walnut beer... with banana?

**goatee** · 08-06-2012, 07:49 PM

someone mentioned walnut beer (mandrin) in the ''build me a 6 pack'' thread. now its on my mind and i want it.
sure there are other nut beers, hazel nut by Sam Adams, honey nut brown by whatever,, but i want to try a black walnut beer.
mandrin is available in Chicago. maybe the closest to me. (metro Detroit)
the good news is, a friend of mine , Ben,, was asking me what flavors i would want to try as he home brews.
i called him today and he likes the idea, and is going to Chicago soon.

then its a matter of finding and or looking into where to get walnuts. are they seasonal at all? ect. ect.

another friend has several bottles of a black walnut liquor. he says they dont make it anymore, purchased them from over seas. online? maybe i dont remember now, but it sure sounds good. i think he said he paid $200 per bottle. but anyway... back to the beer.

im thinking of doing a nut beer, and also maybe doing a banana nut. beer is really nothing more than liquid bread right? just a hint of banana though. not a lot. a sweet nut if you will.

any home brewers try anything like this before?

**Kazeryu** · 08-07-2012, 08:17 AM

I recall reading that black walnut infusions took a very long time (as much as a year or more) but were very rewarding.

**goatee** · 08-07-2012, 02:41 PM

holy cow!!!!

**rebos** · 08-07-2012, 07:38 PM

I've had a decent Chestnut beer from Corsica.

I've also had a lovely Canadian wheat beer with Banana notes. Very nice, indeed.

Banana and Walnut are, of course, a fine pairing. I think there is potential for a good beer here.

Keep us posted.

**Rodeoflyer** · 08-07-2012, 09:19 PM

I believe California is the world's largest walnut producer.

Regarding the banana, I had a hefeweizen (sp?) once with a hint of banana once. It wasn't bad.

**Slash McCoy** · 08-07-2012, 09:33 PM

Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey features walnuts in a banana base, with the addition of little bars of hard dark chocolate, and it is sublime. Maybe some chocolate in the walnut/banana beer would work. Call it "Drunkey Monkey". (tm)(pat. pend.)(©)

**goatee** · 08-07-2012, 10:49 PM

update: after asking a "nut" guy (george) about the infusion process, he mentioned just getting an extract... see,, i just drink it, ben is the beer guy.."brewer".. george also said if you get tickets at the right time, you can get a train ticket to chicago for as little as $20. george said get the extract and experiment with amounts.
im thinking,, go to chicago and get the mandrin and sample it. get a plain beer, add extract to see how much it takes to get similar results. (i understand this wont be the same as actual brewing) this will be more for ben. for me??? just an excuse to drink more beer.

then i got thinking about the actual flavor of walnut. seems to me like its just a darker, heavier, version of other nut flavors. so now im wondering why it is not as prevalent as,, hazel nut, butter pecan, almond... BTW reminds me i have to go to that other thread where i was talking about razor rock classic. i said it smelled like amaretto. (and it does) but amaretto is not cherry. its almond. did not know that. george said take some almond extract and close your eyes, take a big whiff. smells just like cherries. (maraschino that is) maraschino is just the method of preservation. (that,, i did know)
but back to the point.... walnut,, no love...??? i definitely want to try some of that ice cream!! for sure.

**rebos** · 08-07-2012, 11:19 PM

I'm all about walnuts. They're one of my favorite nuts. Top 5, for sure. I get a certain banana walnut bread at the local grocery. The two flavours really go together; banana with is creamy sweetness and walnut with is nutty bitterness. You'll see I'm not food critic ;)

I think a banana walnut ale would be worth a go. Unfortunately I've never brewed my own beer so I can't be much help in the way of advice and suggestions.

That's interesting about simply introducing an extract . . . I've never stopped to think about how my favorite pumpkin beer gets it pumpkin flavour or how my favorite raspberry beer gets its raspberry flavour. Hmmm.....

**pdillon** · 08-08-2012, 08:11 AM

An awesome new microbrewery here in STL called Perennial Artisan Ales has a delicious black walnut beer called Black Walnut Dunkel:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25888/75797/

I don't homebrew, but maybe you could get some ideas from looking at that. Maybe it's just suited towards my tastes, but I love what they're doing over there.

