What's the "weirdest" ingredient you've used?

[Spartan1979]

I made a beer with Reeses Puffs cereal. It was for an Iron Brewer competition.

 

[El Duderino]

I 'Dry Hopped" 2 1/2 gallons of Fat Tire clone with 2oz of High THC Marijuana Buds. Turned out nice, but would probably have been better off smoking the buds and drinking the beer seperately

 

[bleme]

I have a friend who made a kettle sour with 2 pounds of green apple Jolly Ranchers. That was actually pretty good...

 

[FromZwolle]

Peanut butter. A whole mess of it.
Tasted great but it looked like ginger ale, not even a trace of head!


This was way before the pb2 and reeses stouts were a thing.

 

[OldDogBrewing]

Thyme in a saison but I think I went to shy with it because I was afraid of overshooting it, it ended up with no signs at all of that thyme addition

 

[JAReeves]

One of our family's favorite soups is a Buckwheat Soba with tomatoes and chilis. So I thought, why not? Made a saison with soy sauce, sambal chili, lemon zest and juice (to mimic the tomato and cilantro), and buckwheat flour because we couldn't find groats. I didn't find it tart enough, so I also added our house sour culture (made from grapes/wild yeast that we grow ourselves).

#1-Don't use flour. Oh damn, don't use flour. That was the messiest mash experience I have ever had and the beer is still cloudy after a year and a half of aging/lagering.

#2-Other than the chili completely disappearing into the other flavors, it tastes like the soup. The Soy Sauce umami flavor is too strong for me, but this beer could be an excellent sour ramen base without any other additions.

SWMBO loves it and that is all that matters.

 

[FromZwolle]

One of our family's favorite soups is a Buckwheat Soba with tomatoes and chilis. So I thought, why not? Made a saison with soy sauce, sambal chili, lemon zest and juice (to mimic the tomato and cilantro), and buckwheat flour because we couldn't find groats. I didn't find it tart enough, so I also added our house sour culture (made from grapes/wild yeast that we grow ourselves).

#1-Don't use flour. Oh damn, don't use flour. That was the messiest mash experience I have ever had and the beer is still cloudy after a year and a half of aging/lagering.

#2-Other than the chili completely disappearing into the other flavors, it tastes like the soup. The Soy Sauce umami flavor is too strong for me, but this beer could be an excellent sour ramen base without any other additions.

SWMBO loves it and that is all that matters.

i've always liked the idea of brewing beer specifically as a cooking ingredient. soup base, marinade, etc.

this one really fits the bill.

 

[MackDan]

Stale Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Made a Belgian Pale Ale. And then I wrote about it. March April 2020 Zymurgy

 

[OldDogBrewing]

Stale Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Made a Belgian Pale Ale. And then I wrote about it. March April 2020 Zymurgy

As the doughnuts were stale, you could have named the beer "Aged doughnuts belgian pale ale" hahahaha

 

[RedRyderr]

I 'Dry Hopped" 2 1/2 gallons of Fat Tire clone with 2oz of High THC Marijuana Buds. Turned out nice, but would probably have been better off smoking the buds and drinking the beer seperately

Did youget any THC content in the beer? Don't you need to decarboxylate the weed to release the THC content? Dry hopping wouldn't have the needed heat?

 

[bracconiere]

and need fat because it's lipiphilic? you'd need to do a milk stout, and add it in the boil?

 

[El Duderino]

Did youget any THC content in the beer? Don't you need to decarboxylate the weed to release the THC content? Dry hopping wouldn't have the needed heat?

nah, i figured since thc is soluble in alcohol it would just work

 

[BongoYodeler]

I've thought about adding some cereal (Fruity Pebbles or Trix maybe) to the mash of a pale ale or ipa. Haven't tried it yet, maybe some day. Back home in upstate NY there's a small brewery that every fall brews a pumpkin beer where they dump several baked pumpkin pies directly into the mash.

 

[Miraculix]

I went crazy and brewed a regular beer made out of pale malt and hops! And I intend to do this blasphemic homebrew soon again!!!

 

[brewswithshoes]

This reminds of an annual competition here in the Tampa area with several breweries to kick off our Beer Week. Basically each brewery picks 2 random ingredients out of a hat and has to make a beer with them. Some really nail some crazy good beers, others not so much. I have volunteered many times to "pour" for these events and have tasted just about all of them. Quite surprisingly one year a dill pickle gose won. I think another year was a ginger wasabi saison. It really is wild the combos that have come up in this event, and i'm sure even these pro brewers struggle to make a good beer with the ingredients they are given.

You can read up on past events at the Tampa Bay Beer Week pages if interested, but some past combos are below. The event is always a good time and it's impressive how these breweries can make even a palatable beer with some of these ingredients.

