Hey everyone! I just started the brewing process and since it is colder, I wanted to make a peanut butter (maybe add banana) stout but I had a quick question.
I am using a Oatmeal Stout 1 Gallon Craft Beer Brewing Kit (from BrewDemon) and was wondering at what step I should add the peanut butter (probably PB2) and maybe bananas to the recipe.
Can anyone help?
My advice is not to do it. You state you are new to home brewing which means you need to nail down your process first to make decent, drinkable beer before attempting more advanced steps. Read, brew, repeat. I’ve never use PB2 because it’s not my thing, but I think it would be problematic in such a small batch as you would have to add a significant amount and end up with a lot more trub and a lot less beer while not achieving your goal. Bananas seem to be a worse idea. This flavor is usually derived from the yeast strain and not fresh fruit. If you really want to add these flavors use extracts.
Get a loaf of good bread, and some of your favorite grape jelly. Then you can make a great PB&J sandwich! That is as close as I would ever get to putting peanut butter in beer.
Although, I did try some peanut butter bourbon. It was doable.
THIS is great advice.
While I agree with some of the points posted already, especially that this is one heck of a beer to be trying with little experience, in the end this is your hobby, and you should do whatever you want…follow your muse.
I’ve had a few excellent Peanut Butter beers (Stouts and Porters) and the idea of adding Peanut Butter to these types of beers is a good one, though it’s highly likely you won’t hit a bullseye on your first try. No matter. Brew and learn, brew and learn. If you really want this to succeed, you will get there eventually. It’s not impossible.
I thought this article about adding peanuts/peanut butter might be worth a read:
And this place has a ton of interesting extracts and tips on how to use them, though I’ve never used any of them myself:
If I were trying this, I would probably go with flavor extracts at packaging. Add a measured amount of extract to a bottle of routine Stout until you hit your “Aha” moment and then scale that amount up to your batch size. Err on the side of caution, take good notes, and most of all have fun.