

I did a small sample taste and right now it leaves a lot to be desired... But so did my last batch which ended up being the best to date. Here is hoping!

 

[Bradinator]

I chilled and tried a couple bottles this weekend and it turned out very good. A nice flavourful ale, lots of caramel in it. There is a surprisingly large amount of sweetness that I am assuming came from the grapenuts. To be honest if it was anymore sweet I probably would have found it a bit cloying. I think its best described as richly flavoured.

Head is basically non-existent. Colour is a nice deep toffee.

Would I use grapenuts again in a beer? Absolutely! I really like the what it added to the final product. Would I use 1.5lbs again? Probably not. I don't think I would use more then 0.5lbs in conjunction with other specialty grains.

Overall I think the experiment was a success.

 

[thetragichero]

sounds like a i need to formulate a breakfast stout with grapenuts added to the mash!