Brewing with Wasabi...

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jbaysurfer

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So has anyone brewed with Wasabi? Please share what you know. As much detail as possible. I'm thinking of brewing a Wasabi Lager. I don't want it to overwhelm, but I think a good clean crisp lager with Sushi is awesome and I think a beer with that theme is in order...
 
A guy in my club decided to experiment with some stuff. Did a few variations of American Wheat, one with wasabi. A) it may have an impact on the yeast, because it did not carbonate and b) it was interesting, but not particularly pleasant, even at what seemed to be a restrained amount.

Take it for what it's worth, and certainly give it a shot if you want to, but temper your expectations.
 
I say go for it.
I would do a one gallon test batch. I bet a little would go a real long way. I think adding it to the boil would bring to much heat. I would secondary the wasabi.If it was me I would brew a IPL.
Just my thoughts.
 
I would try it. Or make a wasabi tincture and add it at bottling time. You may want to start with a base beer in the Tsingtao or asian beer style.
 
I think it would be important to get the real Japanese stuff, and not what is mostly available which is mostly horseradish.
Also, it can be a pretty... overwhelming flavor without a savory component to balance it. I like the idea of a hint in a lager, even one with the sole purpose of being consumed with food.
 
I think this would be a fantastic combination with a plate of good sushi. I know I would of tried this every time at the sushi joints in Hawaii (my God was sushi ever delicious in Hawaii).

Couple of things I learned about Wasabi while in Hawaii.

Freshness can be measured by it's consistency. The fresh stuff is softer and the flavor is stronger but cleaner if that makes sense.

You may want to consider the real stuff and the imitation. I have no idea about the way they'd break down, but one may support your cause over the other.

This is a completely unsubstantiated thought, maybe try and find the Wasabi before it's processed? I have no idea what it's like before it's turned into the spicy green paste, but it could be more or less useful in that form.
 
Agate said:
If you're challenging him, shouldn't you be obligated to brew one yourself?

Wasabi throw down!!
Click to expand...

reasoning behind the BREW THAT BEER! rule is to minimize the number of posts from people for whom the thought of brewing with whatever bizarre item is the most hilarious thing in the world

or, if they're not too lazy to search the forum, then they must not have found anyone who has brewed with that bizarre item

or, they're just trolling.

think of all the crazy sh*t people will do to catch a buzz, whether it's actually a pleasant experience or not. if it is a pleasant experience, then it would stand to reason it's been done before and there would be some information about it out there somewhere. People are not that original.

There would most likely even be a commercial version with that ingredient.

in short; if you're so interested in how brewing with whatever will turn out, BREW THAT BEER!

corollary rule for "what do you think of this recipe?" posts: I think it will make beer. brew it and tell us what YOU think.
 
Had anyone tried the Dogfish Head Rosabi yet? I'm sure that would give you a good idea what kind if flavor you'll get out of it.
 
GrogNerd said:
if it is a pleasant experience, then it would stand to reason it's been done before and there would be some information about it out there somewhere.

There would most likely even be a commercial version with that ingredient.
Click to expand...

zmanzorro said:
Had anyone tried the Dogfish Head Rosabi yet? I'm sure that would give you a good idea what kind if flavor you'll get out of it.
Click to expand...

well, there you go. supports my argument
 
GrogNerd said:
well, there you go. supports my argument
Click to expand...

You're getting a little high horsey grognerd. LOL... I'm GOING to brew the beer. I HAVE searched. I saw the "BREW THAT BEER" thread and started this one tongue in cheek.

Your assertion that if it was good it'd have been done before (and repeated) is 100% anti-ingenuity btw. Thank God the great innovators of our past didn't succumb to that school of thought. You are hereby banned from my thread! (Jk/bb!!!) :ban:
 
jbaysurfer said:
You're getting a little high horsey grognerd. LOL... I'm GOING to brew the beer. I HAVE searched. I saw the "BREW THAT BEER" thread and started this one tongue in cheek.

