Some weird ingredients out there...

[Ernst-Haeckel]

Recent topics have included wet-cob ale and meat beer. It got me thinking, SWMBO posed a challenge to me recently: make a Doritos beer. I'm all for it, I'll try anything as a 2.5 gallon batch, and I love Doritos and beer. I haven't found much on using chips in beer, so here are my preliminary thoughts:

1) Adding to the mash could be problematic. I am sure all the salt will screw up the mash chemistry. So maybe let the enzymes convert for a good 30 minutes, then add the Doritos to the mash.

2) Fat and oil in the primary is a big problem. But I may be able to strain a lot of it out, and leave some behind in the boil pot because it should float above the wort.

3) Skip the Doritos and just flavor it with a homemade seasoning concoction that is similar to Doritos. Although MSG is a major, and necessary, ingredient to truly replicate the flavor. Not sure how MSG will do in beer....

4) I'll probably go with a light malt on this one, Pilsner, Biscuit, maybe 1 lb of Victory or Vienna.

5) hops.... hoppy or not? I'm leaning APA hoppiness, but part of me says to keep it lightly hopped.


I would love some feedback!

 

[Shooter]

Okay, here's your feedback:

WTF?!?!?!!?

So, yeah, anyway, I would probably go with a light malt as well...

 

[moose123]

brew one of your lighter recipes and stick a Dorito in the pint glass.

 

[Ernst-Haeckel]

brew one of your lighter recipes and stick a Dorito in the pint glass.

I'll tell that to SWMBO. Good enough for me. BTW, I went to college in Fort Collins, miss the hell out of it.

 

[Brewskii]

Try instead to make beer flavored corn chips.

I think it would be infinitely more paletable

 

[Zamial]

If the challenge is to make beer FROM Doritos you may be in trouble...however if it is to make beer that tastes like Doritos you may have a chance...Toasted corn meal in the mash, some artificial cheese flavoring at bottling time and you would prob get pretty close.

While I think this sounds pretty gross, I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Ernst-Haeckel]

If the challenge is to make beer FROM Doritos you may be in trouble...however if it is to make beer that tastes like Doritos you may have a chance...Toasted corn meal in the mash, some artificial cheese flavoring at bottling time and you would prob get pretty close.

While I think this sounds pretty gross, I wish you the best of luck!

Haha, I figured this was one of the less-crazy ideas to be posted to this forum! Yes, the thought of basically watered down doritos sounds gross to me too. But I think this could be done

 

[moose123]

I'll tell that to SWMBO. Good enough for me. BTW, I went to college in Fort Collins, miss the hell out of it.

yea its a great town not sure when you last visited but the word is another brewery is opening i think that makes 11 all within biking distance

 

[GodsStepBrother]

I know Revvy made a cream ale with tortilla chips, instead of using flaked maize. It worked very good apparently. The cheese on those things is going to make for an interesting mash.

 

[Mongrel]

If Rogue can do a Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Porter I don't see why you should be dissuaded from trying to create the Doritos beer. But, I don't think I'd want to try the cool ranch version.

 

[acuenca]

^^ cheers to voodoo doughnuts and any flavor additions using thier products.

+1 on using a cheese flavoring at bottling time


Damn, doritos and a hoppy beer sound mighty nice.... seperately, but good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Revvy]

Actually adding it to the mash is probably your BEST bet. The grain bet will absorb things like oils and salts and act like a filter. I've used tortilla chips in a cream ale and no salt or fat made it through. I had a perfectly tasty beer with great head retention, all the things people said WOULD HAPPEN, didn't.

Malticoulous does a cream ale with popcorn as well.

I've also used ginger snaps and mexican instant hot chocolate in my mash tun as well and both beers have turned out dine..

I would do a small test batch, and go right into the mash tun. If you fail you, you fail, but if you succeed then you shut up the nay sayers....

FYI, the tortilla chips were 50% of my corn bill. I used them because I only had a half pound of flaked maize and my recipe called for a pound.

 

[Ernst-Haeckel]

Thanks for the feedback. I think cream ale is the way to go on this one. That way there are not too many competing flavors. And I really like the idea of using the chips as part of the corn bill.

In the mash tun it is! Revvy made a great point about the grain bed filter.

Cheers!

 

[rycov]

i like the chips in the mash tun idea. but revvy, were your chips plain or flavored? i would think you might loose some dorito flavor that way. might have to compensate later.

 

[broadbill]

I'll add my general warning I usually give on topic such as this: avoid putting anything with preservatives in it into what you'd ultimately like to become beer. Preservatives are added specifically to inhibit processes like fermentation. Hard to make beer without fermentation.

Haven't eaten Doritos in awhile, but I'm willing to bet they have preservatives in them...

 

[Revvy]

i like the chips in the mash tun idea. but revvy, were your chips plain or flavored? i would think you might loose some dorito flavor that way. might have to compensate later.

They were plain, and iirc low salt.

 

[Revvy]

I'll add my general warning I usually give on topic such as this: avoid putting anything with preservatives in it into what you'd ultimately like to become beer. Preservatives are added specifically to inhibit processes like fermentation. Hard to make beer without fermentation.

Haven't eaten Doritos in awhile, but I'm willing to bet they have preservatives in them...

And honestly, it's one of those things that you won't know if it inhibits fermentation until you ACTUALLY try it.

You'd be surprised at what folks do that still turns out....if you follow the iron brewer comps, you'd see that they've even chucked entire STORE BOUGHT pumpkin pies, and other mass market baked goods (like glazed oatmeal cookies) and Fruity Pebbles, into the mash tun or boil or secondary, and those are loaded with preservatives and yet the beer manages to ferment.

January 14, 2010 - GBS Iron Brewer Competition
Jeff Britton, president of the Garage Brewers Society of O'Fallon, Missouri, explains his club's current contest centering around mystery ingredients.

Click to listen

It's one of those things that really, were' only going to know if "the preservatives" are going to inhibit fermentation, if we pitch yeast and it doesn't work.

That shouldn't discourage anyone from not trying. The nice thing about brewing is we can do small batches, 1 gallon, 2.5 gallon, and if it doesn't work we're' not out all that much. And if it does work, we can scale it up.