Beer made with granola?
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McGarnigle
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Granola has rolled oats and nuts and other stuff that isn't much fermentable. You could use malted oats for most of it, but I think your recipe won't work.
TimpanogosSlim
Well-Known Member
I'd be more worried about how much oil is in granola.
The OP could cereal mash those oats and get the starches in them fermented, but when you look at the recipe, granola is pretty greasy.
It's not a terrible idea for a flavor profile, but best case scenario he's going to be trying to rack out from under oily scum like the guy who put cream in his wort.
Maybe just make a mild oatmeal stout that has some macerated dried fruits in the secondary and a touch of walnut extract.
(macerated = mix with vodka and mash up a bit, then soak overnight in closed container before dumping them in the secondary.)
I would try it. Flaked oats don't give you any fermentable sugars anyway. My understanding is that flaked oats just add a little body and maybe some head retention to the beer. You might actually get some flavor out of granola. Try a small 1 gallon batch and see. 
TimpanogosSlim
Well-Known Member
Thinking about this some more today, i guess i had a little trail mix on the brain, but that is probably ok.
As others have said nuts are problematic so unless you are up for de-fatting nuts extracts are the way to go there, but if your favorite granola has sunflower seeds in it, sunflower flour is available as a gluten-free product and you could add a little late in the boil for flavor.
Like i said, not a terrible beer idea. You may want to do 1 gallon test batches at first because flavor strength can go up or down when you add things to beer.
As others have said nuts are problematic so unless you are up for de-fatting nuts extracts are the way to go there, but if your favorite granola has sunflower seeds in it, sunflower flour is available as a gluten-free product and you could add a little late in the boil for flavor.
Like i said, not a terrible beer idea. You may want to do 1 gallon test batches at first because flavor strength can go up or down when you add things to beer.
boscobeans
Well-Known Member
Maybe a type of trail mix that doesn't have the added oils that most granolas have in them would be easier.
I would worry about the oils myself.
bosco
I would worry about the oils myself.
bosco
Thanks for all of the helpful ideas guys! Before I try this I'd wait a few years probably until I get really comfortable dabbling in the beer sciences and until I have my own place but in going to really think about what you guys said for when I go to design my own recipe. I'd love to make my very own beer I just don't really know where to start
TimpanogosSlim
Well-Known Member
Right, but there's no reason not to make a granola-themed brown ale with 30-50% specialty grains.
Here is alton brown's recipe:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
Leave out the oil and salt
Replace the rolled oats with flaked oats (or instant oats, which may in fact be the same thing)
Tiny bit of almond extract for the almonds.
People say that roasted unsweetened coconut shavings work just fine in the scondary for coconut porters, so do that. Toast in the oven on paper until lightly browned and dump in the secondary.
Dunno what to tell you about cashews. Too fatty. May have to go without. There are alcohol-based nut extracts of several types you can use for nutty flavors though. Dunno if i've seen cashew extract.
The maple and the brown sugar might get lost in the beer. Use a dark grade B maple syrup and maybe use more of it. Use molasses instead of brown sugar. It doesn't really matter when you add these - flameout perhaps.
Mix the raisins with vodka, mash 'em up, and leave on the counter overnight before adding to secondary. You might reduce the raisin content - alcohol extraction works very well on them.
If cinnamon is something you like in your granola, be careful with it, because alcohol extracts cinnamon flavor very well.
If your granola has banana chips in it, well, banana is a flavor that gets lost in beer. People who have made banana bread ales with real bananas report that you need something like 2 pounds of banana mash per gallon to get the flavor through. Other people are happy with banana-like esters and just ferment warm with a wheat beer yeast.
For the fatty parts of granola, or heck, even maybe a technique for all of it, this info might help:
http://ryanbrews.blogspot.com/2011/10/fat-washing-using-fatty-or-oily-foods.html
http://ryanbrews.blogspot.com/2011/10/fat-washing-using-fatty-or-oily-foods.html
TimpanogosSlim
Well-Known Member
Have i mentioned that i am pretty sure that homebrewing has a corrolary to Rule 34?
If you can think of it, someone has brewed with it.
If you can think of it, someone has brewed with it.
Holy beer, I didn't think I'd get a chemistry lesson for asking about granola! I'm going to really learn all of the beer techniques so I can do this. That sounds pretty good, and wow 2 lbs bananas per gallon is a lot... Thanks for all of the info! I'm coming back to this thread if I need more lessons!
I would love to find an all grain recipe for Dogfish Head American Beauty. It is an imperial pale ale brewed with granola. I would love to take a stab at it but I have no idea how much granola I should use.
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