Past event combos:
The possible ingredients or ingredient combinations are:
Onions
Real Bacon and Habanero
Cinnamon and Lemon peel
Orange and Old Bay
Thyme and Peaches
Oysters and Hot Sauce
Maple Syrup and Pears
Vanilla Bean and Pomegranate
Dark Chocolate and Mango
Coffee and Curry
Vanillas bean and Jalapenos
White Chocolate and Pistachios
Horseradish
Toffee and Bananas

 

[Murphys_Law]

I made a stout and mashed with half a loaf of dark rye pumpernickel bread. It was pretty good.

 

[Miraculix]

I made a stout and mashed with half a loaf of dark rye pumpernickel bread. It was pretty good.

I got a big bag of self-made dried sourdough bread rests that I collected over time. Mainly rye and spelt mix bread. I was collecting it to make a dessert called "großer Hans", a northern German desert which is made out of old bread and which is reaaaaaaally good (although it doesn't sound too appealing, I must admit). But I actually now got too much of it and I wonder how a beer would taste of I include it in the mash.....

 

[El Duderino]

I've thought about adding some cereal (Fruity Pebbles or Trix maybe) to the mash of a pale ale or ipa. Haven't tried it yet, maybe some day. Back home in upstate NY there's a small brewery that every fall brews a pumpkin beer where they dump several baked pumpkin pies directly into the mash.

Local brewery Duclaw makes a sour beer called Unicorn Farts that's made with Fruity Pebbles, and Edible Glitter

 

[slayer021175666]

I don't do any wierd stuff but, check out Cock Ale in the New Complete Joy of Home Brewing.
It calls for a whole rooster! Muddled until bones are smashed! Says, the older the rooster, the better! WOW! Now, if that don't take the cake, I don't know what will!

 

[Murphys_Law]

I got a big bag of self-made dried sourdough bread rests that I collected over time. Mainly rye and spelt mix bread. I was collecting it to make a dessert called "großer Hans", a northern German desert which is made out of old bread and which is reaaaaaaally good (although it doesn't sound too appealing, I must admit). But I actually now got too much of it and I wonder how a beer would taste of I include it in the mash.....

My wife and I were having some kraut and sausages with the bread and she remarked how much she liked the bread and asked if I could make a beer like that. I think she was joking but I thought "what the hell!". I toasted the bread and cut it into small squares and then mashed for the full 60 mins. I can't remember my grain bill but I do remember adding rye in to the boil at some point, as well. I BIAB and it was a PITA to drain the bag, though!

You should try it!

 

[FromZwolle]

There's a maple bacon porter and a mango/mole wit in my brew queue. perhaps i'll get crazy and push it further into the weird stuff realm, but i've got a long list of beers i wanna get brewed soon as it is.

 

[50calshooter]

I've made a bacon beer- not so weird after reading this thread. I have used Pink Peppercorns imported from France for a Pink Peppercorn Pale Ale. Very popular at my brewpub.

 

[OldDogBrewing]

I will update my weirdest ingredient, artemisia absinthium

 

[Kirkwooder]

I often add cracked corn to brews to either up the IBU or lighten the body. I get it straight from the feed bucket. Scratch grain also has made it into a few of my beers. It's likely the cheapest ingredient you will ever use. Chicken feed isn't just for chickens anymore!

 

[FromZwolle]

I often add cracked corn to brews to either up the IBU or lighten the body. I get it straight from the feed bucket. Scratch grain also has made it into a few of my beers. It's likely the cheapest ingredient you will ever use. Chicken feed isn't just for chickens anymore!

i usually use corn meal, as that's what i have lyin around in the kitchen. popcorn also works just fine, as long as it's not drowning in butter flavored oil...

 

[BoudBrew]

Local brewery Duclaw makes a sour beer called Unicorn Farts that's made with Fruity Pebbles, and Edible Glitter

How does it taste?

 

[McMullan]

I used 500g yew arils, seeds removed, in a 'South Downs Way' bitter a few years back. The arils are the only part of the tree that isn't poisonous. Quite a nice flavour. A mild sweetness with a hint of floral character. Kind of reminds me of a very mild Turkish Delight. Didn't really add anything noticeable to the bitter, which tasted like it normally does. The only benefit really was an excuse to wonder around Kingley Vale collecting yew arils.

 

[D the Catastrophist]

I had a coffee flavored sour ale at a brewery in Colorado. It actually was pretty damn tasty. That is what inspired me to try a coffee mead(which well still green is coming along nicely).

Raspberry Habenero hard cider was great as well.

 

[Johst12]

I used rosemary a couple times and liked it. Saison, IPA and in a smoky lager/pils, always at flameout.

 

[mschoeffler]

Oyster shells