I started home brewing beer in March of 2010. Like most people I started with kits, but I quickly moved on to buying my own ingredients. Around June of 2010 I decided I wanted to take a shot at my own recipe for the 2010 Ohio State football season (of which I am a big fan). I have experience with Columbus hops and I figured since OSU is in Columbus, OH a "Buckeye Pale Ale" using Columbus Hops would be a good start.
I used the grain bill of a previously successful maple beer and used 3 oz. of Columbus hops. 3 oz. for 60 min., 1/2 oz. for 15 min. and 1/2 oz. dry hopped. The recipe was as follows:
Grains:
1 lb Toasted Pale Malt 2.2L 6 Row
1/2 lb Crystal Malt 20L
Extract:
9.9 lbs Golden Light LME
Hops:
2 oz. Columbus Hops (14.2% AA)- 60 Min
.5 oz. Columbus Hops (14.2% AA)- 15 Min
.5 oz. Columbus Hops (14.2% AA)- Dry Hop
Yeast:
Safale US-05 American Style Dry Yeast
OG: 1.065
FG: 1.010
ABV: 7.1%
The beer is currently conditioning. I get an early preview this weekend. During Bottling it tasted good, but it is more of an imperial pale ale and I not everyone likes those...
I brewed this and was telling my friends about it when one of them made a joke that it "would be a chocolate peanut butter beer". Anyone familiar with OSU knows that the mascot is a buckeye, (which is a type of nut) and that a candy version of the buckeye is made with a peanut butter ball covered in chocolate resembling a buckeye nut.
That got me thinking... Chocolate stouts are great, so why wouldn't a chocolate peanut butter beer work? I began doing research on the subject and found a few attempts but no real good recipes. I did find out that the oil in peanut butter will kill head retention and can actually cause yeast to break down on a cellular level. One option was to de-oil the peanut butter, but that would take 6 weeks and I would need to brew right away. Another option was something called "powdered peanut butter", which is basically natural peanut butter that has already been de-oiled.
I got online and found a product called "PB2" from Bell Plantation. Using the store locator link on their website I was directed to a local tanning salon. Yes, a tanning salon. I figured it was wrong, but I gave it a shot and called them.
Me: "I have what might be a really stupid question..."
Lady on phone: "OK..."
Me: "Do you have powdered peanut butter?"
Lady on phone: "Yes, it's $5 per bottle."
Me: "OK, I'll be over shortly."
I had to ask why they had it. The lady who I talked to was the owner, and she was on a diet, loved the stuff and started carrying it to get it cheap. It was the only food product she carried.
I decided to make a porter, because most of my friends aren't big stout fans, and I wanted something sweeter than stout. So, with powdered peanut butter in hand I made the following recipe and I am brewing it this evening. More posts will surely follow, but until then, here is my recipe:
Buckeye Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter
Grains:
12oz Chocolate Malt
8oz Black Patent Malt
8oz Flaked Barley
16oz Crystal, 60L
Extract:
6.6Lbs Classic Dark LME
Hops:
1oz Perle (7.7%) Full 60
.5oz Fuggle(4.5%) (15 min)
*(Keep .5oz for dry if needed)
Adjuncts:
8oz Powdered Peanut Butter (2oz @ 5 min, 25 min, 40 min, 55 min)
Irish Moss
*Can add Hersheys Dark or milk Chocolate Powder to secondary if needed
Yeast:
Safbrew S-33 Dry Brewing Yeast
*These ingredients are optional and may or may not be used depending on taste tests at transfer to secondary.
1. Steep all the grains at 152-165 for 30 min
2. Bring to boil, add all LME
3. Bring back to boil add hops and peanut butter as indicated
(NOTE: because of the amount of stirring this recipe will require, all hops will be added directly to
wort)
4. Chill to 80 degrees, move to primary
5. Aerate Wort 30 min.
6. Hydrate Yeast for 10 min.
7. Add yeast
8. Ferment 5 days move to secondary
9. Check taste add additional ingredients if necessary.
10. Ferment in secondary for 16 days.
11. Bottle, cross fingers and drink at kick off on September 2nd!
