Peanut Butter Stout Hydrometer Reading

[Zul'jin]

I brewed my first peanut butter stout today.

1 lb chocolate grain
1 lb special roast grain (light in color)
3 lb dark dme
1 lb amber dme
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 lb Smuckers Natural creamy peanut butter (loaded with little peanut chunks)

My first hydrometer reading, at 82F corrected to 60F, was 1010. Whoa nelly frittata! That's a final gravity reading. Unpossible. Hmmmm....

Could it be all the suspended peanut bits? I drained off oil for a week but, still some in the wort. Maybe I should let the bits settle out and the oil rise.

15 minutes later, same temp, reading is 1046.

Whew.

 

[Hegh]

Is this something you've tried before, or did it just seem like a good idea to you? I've never heard of putting peanut butter in a beer...

 

[ChshreCat]

There's a few good threads on peanut butter in beer, so it's not that strange of an idea. De-oiling it is a good idea, or use powdered peanut butter.

I'm thinking you just didn't get your extract and top up water completely mixed when you took your sample the first time. It's pretty easy to have happen because even after stirring, it tends to separate out a bit for a while. When I take my OG, I have my daughter vigorously stir the wort for a minute or two, then I take my sample while she's still stirring to make sure I get a good mixed sample.

As for the oil on top, you could take a sanitized turkey baster and try to suck it off the surface as it separates, or just leave it be and rack out from under it when you go to secondary or bottle.

 

[TexLaw]

Man, I don't know how this is going to come out, but I can't wait to hear your review from the sofa on your front porch.


TL

 

[Zul'jin]

The wort tasted like a stout wort with peanut butter. The peanut butter taste was very much like the taste of the Smuckers straight out the jar. Based on that alone, I presume the brand of peanut butter used may greatly affect the final flavor.

 

[KayaBrew]

It seems like even if you "de-oil" the PB, there would still be way too much oil in the wort. Even if the beer tastes good (which is all that matters), I doubt it'll have any head to it. Sounds strangely tasty to me. If it turns out that you don't like it, send me a bottle or two!

 

[Zul'jin]

That is one of the most commonly reported problems with PB beer. As long as it carbs, I don't mind so much if it doesn't look carbed.

Will try to leave as much oil behind while racking from primary to secondary. May even rack to a thirduary.

Tertiary. I know the word. I just won't use it.

 

[clemson55]

You need to deoil the pb first, when I did this last yr I spread the PB out in a pan with paper towels to get the oil out, when I was done the PB was dried out more like old playdoh. I found that the PB taste wore off pretty quick and really was just sort of nutty tasting. It had an ok head though and held onto it for a short while.

 

[Zul'jin]

Ah, good idea. I just poured off what was on top each day. The top half or so was thick. The bottom half was, yeah, dry Playdoh. Having had natural PB before, the bottom half is like that until mixed anyway. I'll try your way next time.

Wonder if I should I add any PB to secondary...

 

[jaja]

What about nutella choc halzenut spread?

Its bascially hazelnuts and has a great chocolate taste that would compliment any porter or stout. Choc hazelnut beer!

 

[Zul'jin]

Bottled today. 4.2% abv.

It's weird. The uncarbed beer tastes like berries and peanuts. This is not what I expected.

There was a little oil in the carboy and a thin layer in my bottle bucket after I let it sit for 30 minutes. I left a few bottles worth in the bucket so as not to get the oil layer. We shall see.

 

[Zul'jin]

Drinking my first bottle tonight. It really does taste like peanuts!

Problem is, it's the aftertaste that tastes like peanuts. The... during taste (?) tastes a little like berries and has an alcohol hotness. At only 4.2% abv and the length of time I took on this brew, I dunno why. Maybe it got too hot during fermentation. Maybe it doesn't pare well with spinach dip, salty chips and red grapes. Yeah, I'm no pro beer taster.

 

[ChshreCat]

berries and peanuts? Call it a PB&J stout.

 

[Ksosh]

I think I know what my next batch will be!