Salt in beer????

[Daphne-weizen]

You know now that I'm thinking back, I do remember the whole salt in beer thing when my husband and I were in Mexico during Thanksgiving week a few years back. We were sitting at the bar in JJs Cantina in Cholla Bay, Rocky Point Mexico waiting for the ASU-UA football game to start. The place was packed with Arizonans. Well on the other side of my husband sat this chick who kept glaring at us grumbling about how much she couldn't stand us "G d Sun Devils!!!...go Wild cats! eff the Sun Devils!!!!" Sheesh!(my husband graduated from ASU). All I can remember during her grumbling rantings was her opening a pack of salt, tapping it into her Corona's and angrily jamming a lime in the neck of the bottles. I kept thinking that had to taste kinda gnarley....and I hope she was at least drunk at the time.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

You know now that I'm thinking back, I do remember the whole salt in beer thing when my husband and I were in Mexico during Thanksgiving week a few years back. We were sitting at the bar in JJs Cantina in Cholla Bay, Rocky Point Mexico waiting for the ASU-UA football game to start. The place was packed with Arizonans. Well on the other side of my husband sat this chick who kept glaring at us grumbling about how much she couldn't stand us "G d Sun Devils!!!...go Wild cats! eff the Sun Devils!!!!" Sheesh!(my husband graduated from ASU). All I can remember during her grumbling rantings was her opening a pack of salt, tapping it into her Corona's and angrily jamming a lime in the neck of the bottles. I kept thinking that had to taste kinda gnarley....and I hope she was at least drunk at the time.

ummmm... bwahahahahhahahaaa!!!!

 

[Rev2010]

Salt in beer and the reasonings are quite humorous.

Electrolytes? Well alcohol still dehydrates you. And if you want electrolytes why not just eat some chips or something else along with the beer?

Bitterness? Most beers that people seem to be adding salt to are some of the most common low IBU beers out there.

Foam? Just wait a few seconds and it will settle.

I dunno, whatever people want to do I just let them though, I just won't be doing it myself. I remember one time the wife and I were drinking Aventinus in a German restaurant here in Manhattan. Since the tables are communal there were these two younger guys sitting near us and they started telling us their "secret" to putting down that foam on the top of the beer. The guy wiped his nose with his finger and stirred it in the foam which reduced the foam of course. He went on to proudly explain how the oils in ones skin gets the foam to dissipate. Umm, I'll pass and that's just gross.


Rev.

 

[mkyl428]

I put salt & lime with Mexican lagers on the rare occasion i drink them (usually with Mexican food)..... I see this all the time at the gas station near my house I would never put it in my beer though

 

[Qhrumphf]

Well, salt allegedly also enhances other flavors besides suppressing bitterness, even when you can't taste salt as such (at least according to chefs and cook books). Hence why everything is better with salt (and why sh!te freezer and "casual" restaraunt foods are so unbelievably loaded with it). So I could see a pinch of salt enhancing something like a light lager.

 

[mxstar21]

I vaguely remember seeing this stuff in the past at liquor stores.

 

[svenness]

Westbrook gose, salty sour goodness on a hot summer day.

 

[mythbustingpyro]

I have a friend who does this religiously. I do occasionally and I feel it helps round out and mellow out beers for me. Im not a huge fan of bitter either.

And the salt on paper napkins is a must.

 

[masskrug]

Don't you guys salt your watermelon when you eat it?

You're damn straight!

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eitsutpOc[/ame]

 

[Rev2010]

^^^Lol, that freeze frame makes the dude look like Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre haha.


Rev.

 

[airdog_47]

I've watched my father always add a dash of salt to whatever his BMC he was drinking. I find myself now adding a dash to my BMC whenever I have the urge to drink one. I have no reason behind it, rather than tradition.

 

[skeezerpleezer]

Adding salt (sodium chloride) is a feasible option for enhancing sweetness perception in beer. Salt should never be added to the point that it can be perceived as 'salty' in the beer. I was at a bar last night and had a Gose from some nameless brewery and it was notably salty and just did not taste good. Counter that experience with a Bayerischer Bahnhof Gose that I had a few months ago, not a hint of saltiness and the enhanced sweetness of the beer paired very well with the acidity of the style. Think of a Berliner Weisse with extra sweetness. Delicious!

The level at which the typical drinker is going to perceive saltiness is about 250 ppm sodium. That happens to correspond with the salt dosing rate that a craft brewer reported to me that they take their Gose to. Keeping the sodium level at or below that level is recommended for Gose. For other beers, you are better off keeping the level lower. I recently brewed a Brown Porter with 110 ppm sodium and it was very tasty. I'd say that keeping sodium to 100 ppm or less is good for dark styles. It does improve flavor.

So somewhat elevated sodium level in brewing water is OK. But this is not to say that you should add much sodium to your brewing water. Sodium with chloride is OK, but sodium with much sulfate is not so good. Sodium and sulfate can create poor taste at much lower sodium levels than mentioned above. So if your water has much sulfate, don't add much sodium or that taste effect might 'bite' you.

Curious what you think of Westbrook Gose


C

 

[JKaranka]

The only reference I know of adding salt to beer are landlords adding it to porter in the cellar. But that's over a hundred years ago.

 

[Saboral]

Reminds me of PA, where my bro & I took an ancient two man buck saw over the hill into the woods in winter to cut a tree down, chop & stack to make breakfast,etc on the old wood stove. I guess salted beer made more sense then? We also had fresh venison steaks & speckled trout for breakfast!

I want to go to there!


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[unionrdr]

It was in an old house with 12' ceilings on top of a mountain in Harmony Township,PA. Between Tionesta & Pleasantville. I think there's an oil rig up there now. Mountain was hollow & full of oil that reeked of gasoline.

 

[mabrungard]

Curious what you think of Westbrook Gose

Sure wish I could get that beer up here to taste it. It sure has a good rating.

 

[riderkb]

I watched a guy at a bar in FL drink a schooner of BMC with olives in it. There were prolly half a dozen in there bobbing up and down. I would try it once.

I grew up in PA. Putting salt and nose grease in beer were both common. So we're rotten teeth and rust holes in your truck.