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

[monkeymath]

I think to anyone who doesn't brew themselves - and even many of those that do - bottle dregs would seem very weird/disgusting. Definitely don't want that on your bottle label.

"We only use the freshest, local, high quality ingredients: fresh spring water, barley that grows on the fields surrounding our brewery, hops from our own farm, and the dregs of various beers."

 

[mashpaddled]

I've made a few beers with mesquite pods that turned out nicely. It has sort of a caramel/coffee flavor that really screams for a cocoa addition. The last time I brewed with them I added cocoa nibs and it turned out stunning.

My first all grain batch was a brown ale and I tried adding amaretto at the end of fermentation thinking that almond taste would be a nice addition. The sugar in it fermented out and whatever additives they add to it made it taste like not much at all. I found some of the bottles a few years later and they tasted like the brine from black olive cans. I didn't think that was a terribly weird ingredient but it turned out poorly.

I also tried adding ground cherries to a batch of sour beer. I know some breweries have brewed with them but again just did not turn out well at all. The beer developed a real weird taste of cheap white wine, watery tomato sauce and this medicinal off flavor that would stay in your mouth for like an hour. Ground cherries are part of the nightshade family and grow like tomatillos but the berries (on this variety) taste like pineapple and vanilla with just a hint of tomato in the background. Like tomatillo they have a lot of seeds. I think in a mixed fermentation some of the seed compounds fermented into all the unpleasantness.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Hibiscus blooms in a Saison.
I've rebrewed it a couple of times, and have it on tap currently.
I recommend it highly.

I've used honey several times in a Blonde and in in a wit and a triple.
Initially I didn't like the wit or the triple(too sweet), several years later, I cracked open the triple and the honey had continued to ferment and it was awesome, it had the tingly little bubbles like Belgian beers do, and thought that this could have been a winner in a comp.

 

[GoodTruble]

I wanted to make pumpkin beer that didn't suck. I succeeded. I roasted canned pumpkin and then soaked it in peanut butter flavored whiskey. It was perfect.

 

[estricklin]

I have a potato beer that is one of my regulars, the potato flavor is very subtle.

I have brewed a rye and juniper ale before. I've used peanut butter, probably would add that hot side if I had it to do over.

I've always wanted to brew sort of a root beer....beer. Flavored along the same lines, so wintergreen, vanilla, star of anise, sassafras, that sort of thing.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I wanted to make pumpkin beer that didn't suck.

I'm not sure that can be done.
Glad you enjoyed yours.

 

[Gilbert Spinning Horse]

Dead fox in the secondary. The gamey flavor came through a bit strong and if I did it again I'd probably cut down on the corpse, maybe just the head or a hind leg.

 

[GoodTruble]

I'm not sure that can be done.
Glad you enjoyed yours.

Make a wee heavy, add roasted canned pumpkin soaked in booze to the secondary. It works. =c)

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Oats
Grits
Maple Syrup
Roasted Potatoes
Hickory smoked malt
Coffee Malt

... All in the same batch for a Breakfast Stout.

 

[JAReeves]

I have a saison in the secondary stage right now, hibiscus, dried tropical fruit mix, and pink peppercorns. It's gone through some interesting stages: initially, super bitter; then kind of bland and nothing, now it's moving into the tart pepper stage. It's been about 3 months and I think I am going to move it to a barrel in a few weeks, as FG is near 1.000. We'll see how it works out.

 

[mattman91]

.

 

[D the Catastrophist]

Dead fox in the secondary.

Well, that's what you get for trying to make improve a Bud select 55 clone...

 

[nanobrau]

Grapewood Lager

100% Light Munich
Saflager W-34/70
Perle for bittering and Tettnanger at flameout
Toasted grape wood in secondary

This is basically like letting the beer sit on oak but using grape wood instead. The grape wood is harvested 1-year old vine that I toasted in the oven at 350F for 1 hour. It didn't come out much in the flavor of the beer, but you can definitely smell grapes as you drink.

 

[JAReeves]

Grapewood Lager

100% Light Munich
Saflager W-34/70
Perle for bittering and Tettnanger at flameout
Toasted grape wood in secondary

This is basically like letting the beer sit on oak but using grape wood instead. The grape wood is harvested 1-year old vine that I toasted in the oven at 350F for 1 hour. It didn't come out much in the flavor of the beer, but you can definitely smell grapes as you drink.

That sounds cool.

