Craziest thing you have put in a mash or boil

[tre9er]

Lucky charms cereal

WINNAR!

 

[Toga]

I tea bagged a brown ale.

Not the type of tea bag you are thinking but the thought crossed my mind

I added a couple tea bags to the mash. It turned out quite well.

 

[bovineblitz]

Oh yeah, I also used coca tea and yerba mate in a test batch... unfortunately that was my only batch to get infected. I want to give it another shot but haven't gotten around to it... might just go with the coca next time since it's less jittery than the giant caffeine dose you get from yerba mate, plus the mate flavor is really strong.

I like the idea of rating them all.

Bacon (dry porked) - horrible at first, but mellowed to a nice level and turned out to be pretty good but a little salty. A novelty worth trying, but I won't do it again. It was awesome mixed with a maple syrup beer, tasted like breakfast.

Doughnut - my friend wanted to make a blueberry donut beer so i insisted we throw an actual donut into the mash. The donut didn't affect things much but the beer turned out quite good, surprisingly so considering it was something like 22% crystal and had a lot of lactose in it. He served it with cinnamon sugar on the rim for a novelty.

Peanuts (mash) - peanut butter and jelly beer, inspired by an offering Cigar City brought to the Extreme beer fest after a conversation with one of the brewers. Turned out AWESOME even with some sort of wild yeast infection from the mixed berries which made it slowly get more tart over time (a good thing if you ask me). The berries kind of dominated it but after eating something salty the peanuts were more noticeably present. It smelled just like a PB&J sandwich too.

 

[Spartan1979]

Reeses Puffs cereal

 

[bovineblitz]

Reeses Puffs cereal

Somehow I get the feeling the flavor wouldn't be too pronounced... how'd it turn out?

 

[tre9er]

I wonder if one used a coagulant like fermcap-s if the bacon idea would work without too many oils making their way into the final glass thus affecting head retention? There has to be a way to get the actual bacon flavor from the meat without all of the oil. Perhaps extra crispy bacon, dried?

 

[edmanster]

There has to be a way to get the actual bacon flavor from the meat without all of the oil. Perhaps extra crispy bacon, dried?

One more step!! From there you tincture it with grain alcohol and the oil will separate to the top where you skim it off

 

[tre9er]

One more step!! From there you tincture it with grain alcohol and the oil will separate to the top where you skim it off

What about racking under the oil layer? Or how would you skim it off? Decant? Also, what temp and how long to tincture?

 

[WhiteEagle1]

Not sure if this counts..... Brewed last weekend, those damn f&#king Boxelder Bugs kept dive bombing into my boiling wort. They died instantly. I'm 99.9% sure I got them all out.....hopefully.

 

[tre9er]

Not sure if this counts..... Brewed last weekend, those damn f&#king Boxelder Bugs kept dive bombing into my boiling wort. They died instantly. I'm 99.9% sure I got them all out.....hopefully.

Either way, you should name the beer "Box Elder Bitter" or whatever style it is...

 

[edmanster]

What about racking under the oil layer? Or how would you skim it off? Decant? Also, what temp and how long to tincture?

You could do that too but breaking the oil layer to get under is hard.. its the same as making infused vodka so about a week at room temp is fine.. oh, a syringe works ok but I've used a thimble sized scoop for different tinctures.

 

[45_70sharps]

One more step!! From there you tincture it with grain alcohol and the oil will separate to the top where you skim it off

One problem is that I'm not sure if after you take all the oils out you are going to taste bacon?

Either way, I've got one buddy that says he's up to the 3 hour drive to Portland to try some bacon and maple beer at the Rogue brewery and pub!
If we make it there and it's good it might be just the inspiration that I need to try it.

Hmm.... what about chilling it down to 35° or so ( prior to yeast pitching ) in a stainless kettle and trying to skim the grease and oil off the top?

Then use the siphon and pull from the bottom to avoid the oils when you rack it. Might need to brew a 6.5 gallon batch so that after avoiding the oils you can still put 5.5 in the primary.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

A copy of the Complete Joy of Homebrewing, didn´t do it on purpouse it fell from my hand to the kettle.

I dare you guys beat that.

 

[edmanster]

Hmm.... what about chilling it down to 35° or so ( prior to yeast pitching ) in a stainless kettle and trying to skim the grease and oil off the top?

That's genus for tinctures.. might try that for a couple I have planned..

 

[45_70sharps]

That's genus for tinctures.. might try that for a couple I have planned..

Well two things that can get me thinking are meat and beer!

 

[Rbeckett]

How about a pair of panties from a stripper on the Vegas strip? Put em in a bowl of "Air Defence Punch" at a dining out for NCO's in Wurtzburg Germany june of 1988. 27 good soldiers went to the brig that night for various "crimes". We all got out in the morning after the effects of the "Punch" had time to wear off and we were legal to drive. It was a great party, never went to one quite that good again, even after I returned from DS1 and 2 or as a civilian contractor later on...
Wheelchair Bob

 

[bovineblitz]

I wonder if one used a coagulant like fermcap-s if the bacon idea would work without too many oils making their way into the final glass thus affecting head retention? There has to be a way to get the actual bacon flavor from the meat without all of the oil. Perhaps extra crispy bacon, dried?

I had zero issue with oil. Baked the bacon to extra crispy, liberally squeezed it with paper towels, and dry porked.

I don't think it requires anything special. There's a ton of oil extracted in hoppier beers but it doesn't seem to cause problems.

 

[edecambra]

Yeah, I did coconut once and it was oily as hell at room temps. Kegged and the oil solidified and perfect head coconut porter. I'm sure bacon fat would congeal at serving temps too

 

[jestmaty]

Eye of toad......

 

[Boy]

Best way I've heard for Bacon is to infuse bacon grease into vodka, Tape a straw sticking out of the top of the bottle, and freeze the bottle. The grease will separate and harden at the top and then you remove the straw to have a perfect hole to pour the vodka back out of. Enjoy.

 

[tre9er]

Best way I've heard for Bacon is to infuse bacon grease into vodka, Tape a straw sticking out of the top of the bottle, and freeze the bottle. The grease will separate and harden at the top and then you remove the straw to have a perfect hole to pour the vodka back out of. Enjoy.

That's pure genius! You could also turn it upside down and puncture the bottle if it's plastic.

 

[Halbrust]

That's pure genius! You could also turn it upside down and puncture the bottle if it's plastic.

Or just freeze it upside down, so the bacon is at the bottom.

 

[tre9er]

Or just freeze it upside down, so the bacon is at the bottom.

Smartest one yet. What kind of style would go best with bacon, do you think? Smoked Porter? I have some smoked malts (Rauch and cherry) and have been thinking of a winter porter, probably a small batch.