Bottled Beet Beer

[baloonon]

As an experiment, I made a batch of beet beer which I just bottled. The
base malt is Pilsner, with a bit of Carapils and some toasted and boiled
oats, farro and barley thrown in. It's hopped with Saaz and the yeast is
T-58, OG and FG were 052 and 012.

Oh, and I peeled and sliced and boiled a couple of beets, which yielded
a quart of juice which I added at flameout.

Only after I loaded up the fermenter did it occur to me that I might
stain the plastic, but at bottling I was glad to see that there was no
color left behind.

I tried the beer pre-bottling and I didn't notice any beet flavor or
aroma, which was my goal -- I'd be surprised if a quart of juice made
much impact on five gallons of beer. But the color is pretty impressive
-- it's a strong reddish pink, fortunately darker than bubble gum or
Pepto Bismol.

I'm curious what impact the color may have on people's perception of
taste if they don't know about the beet juice -- they may talk
themselves into tasting cranberries, grapes, berries or even beets. It's
also always possible once it's carbed that a bit of beet aroma emerges
-- I guess I'll know when it's ready for trying in a week or two.

I can't imagine doing this again, but it's an interesting thing to try
on a summer beer.

[Joerg]

Post by baloonon
As an experiment, I made a batch of beet beer which I just bottled. The
base malt is Pilsner, with a bit of Carapils and some toasted and boiled
oats, farro and barley thrown in. It's hopped with Saaz and the yeast is
T-58, OG and FG were 052 and 012.
Oh, and I peeled and sliced and boiled a couple of beets, which yielded
a quart of juice which I added at flameout.
Only after I loaded up the fermenter did it occur to me that I might
stain the plastic, but at bottling I was glad to see that there was no
color left behind.
I tried the beer pre-bottling and I didn't notice any beet flavor or
aroma, which was my goal -- I'd be surprised if a quart of juice made
much impact on five gallons of beer. ...

I notice the same with honey additions with several kinds of beer. For
those I usually add around 1-1/2lbs of clover honey at flame-out. While
that slightly increases gravity and thus ABV there is no honey-taste.
Not even sweetness like there is in a Belgian Tripel. It does round out
some of the more aggressive hop tastes though, a fact that my wife
appreciates. She isn't a fan of very hoppy brews.

Post by baloonon
... But the color is pretty impressive
-- it's a strong reddish pink, fortunately darker than bubble gum or
Pepto Bismol.

That would be something, Pepto-Pilsener :-)

Post by baloonon
I'm curious what impact the color may have on people's perception of
taste ...

I don't remember who it was but someone influential in the UK, maybe
Winston Churchill. As a sort of prank all food on a buffet table was
food-colored in blue. Hardly anyone touched the food from that table.

Post by baloonon
... if they don't know about the beet juice -- they may talk
themselves into tasting cranberries, grapes, berries or even beets. It's
also always possible once it's carbed that a bit of beet aroma emerges
-- I guess I'll know when it's ready for trying in a week or two.
I can't imagine doing this again, but it's an interesting thing to try
on a summer beer.

Tomorrow is bottling day, a Saison and a Koelsch. A NZ-style IPA and a
Belgian Quadrupel will need another six weeks in secondary.

Unfortunately it'll likely rain tomorrow morning so I'll have to bottle
inside. Harumph!

[baloonon]

Post by Joerg

Post by baloonon
I'm curious what impact the color may have on people's perception of
taste ...

I don't remember who it was but someone influential in the UK, maybe
Winston Churchill. As a sort of prank all food on a buffet table was
food-colored in blue. Hardly anyone touched the food from that table.

There have been experiments where wine experts have tasted white wine
tinted red and have picked up flavors they didn't experience when
tasting the wine in its natural state. I'm pretty sure those have been
replicated with light colored beer that has had dark brown food coloring
added. Which doesn't necessarily mean that people are making up their
perceptions, but they're definitely being shaped.

Post by Joerg
Tomorrow is bottling day, a Saison and a Koelsch. A NZ-style IPA and a
Belgian Quadrupel will need another six weeks in secondary.

What kind of NZ hops? I'm interested in trying some new tropical fruit
flavored hops. Of the ones I've had, Citra is still the only one I
really like, but I remain hopeful that there's more I'll like.

[Joerg]

Post by baloonon

Post by Joerg

Post by baloonon
I'm curious what impact the color may have on people's perception of
taste ...

I don't remember who it was but someone influential in the UK, maybe
Winston Churchill. As a sort of prank all food on a buffet table was
food-colored in blue. Hardly anyone touched the food from that table.

There have been experiments where wine experts have tasted white wine
tinted red and have picked up flavors they didn't experience when
tasting the wine in its natural state.

In some parts of France and Italy they'd flog people for doing that :-)

Post by baloonon
... I'm pretty sure those have been
replicated with light colored beer that has had dark brown food coloring
added. Which doesn't necessarily mean that people are making up their
perceptions, but they're definitely being shaped.

