Chicago Style Hot Dog--Beer?

[mfoutis]

Before I say anything just let me preface by saying this absolutely is not a joke at all.

Last time I was brewing, I was taking up most of the stove space and my roommate wanted to make some food and made a joke about boiling some hot dogs in my wort. Of course I didn't let him, and have made many batches since without thinking about it. But I was talking to one of my friends yesterday about how we both wanted to make a really weird experimental beer, even if the end result wasn't that great--just to do it, have some fun, mess around.

So: Chicago style hot dog beer.

I was thinking a really straight forward pale ale, or maybe a really bready english style. Lots of bready, biscuity (dare I say bun-like?) malts, like maris otter, beligan biscuit, etc.

Then I was thinking about boiling a huge amount of hotdogs at the beginning/middle of the boil, just so that the rest of the boil could kill any weirdness or funk that the addition of hotdogs could have added. Also considering adding onions, sauerkraut, and giardiniera at some point.

Dry hopping with mustard seed?

Like I said previously, I won't be too upset if this comes out really gross-however I do definitely want it to come out as beer and not as a huge infected mess. So, I'm going to put some thought and time into it before just jumping in. What problems could I run into with meat? Residual greasiness? Oils that might not be healthy for yeast? Is there a better more straightforward way to add meat or meat flavors to beer?

Also before I get raked over the coals--I realize this is a bad idea. I realize that most likely this will be a waste of time, brewing materials, (as well as food!) but I'm trying it anyways because--well, its hilarious.

Help me?

 

[Yooper]

Yep, it'll be gross alright. The oils from the hot dogs will float around and they'll ensure no head retention at all and grease floating around on the top.

I had a "hot dog beer" once at a competition. The beer must have been kept too long on a autolyzed yeast cake and it tasted a lot like meaty hot dogs. It was gross, but not as bad as this sounds I'm afraid!

 

[NivekD]

Sounds....disgusting. Go for it.

 

[forstmeister]

So, how old were you when you were first dropped on your head?

Kidding, obviously, but...wow. I almost want to see this happen. And I want to see lots of photos. And a video of the tasting event. And I want to be able to contribute to your eulogy...

Have fun with it. As Yooper said, the meat will kill the head retention and it may even taste "slick" or greasy. I have a friend who aged a stout on bacon. It was...interesting...

 

[TheZymurgist]

Been done before:



On a serious note, I'd be worried about potential spoilage. I know they say nothing harmful can grow in beer, but with the addition of meat fats and oils, with fermentation sitting around 70 degrees for at least a week, I would be afraid you could get some serious nasties growing in there. At the very least, and probably best-case scenario, you'd probably suffer from head-loss from the oils.

I would try first doing a boil using only the ingredients you plan to add to the beer, then taste it. That would at least give you some idea of what you'd be dealing with in the final product.

 

[TheZymurgist]

Now that I think about it, they do have Bacon beer, without any spoilage issues. But it's gross.

 

[FourSeasonAngler]

What can you flavor the beer with that will mimic a Vienna hotdog that will also not bring any animal fats into the equation?

Chicago dog:

Vienna all beef frank
sweet relish
onions
cucumbers
pickle
sport pepper
tomato
mustard
all on a poppy seed bun


I know Vienna dogs are very heavily garlic seasoned and very salty. Start there and work your way into the "beefy" flavor. I know worchester sauce is a bit beefy... beef bouillon cubes maybe?

 

[Sippin37]

In order to add the hotdog meat (if hotdogs even contain what anyone would call true "meat") flavor you might want to just boil some hotdogs in a pot of water. Then dump the water in a casserole dish or something and throw it in the freezer. Once it is frozen I think you can safely scrape away all of the oil that floated to the top. Then thaw out of hotdog flavor water and add that to taste in the secondary. I'm not sure how much, if any, oils would remain in that hotdog flavor water but atleast it will allow you to add however much or little hotdog flavoring you want to the final product.

I think you guys should be forced to consume at a minimum one beer of the final product. That would raise the stakes a little! Cheers!

 

[Randy_Bugger]

If you boil bitter orange peel too long, it smells like hot dogs.

 

[MadCnty]

I used to work at a hotdog stand that served Chicago Style hot dogs... The fact is they NEED all of the toppings to cover the flavors from the Vienna Beef hotdog itself... JMHO Do not get me wrong I love the hotdog style (hold the sport peppers please) itself...

 

[tgmartin000]

Would not proceed.

 

[Ramitt]

 

[mbach72]

Chicago style dogs are great......as hot dogs. Beer is great....as beer. Don't f#$! up two good things!!!!!

 

[DrunkleJon]

Wey do it. Worst thing you can have happen is somethink akin to CreamyGoodness and his Okra Mead. Posting a process or at the very least a tasting video is required if you do it though.

See the following thread for how you need to go about the posting of it. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f45/should-i-shouldnt-i-okra-mead-debacle-362191/

 

[CreamyGoodness]

I want to see this happen in the worst way.

 

[FermentedTed]

What can you flavor the beer with that will mimic a Vienna hotdog that will also not bring any animal fats into the equation?

Chicago dog:

Vienna all beef frank
sweet relish
onions
cucumbers
pickle
sport pepper
tomato
mustard
all on a poppy seed bun


I know Vienna dogs are very heavily garlic seasoned and very salty. Start there and work your way into the "beefy" flavor. I know worchester sauce is a bit beefy... beef bouillon cubes maybe?

you forgot the celery salt...

 

[CreamyGoodness]

I added celery SEED to a mead twice and found it to be a very nice addition. Food for thought... or beer.

 

[Thanks_Yeasties]

I've had the Wynkoops rocky mountain oyster stout a few times now, its strangely not all that bad. They use 25 balls (ha!) for an 8 bbl batch and when you drink it the meat "slickness" comes through.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/beer/2012/10/01/joke-wynkoop-brews-rocky-mountain-oyster-stout/6330/

I'm interested in how terrible this turns out and hope to see a tasting vid as well!

 

[amfukuda]

I completely understand me and my buddy's tried making a crawfish beer that came out horrible but I still made everyone who thought this disaster up drink some

 

[Glynn]

I live in chicago and if you ruin a good chicago style hot dog by making a beer out of it i will hunt you down and beat you with a deep dish pizza. If you want your beer to taste like a chi-dog then wash it down with a good home brew

 

[hou_me]

Vegetarian hot dogs might solve the meat grease problem. I've never eaten one so i don't know how close the flavor is.

 

[Gerhard]

I worked at an old regional brewery where the old-timers told me stories of boiling hams in wort....they said the hams were excellent!

 

[hamaien]

Someone did it already, here you go: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/swine-bru-386808/

 

[kingwood-kid]

Vienna all beef frank
sweet relish
onions
cucumbers
pickle
sport pepper
tomato
mustard
all on a poppy seed bun
?

I was thinking that using the MO+Biscuit base to make a smoked Gose would take care of the bun, hot dog, pickle and celery salt. Use mustard seed instead of coriander and you can check one more box. But going vegan-dog with a franktofurter would be better, as you would have a plentiful source of nitrogen for your yeast.