Peanut Butter & Jelly Beer

[Wreck99]

I'm on a kick lately to try different things and I'm next thinking to make a peanut butter and jelly beer. I've had a couple good ones over the past couple years that I can recall and I think I want to try and mimic this brown ale that a local brewery makes. I don't have their recipe so I can only guess based on the notes on their website. It says malts are Pale, Caramel, Munich, Flaked Wheat and hops are Magnum/Fuggle. Well I don't have fuggle so I put saaz. This doesn't have to be an exact clone, just something that will give me the taste I'm looking for. The PB&J beers I've had to date taste like you're drinking a PB&J sandwich.

https://www.catawbabrewing.com/beers/specialty/peanut-butter-jelly-time/

I'm unsure on amounts with some of the grains, and just going off my local malt company on usage %. The goal is to use the grains I have and not buy anything additional. I'm pretty confident the PB2 powder will work after seeing others use it. I'm not 100% sure the Apex flavoring I bought will give me the raspberry jam character I'm looking for but I've heard good things about Apex flavoring. Anyway, this is what I've come up with. I'm probably going to try and brew this in the next couple of weeks next time I get brewing time. Please help critique this recipe. Thank you!

5 gallon batch

Grains:
6 # / 53.3% - Carolina Gold (2-row)
3 # / 26.7% - Carolina Dark Munich (for color vs light munich)
1 # / 8.9% - Flaked Wheat
8 oz / 4.4% - Brown Malt
8 oz / 4.4% - Victory/Biscuit
4 oz / 2.2% - Special X (mostly because I want to use the last 4 oz of it I have)

Hops: IBU 20
1/2 oz - Magnum @ 60
1/2 oz - Saaz @ 30

Yeast:
US-05

Additions:
16 oz - PB2 @ 5
1 oz - APEX Raspberry Flavoring @ Kegging

Mash 153F (little higher to maintain some sweetness)

Water Profile: (just adding few sales to my house water)
Ca - 80
Mg - 12
Na - 13
Cl - 62
SO4 - 69

 

[Snuffy]

That, sir, is bold and adventurous!

 

[fluketamer]

sweet baby jesus is one of my favorite stouts. i havent tried this one with the raspberry porter edition but its prolly good. your beer looks bold.
and i like the idea. my one suggestion would be to use brewers best peanut butter flavor instead of pb2 . pb2 is harder to work with and still has some head killing oils in it. the flavoring has better head retention and flavor imo,

 

[Dave77]

It's been a few months since you brewed this so just curious - how did it turn out? Did the 1oz of raspberry flavouring do the trick?

I'm looking to do something similar.

 

[Wreck99]

Actually just brewed this last month and forgot about it in the fermenter cold crashing, mainly because I didn't have an open keg. Well I kegged this on Tuesday so it's not quite carbonated yet. I will say the raspberry hit the mark at 2oz of the flavoring. It's very present without it being overpowering. The peanut butter PB2 though I think I could've added more to get the flavor amount to match the raspberry. It's there, but in the background. I'll save my full judgement for when this beer is fully carbed up but I think it turned out better than I expected.

 

[Dave77]

Actually just brewed this last month and forgot about it in the fermenter cold crashing, mainly because I didn't have an open keg. Well I kegged this on Tuesday so it's not quite carbonated yet. I will say the raspberry hit the mark at 2oz of the flavoring. It's very present without it being overpowering. The peanut butter PB2 though I think I could've added more to get the flavor amount to match the raspberry. It's there, but in the background. I'll save my full judgement for when this beer is fully carbed up but I think it turned out better than I expected.

Thanks! Very helpful insights for my planned brew of a PB&J. Looking forward to your comments once it's carbed and ready to go!

 

[Willy]

Are you getting your grain from Carolina Malt house? It is about an hour away from me but thought of picking up a few bags to check them out. I am curious - how was the experience? I heard lots of good stuff from brewers in Charlotte who work at craft breweries here.

 

[Wreck99]

Are you getting your grain from Carolina Malt house? It is about an hour away from me but thought of picking up a few bags to check them out. I am curious - how was the experience? I heard lots of good stuff from brewers in Charlotte who work at craft breweries here.

I have bought my last few sacks of grain from Carolina Malt house and the experience has been phenomenal all around. The people running the malt house are super helpful and friendly. The selection is very good and you can get some specialty malts (not all). The quality of the grains is good I enjoy the taste of what I've picked up and tried so far. The homebrewer's discount we get is nice and I can get a sack of grain there cheaper than the LHBS, so it's a win all around for me. I will definitely be going back when I need to restock. They are a little over an hour from me so it's well worth the drive to me.