I've also had this banana nut bread beer:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/664/5488/

**the_edski** · 08-08-2012, 08:17 AM

+1 to Wells Banana Bread beer. Very delicious! I am intrigued by the thought of walnut beer with banana....

**goatee** · 08-08-2012, 02:58 PM

thanks for the links. i will def. check them out.
i ordered 2 4oz. jars of walnut extract. (the real stuff).. after doing a bit of reading up on it, i found all these health benefits to it. i also assumed the fake or artificial stuff would not, and i read several reviews where they claimed it did not taste as good.so,, as soon as that come's in, i'll try it on ice cream.

**Dave258** · 08-08-2012, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by the_edski

+1 to Wells Banana Bread beer. Very delicious! I am intrigued by the thought of walnut beer with banana....

If you like Wells Banana Bread Beer, buy a Young's Double Chocolate Stout, and mix them half and half. It tastes great together, Bananas and chocolate!

Originally Posted by goatee

thanks for the links. i will def. check them out.
i ordered 2 4oz. jars of walnut extract. (the real stuff).. after doing a bit of reading up on it, i found all these health benefits to it. i also assumed the fake or artificial stuff would not, and i read several reviews where they claimed it did not taste as good.so,, as soon as that come's in, i'll try it on ice cream.

The thing that I would worry about with the nuts are the oils you will get from them. You will kill any head retention, and possibly even slow down fermentation. The extracts may help with that.
What yeast will you use? If you use a German Hefeweizen strain, and ferment it on the warmer side (not too warm!) you will get a bunch of the Banana notes. That is unless you are aiming for a true Banana beer, and add bananas to the fermentation.

**tommyguns** · 08-08-2012, 05:38 PM

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just had it the other day its not an everyday drinker but man was it good

**Walter Sobchak** · 08-11-2012, 09:58 AM

Isn't there a commercially available Banana Nut Stout?

I'm almost positive I saw one at a fancy liquor store a month or so ago. Next time I pass by there I'll take a look.

**benvh** · 08-11-2012, 11:33 AM

I really can't imagine anything worse. Definitely not up my alley. To each his own.

Ben

**goatee** · 08-12-2012, 03:23 PM

extract came in today. it's definitely something! WOW!! i think if this is done correctly, it should go down like mothers milk.

**Colt Hammerless** · 08-13-2012, 03:07 PM

I was going to mention the Wells Banana Bread beer, but couldn't remember the name. Haven't tried it yet, need to find a bottle. Walter, do let us know if you find out. The idea of a banana nut stout is mouth watering!

Paul

**the_edski** · 08-13-2012, 03:10 PM

Thanks for the idea, Dave! I enjoy Young's Double Chocolate Stout as well, sounds like a match made in beer heaven!

Originally Posted by Dave258

If you like Wells Banana Bread Beer, buy a Young's Double Chocolate Stout, and mix them half and half. It tastes great together, Bananas and chocolate!

**Dave258** · 08-13-2012, 08:09 PM

Originally Posted by the_edski

Thanks for the idea, Dave! I enjoy Young's Double Chocolate Stout as well, sounds like a match made in beer heaven!

Young's Double Chocolate Stout is one of my favorite "Dessert Beers!" Youngs and Wells are actually the same Company/Brewery; Wells & Young's Ltd. Another tidbit of useless information.

**Walter Sobchak** · 08-14-2012, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by Colt Hammerless

I was going to mention the Wells Banana Bread beer, but couldn't remember the name. Haven't tried it yet, need to find a bottle. Walter, do let us know if you find out. The idea of a banana nut stout is mouth watering!

Paul

I looked at a nicely stocked store yesterday and didn't see it. Maybe I'm just thinking of Wells. It's stocked on the same shelf right next to Murphy's, Guinness, and Young's, so maybe I just had a subliminal thing going on there.

Originally Posted by Dave258

Young's Double Chocolate Stout is one of my favorite "Dessert Beers!" Youngs and Wells are actually the same Company/Brewery; Wells & Young's Ltd. Another tidbit of useless information.

I don't do a lot of the dessert beers. Not a huge fan of berry/cherry/pumpkin stuff, either. But I do very much enjoy Young's!