[Mdonuskanich]

I use Beersmith but  you cannot pick out roasted chestnuts on it for a recipe. Do I treat it and use it like any other malt? I`m looking to use it in something like an American Brown Ale.

[leejoreilly]

I've never used chestnuts in a beer, but the latest issue of Brew Your Own magazine (March-April 2016) has a recipe for a chestnut beer in an article about craft brewing in Italy.

As far as BeerSmith goes, you can add new ingredients to BeerSmith's data files. I think I'd likely add chestnuts as a miscellaneous flavor ingredient, like coffee, rather than a malt. But I haven't done any research to support this.

[reverseapachemaster]

Apparently one can brew a GF beer exclusively with chestnuts so you definitely need to treat it as a starch source in the mash rather than a flavor adjunct. I'm not sure exactly what kind of conversion one gets out of chestnuts but that has to be addressed somewhere in GF resources online.

[The Professor]

Apparently one can brew a GF beer exclusively with chestnuts so you definitely need to treat it as a starch source in the mash rather than a flavor adjunct. I'm not sure exactly what kind of conversion one gets out of chestnuts but that has to be addressed somewhere in GF resources online.

Definitely as a starch adjunct, not a malt adjunct.  You could actually even just use chestnut flour (available in many grocery stores nowadays, as well as stores especializing in Italian foods) and include it in the mash.

[cspence]

I've tried acorns in the mash, with a cereal mash, too, and didn't seem to get much extract out of them. The final beer did have good head retention and a chill haze, so maybe they contributed protein. But they may be quite different from chestnuts.

Clay

[IMperry9]

I have brewed 3 brown ales using roasted chestnuts.

The first experience was using them in a 1 gallon kit from Brooklyn Brew shop. They were added at the beginning of the boil. I don't have the exact recipe on hand to post and it was my second homebrew but I only noticed a slight nuttiness.

The second time I used them I did an Chestnut brown ale similar to my first with the kit using 12-16 roasted chestnuts for a 5 gallon recipe. This beer was nutty and roasty/bitter.

The third beer I added cocoa nibs to the same recipe as my second attempt which I feel helped slightly round out the flavor. Here is the recipe. The low IBU's paid off I believe because the cocoa nibs contributed some bitterness also.
Grain Bill:
   • 9.2lbs Irish Pale Malt
   • 1lbs Flaked Barley
   • 1lbs Crystal 60L
   • .57lbs Chocolate Malt 225L
Boil Additions:
   • 1oz Brewers Gold @ 60min
   • Roasted Chestnuts @ 60min
   • 1oz Organic Cocoa Nibs @ 5min
IBU:23.13
   • English Ale Yeast WLP002
Stats:
   • OG:1.062
   • FG:1.020
   • ABV:5.4%
Secondary Additions:
   • 1oz Cocoa nibs for 1 week following primary fermentation