Your assertion that if it was good it'd have been done before (and repeated) is 100% anti-ingenuity btw. Thank God the great innovators of our past didn't succumb to that school of thought. You are hereby banned from my thread! (Jk/bb!!!) :ban:
Click to expand...

my rule was started tongue-in-cheek, but when counter-challenged, I argued from a reasonable standpoint.

starting with the assertion people will do almost anything to catch a buzz, repeatedly, if it's a pleasant experience. which will lead to commercialization; if it tastes good and gets you high, and it's not illegal to do so, someone will package and sell it.

and DfH Rosabi supports THAT PART of my argument. not all of it. just that part there, where I quoted myself.

it also supports another part of my argument where a perfunctory search of "wasabi beer" would have yielded plenty of information.

(I had originally written it "proved my point" but that would been a stretch, so I opted for "supports my argument")
 
GrogNerd said:
my rule was started tongue-in-cheek, but when counter-challenged, I argued from a reasonable standpoint.

starting with the assertion people will do almost anything to catch a buzz, repeatedly, if it's a pleasant experience. which will lead to commercialization; if it tastes good and gets you high, and it's not illegal to do so, someone will package and sell it.

and DfH Rosabi supports THAT PART of my argument. not all of it. just that part there, where I quoted myself.

it also supports another part of my argument where a perfunctory search of "wasabi beer" would have yielded plenty of information.
Click to expand...

You know what, I'm trying to be the first person to conform to your new "forum rule". Chill out a little will ya? I've done searches. I'm an experienced brewer and poster to HBT.

Don't treat me like a troll while you're on my thread talking about YOUR rule.

I have read everything there is to read about it, but there's no much info out there. I have talked to homebrewers and professional brewers alike.

I thought I'd start this thread to share what I learn when I brew it and perhaps glean some insight. And it's already happening. Look at my sig. I BREW, I don't just talk about it.

I'm here for brewing talk, not internet drama. Lets get back on topic shall we?You can discuss the finer points of YOUR rule on YOUR thread.
 
jbaysurfer said:
You know what, I'm trying to be the first person to conform to your new "forum rule". Chill out a little will ya? I've done searches. I'm an experienced brewer and poster to HBT.

Don't treat me like a troll while you're on my thread talking about YOUR rule.

I have read everything there is to read about it, but there's no much info out there. I have talked to homebrewers and professional brewers alike.

I thought I'd start this thread to share what I learn when I brew it and perhaps glean some insight. And it's already happening. Look at my sig. I BREW, I don't just talk about it.

I'm here for brewing talk, not internet drama. Lets get back on topic shall we?You can discuss the finer points of YOUR rule on YOUR thread.
Click to expand...

I apologize if I rained any drama on your thread

apply the same chill
 
I think I'd go in a little bit different direction. A few years ago when I was at Yosemite, I had an awesome seared teriyaki tuna steak with wasabi mashed potatoes. I'm thinking imperial red ale, maybe with a touch of smoked malt, with a hint of wasabi. Something a little sweet, with a little smoke. I might have to try it...
 
I wanted to brew a wasabi pilsner once. I tried it out first by mixing wasabi paste and a pilsner. It was not awesome.

The problem is that the "heat" from wasabi is water soluble and volatiles easy, like a mustard or horseradish. It's not like heat from chilis, which are oils. So it really doesn't matter how much wasabi you put in, you aren't going to get heat. You'll just get flavor. Vegetal flavor.

I'd still like to do something along the lines of a wasabi pilsner, but I think it has to be supplemented with some chili heat.
 
As soon as I read the header I thought ginger beer. Wasabi ginger beer.hell yes! The ginger adds heat, the wasabi gives an earthy dank yummy flavor. Would be great with Asian, some Mexican, Indian and oily saltwater fish.

Let's design a recipe. It may help to get some ginger beer guys here. What y'all think?
 
cjgenever said:
As soon as I read the header I thought ginger beer. Wasabi ginger beer.hell yes! The ginger adds heat, the wasabi gives an earthy dank yummy flavor. Would be great with Asian, some Mexican, Indian and oily saltwater fish.