 

[Willy]

I have bought my last few sacks of grain from Carolina Malt house and the experience has been phenomenal all around. The people running the malt house are super helpful and friendly. The selection is very good and you can get some specialty malts (not all). The quality of the grains is good I enjoy the taste of what I've picked up and tried so far. The homebrewer's discount we get is nice and I can get a sack of grain there cheaper than the LHBS, so it's a win all around for me. I will definitely be going back when I need to restock. They are a little over an hour from me so it's well worth the drive to me.

Thanks. Curious - I assume they only sell in sacks of grain (you can't buy 10-20 lbs for instance). How much was the bag of Carolina Gold or the dark Munich?

 

[Wreck99]

Thanks. Curious - I assume they only sell in sacks of grain (you can't buy 10-20 lbs for instance). How much was the bag of Carolina Gold or the dark Munich?

You can buy smaller amounts. My last trip I bought 5 lbs of sunset wheat, 5 lbs of biscuit, 20 lbs of light munich 10 lbs of dark munich, full sack of carolina gold 2-row and pils. It was $1 / lb when I got it last year...but I think the rates went up to $1.25 / lb now? Don't quote me on that, just what I heard.

 

[Willy]

You can buy smaller amounts. My last trip I bought 5 lbs of sunset wheat, 5 lbs of biscuit, 20 lbs of light munich 10 lbs of dark munich, full sack of carolina gold 2-row and pils. It was $1 / lb when I got it last year...but I think the rates went up to $1.25 / lb now? Don't quote me on that, just what I heard.

Wow. Awesome. Thanks again.

 

[TBA]

@fluketamer

my one suggestion would be to use brewers best peanut butter flavor instead of pb2

do you have a suggestion as to how much to use? I am planning a chocolate peanut butter coconut stout and picked up all three brewers best at LHBS.

 

[fluketamer]

Actually just brewed this last month and forgot about it in the fermenter cold crashing, mainly because I didn't have an open keg. Well I kegged this on Tuesday so it's not quite carbonated yet. I will say the raspberry hit the mark at 2oz of the flavoring. It's very present without it being overpowering. The peanut butter PB2 though I think I could've added more to get the flavor amount to match the raspberry. It's there, but in the background. I'll save my full judgement for when this beer is fully carbed up but I think it turned out better than I expected.

you should have used the brewers best. pb2 doesnt bring the flavor imo.

@fluketamer

do you have a suggestion as to how much to use? I am planning a chocolate peanut butter coconut stout and picked up all three brewers best at LHBS.

i used a whole bottle of hazelnut in a 5 gallon keg of stout. it worked very well.

brewers best usually reccomend 2-4 oz . 4 for maximum 2 for subtle.

i would be wary of using all three of anything in any beer. i would be careful with more than one flavoring. all three might not mix well.

best to adjust to taste if using that much flavoring IMO

go with a lb of chocolate malt and toasted dried coconut ( a lot like 2 lbs!) then add the peanutbutter flavoring.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Like @fluketamer sez: don't try to fit chocolate AND peanut butter AND coconut into the same beer.

Brewers Best Peanut Butter flavoring is awesome! I like 3 oz per 5 gallons beer.
And for Coconut, I've had great results with McCormick's (spice aisle in grocery store) Coconut Extract. 1 oz (by volume, in a shot glass) per 5 gallons beer is the sweet spot for me. (A full, 1.5 oz shot will be too much, so get a shot-glass with volume lines). Just add either of those extracts at bottling time.

And for Chocolate flavor, this is my most recent (and best so far) "chocolatey" base stout for peanut butter or coconut beers:

1058 -> 1013, 6% abv, 45 ibu

64% 2-row
4% caramel 120L
5% roasted 300L
4% chocolate 350L
3% thomas fawcett pale chocolate 230L
2% midnight wheat
8% flaked oats
2% flaked wheat
8% brown sugar

Mash at 5.50 pH

Bitter with Northern Brewer hops @60 only
Ferment on S-04

No cacao nibs, cocoa powder, or syrups needed! Tons of chocolate flavor that lasts and lasts.

my mash water (full volume BIAB):

 

[Wreck99]

you should have used the brewers best. pb2 doesnt bring the flavor imo.


i used a whole bottle of hazelnut in a 5 gallon keg of stout. it worked very well.

brewers best usually reccomend 2-4 oz . 4 for maximum 2 for subtle.

i would be wary of using all three of anything in any beer. i would be careful with more than one flavoring. all three might not mix well.

best to adjust to taste if using that much flavoring IMO

go with a lb of chocolate malt and toasted dried coconut ( a lot like 2 lbs!) then add the peanutbutter flavoring.

Just ordered some. Since I already have this beer made, I may toy with adding a little and see what happens. If success, next time I attempt this beer, I'll just do both flavorings.