Post by Joerg
Tomorrow is bottling day, a Saison and a Koelsch. A NZ-style IPA and a
Belgian Quadrupel will need another six weeks in secondary.

What kind of NZ hops? I'm interested in trying some new tropical fruit
flavored hops. Of the ones I've had, Citra is still the only one I
really like, but I remain hopeful that there's more I'll like.

New Zealand Pacific Jade:

https://ychhops.com/varieties/pacific-jade

I haven't tried it yet because this IPA needs to remain in secondary for
another month. A wee sip at transfer from primary tasted promising. Ok,
it was more than one sip.

If it tastes good I'll also try a simpler version with less of the hops
(my wife doesn't like too hoppy) and only Gold base malt, and less for a
lower ABV. Then we'd have our usual "his" and "hers" beers.

It's currently raining on my parade so now I'll have to bottle inside,
had to cart the fermenters back in early this morning. Grumble.

[baloonon]

Post by Joerg
https://ychhops.com/varieties/pacific-jade
I haven't tried it yet because this IPA needs to remain in secondary for
another month. A wee sip at transfer from primary tasted promising. Ok,
it was more than one sip.
If it tastes good I'll also try a simpler version with less of the hops
(my wife doesn't like too hoppy) and only Gold base malt, and less for a
lower ABV. Then we'd have our usual "his" and "hers" beers.

Report on how it turns out, I'd be interested in how it compares to other
varieties used a lot in IPAs.

[Joerg]

Post by baloonon

Post by Joerg
https://ychhops.com/varieties/pacific-jade
I haven't tried it yet because this IPA needs to remain in secondary for
another month. A wee sip at transfer from primary tasted promising. Ok,
it was more than one sip.
If it tastes good I'll also try a simpler version with less of the hops
(my wife doesn't like too hoppy) and only Gold base malt, and less for a
lower ABV. Then we'd have our usual "his" and "hers" beers.

Report on how it turns out, I'd be interested in how it compares to other
varieties used a lot in IPAs.

I shall do that but it'll be another four weeks in secondary and then
two in the bottles for carbonation. With some IPAs I also found that
they tasted a bit harsh even for hop lovers like myself but after
another months or two in the bottle they mellowed nicely.

[Joerg]

Post by Joerg

Post by baloonon

Post by Joerg
https://ychhops.com/varieties/pacific-jade
I haven't tried it yet because this IPA needs to remain in secondary for
another month. A wee sip at transfer from primary tasted promising. Ok,
it was more than one sip.
If it tastes good I'll also try a simpler version with less of the hops
(my wife doesn't like too hoppy) and only Gold base malt, and less for a
lower ABV. Then we'd have our usual "his" and "hers" beers.

Report on how it turns out, I'd be interested in how it compares to other
varieties used a lot in IPAs.

I shall do that but it'll be another four weeks in secondary and then
two in the bottles for carbonation. With some IPAs I also found that
they tasted a bit harsh even for hop lovers like myself but after
another months or two in the bottle they mellowed nicely.

Just racked off a Pliny clone and a Belgian Quadrupel to secondary. When
I opened the lid of the Quadrupel fermenter a whiff of Brandy wafted
into my nose. Tasted a sip, then another, and just to make sure a 3rd.
That could move Belgian Tripel to 2nd place on my all time favorite list
and will be the hardest 10 week wait for a beer.

[baloonon]

Post by Joerg
Just racked off a Pliny clone and a Belgian Quadrupel to secondary.
When I opened the lid of the Quadrupel fermenter a whiff of Brandy
wafted into my nose. Tasted a sip, then another, and just to make sure
a 3rd. That could move Belgian Tripel to 2nd place on my all time
favorite list and will be the hardest 10 week wait for a beer.

I opened the beet beer, and it's good. It's a nice easy drinking summer
beer, and my wife who is not a beer fan liked it. The head isn't quite what
I'd like, so maybe next time if I make something like it I'd bump up the
wheat content a bit. No apparent beet flavor, but the color definitely
plays with expectations even when I know what's in it - it's hard not to
think pink lemonade.

[Joerg]

Post by baloonon

Post by Joerg
Just racked off a Pliny clone and a Belgian Quadrupel to secondary.
When I opened the lid of the Quadrupel fermenter a whiff of Brandy
wafted into my nose. Tasted a sip, then another, and just to make sure
a 3rd. That could move Belgian Tripel to 2nd place on my all time
favorite list and will be the hardest 10 week wait for a beer.

I opened the beet beer, and it's good. It's a nice easy drinking summer
beer, and my wife who is not a beer fan liked it. The head isn't quite what
I'd like, so maybe next time if I make something like it I'd bump up the
wheat content a bit. No apparent beet flavor, but the color definitely
plays with expectations even when I know what's in it - it's hard not to
think pink lemonade.

Nice. The color would probably be less of an issue for sour beer
drinkers. One of my favorite pubs (Mraz Brewing in El Dorado Hills,
California) specializes in sours and they often have really loud and
weird colors. Like this:

https://untappd.com/b/mraz-brewing-company-blueberry-american-sour/1812646