Let's design a recipe. It may help to get some ginger beer guys here. What y'all think?
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing. My thoughts originated from the basis of the ginger and wasabi that come with a sushi dish. Although that ginger is pickled.

However, I didn't think about the oil spice vs the wasabi's water soluble spice.
 
Howhownow said:
I think it would be important to get the real Japanese stuff, and not what is mostly available which is mostly horseradish.
Also, it can be a pretty... overwhelming flavor without a savory component to balance it. I like the idea of a hint in a lager, even one with the sole purpose of being consumed with food.
Click to expand...

Unless you are in Japan and willing to drop some serious cash, you ain't getting real wasabi. In the rest of the world, there are two options: 1) the horseradish stuff that is colored green with food dye, and 2) the stuff that contains 2-5% Wasabia Japonica (the real stuff). You don't get 100%, or anywhere even remotely close, Wasabia Japonica outside of Japan and without dropping a load of cash.

So, I don't know how important it really is.
 
podz said:
Unless you are in Japan and willing to drop some serious cash, you ain't getting real wasabi. In the rest of the world, there are two options: 1) the horseradish stuff that is colored green with food dye, and 2) the stuff that contains 2-5% Wasabia Japonica (the real stuff). You don't get 100%, or anywhere even remotely close, Wasabia Japonica outside of Japan and without dropping a load of cash.

So, I don't know how important it really is.
Click to expand...

Well, the flavor is quite different. Since I doubt you need a lot for inclusion in beer (you want to be able to swallow the stuff) you can get a moderate amount for like $15, if you're willing to use a dried variety.

http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.493062/sc.2/category.2/.f

I can't find the fresh rhizomes, even online, for less than like $50.

Is $15 expensive for a 5, or 10 gallon brew? Yeah, but it's also pretty comparable to what you can spend on cacao nibs, vanilla beans, or a couple pounds of fresh cherries, so as far as specialty ingredients go, it's not crazy.
 
I like the ginger idea. Info about water soluble and not an oil is intersting..but I don't get how that would remove the heat? That said I want flavor and not heat. What about a tincture of some sort?

Also..I like the smoked red wasabi I idea..but I have my heart set on a lager. Thanks for the links yreval. .I'll check them out.
 
jbaysurfer said:
I like the ginger idea. Info about water soluble and not an oil is intersting..but I don't get how that would remove the heat? That said I want flavor and not heat. What about a tincture of some sort?

Also..I like the smoked red wasabi I idea..but I have my heart set on a lager. Thanks for the links yreval. .I'll check them out.
Click to expand...

I'm excited to hear your results if you go through with this. If your lager works out, I may try a wasabi IPA at some point. I think the pineyness of some hops could play well, and it'd be a great summer+sushi drink.
 
jbaysurfer said:
I like the ginger idea. Info about water soluble and not an oil is intersting..but I don't get how that would remove the heat? That said I want flavor and not heat. What about a tincture of some sort?

Also..I like the smoked red wasabi I idea..but I have my heart set on a lager. Thanks for the links yreval. .I'll check them out.
Click to expand...

If I recall correctly, Wasabi, Mustard, Horse Radish and such all have a spice that when the plant itself is breached the heat, for lack of a better word, develops. When it is being prepared, a vinegar is used to lock the heat in at the point it is added and prevent further chemical reaction as when it is being prepared the heat grows to a point then the reactions continue and it drops. Hence why you can get versions with different amounts of heat.

I think what this means is that by adding it to a more watery solution (wort) that the compounds that cause the burn may come unlinked to the vinegar and allow the reaction to finish and the heat to dissipate. I still think it is worth an experiment though.

Science B*tches!
 
Found this in my favorite local beer store. Might give you a starting point. I wanted to try it, but wasn't feeling like throwing down 11$ for a beer that day.

ImageUploadedByHome Brew1415976132.556497.jpg
 

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