strange brew

[bazooka]

Just wondering, has anyone tried to make their own recipe using ingredients not normally found in your average brew like certain spices or herbs???? If so, what was the outcome like?? I suppose the possibilities are endless, although I don't think I'm quite brave enough try something that's totally off the wall!

[paul84043]

The belgians have been doing it for hundreds of years...
There are beers with pretty much anything you can imagine including chili, sausage, every fruit on the planet, and probably lots of things the you DON'T want to imagine in beer!!

[toneyc]

Yeah, look up "scrumpy". <shudder>

:eek:
Toney.

[matt]

Some suggestions:

* Chilli peppers in a wheat beer
* Vanilla beans added to the second-stage ferment of a porter or brown ale.
* Rosemary in an abbey double
* Ginger in just about anything
* Traditional pie spices in brown ale (nutmeg, cinnamon, star anise...)
* Earl Grey Tea in a brittish pale ale or bitter
* Watermelon in pils
* Honeydew in Wit
* Carrots and dates in brown ale (this is one of my favorites....)
* Figs in porter or stout
* Saffron in a strong Belgian trippel

If you really want to try the grand-daddy of all eccentric homebrew recipies, look up Goat Scrotum Porter in Papazians book.

** Important note, chocolate beers are very hard to get right, try using an German Alt yeast, and add some vanilla beans to the secondary stage ferment.