 

[estricklin]

Grapewood Lager

100% Light Munich
Saflager W-34/70
Perle for bittering and Tettnanger at flameout
Toasted grape wood in secondary

This is basically like letting the beer sit on oak but using grape wood instead. The grape wood is harvested 1-year old vine that I toasted in the oven at 350F for 1 hour. It didn't come out much in the flavor of the beer, but you can definitely smell grapes as you drink.

Kind of along those lines, I brewed 15 gallons of Shiner Bock clone, and 5 gallons of it I used wine yeast and toasted oak.

 

[dnr]

I've been dry hopping my hard ciders lately. It's actually really delicious. I get them as dry as possible and it tastes kind a fruity dry white wine.

 

[Rish]

I've been dry hopping my hard ciders lately. It's actually really delicious. I get them as dry as possible and it tastes kind a fruity dry white wine.

I've been looking to add some character to my ciders. What hops are you using, how much and how long, please?

 

[dnr]

I think I used Crystal Northern Brewer (1 oz each) in 1.5 gallons for ~1 week. Just dumped them in after 1 week of fermentation and then waited until everything settled out. Racked then cold crashed. Then bottled.

I also made a blend of white grape, apple and pear juice to try to make a cider wine thing... When blending them, I had some juice left over in a bottle. I threw it in the pantry I do small batch fermentations in (even temp and dark). When checking on the progress, I saw the leftover bottle was swollen and a pellicle was forming. I figured I had a wild ferm happening and blended that with some other cider. It is tart, sharp and dry. It works really well with some aromatic citrusy hops.

 

[leedspointbrew]

I wanted to make pumpkin beer that didn't suck. I succeeded. I roasted canned pumpkin and then soaked it in peanut butter flavored whiskey. It was perfect.

Sounds good to me. The roasted canned pumpkin went in secondary? And what was the brand of peanut butter flavored whisky?

 

[JoeSpartaNJ]

The only non-standard ingredient I have even used was hazelnut extract in a keg of brown ale once (was trying to do a Rogue Hazelnut Brown clone.)

Aside from that, I have added a shot of Frangelico to Stout or Porter on a few occasions.

 

[Vopiscus]

I used black cardamom for an adult chocolate milkshake porter. Really seemed to play well with the rye and lactose.

 

[Protos]

Sea water.

Not much of it, though.
That was before I knew anything about water treatment. I added it purely because of sentimental reasons. And believed it had a beneficial impact on the brew.
It might have, indeed. Some extra Na and Cl might mellow somewhat my awful untreated tap water.

 

[Vopiscus]

Sea water.

Not much of it, though.
That was before I knew anything about water treatment. I added it purely because of sentimental reasons. And believed it had a beneficial impact on the brew.
It might have, indeed. Some extra Na and Cl might mellow somewhat my awful untreated tap water.

Anecdotal story, a distiller from Lost Spirits mentioned when they used sea water for their Leviathan whisky it helped out with the fermentation and gave the finished product umami notes.

Kinda curious to try it out on a sour, how much sea salt did you use?

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Creme de cacao liqueur to prime a batch once. Had to wait forever for the hot flavor to go away, but once it did, it was delicious.

Breakfast cereals - Honey Nut Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, Reece's Puffs, Rice Krispies. Not all in the same batch. A different one for different experimental beers... they all turned out great.

A-1 steak sauce in a smoked porter. Way better than I thought it would be.

Graham crackers in a S'mores porter once. It was good, but missed the S'mores mark.

Maple syrup and a chit-ton of oats trying to make an oatmeal brown. It was good, just odd.

I want to try to use different flavors of soda as an experiment sometime - Big Red IPA, Dr. Pepper amber, 7-up golden ale... Some concoction has to work out well.

 

[Protos]

how much sea salt did you use?

I think sea water was about 5% of the total kettle water. Not enough to taste any salt.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

A-1 steak sauce in a smoked porter. Way better than I thought it would be.

 

[bracconiere]

I used black cardamom for an adult chocolate milkshake porter. Really seemed to play well with the rye and lactose.

sounds good to me too. i got some black cardomom sitting around, wasn't any good for food...but who eats anyway!

 

[GoodTruble]

I'm adding animal crackers to something this fall. Still working on what.

 

[bracconiere]

I'm adding animal crackers to something this fall. Still working on what.

beef jerky stout?

 

[CharlaineC]

Not sure it would be considered strange but. I've used red, yellow, and black Currents, Italian Plum, White Sage, Squid ink, Roses, Hibiscus, Tigerlily, Dandelion heads, Guava leaf, lavender, homegrown tobacco