[HopDen]

I'm going to make Randy Moshers' Oatmeal Cookie Ale recipe. It is his riff on his Old Nut Case Brown Ale. Taking a cue from his book, Radical Brewing, I want to add some roasted nuts, specifically, chestnuts. I was fortunate to purchase 15 pounds of locally grown Ohio chestnuts yesterday. First time that I have had chestnuts this fresh and I can attest that there is absolutely no comparison to store bought chestnuts. So that leads to my questions, Has anyone used chestnuts in a beer? How did you add them? My thought is to roast, dry and add to mash. Possibly adding some to the kettle too.

I'm also aware that adding chestnuts to oatmeal cookies is probably an oddball move but I won't know until I know. Maybe I'll make cookies first.

Any thoughts or suggestions is greatly appreciated!!

[Northern_Brewer]

Birradamare do a beer called Kasta that uses chestnuts.

One thing is that shelling that many chestnuts is not a quick job....

[HopDen]

Birradamare do a beer called Kasta that uses chestnuts.

One thing is that shelling that many chestnuts is not a quick job....

To be honest, its relatively straight forward and easy. Cut a x in them, put in a pan of water until it starts to boil, drain and put on a sheet pan and roast @425f for 15-20 mins. After that the shell peels easily off.

At that point as far as using in a beer recipe I’m not sure how to proceed. My thought is to dry in the dehydrator and then pulverize to a size similar to couscous.

[Saccharomyces]

I'm going to make Randy Moshers' Oatmeal Cookie Ale recipe. It is his riff on his Old Nut Case Brown Ale. Taking a cue from his book, Radical Brewing, I want to add some roasted nuts, specifically, chestnuts. I was fortunate to purchase 15 pounds of locally grown Ohio chestnuts yesterday. First time that I have had chestnuts this fresh and I can attest that there is absolutely no comparison to store bought chestnuts. So that leads to my questions, Has anyone used chestnuts in a beer? How did you add them? My thought is to roast, dry and add to mash. Possibly adding some to the kettle too.

Are they American chestnuts or Chinese chestnuts?  The American chestnut tree has been close to extinct for almost 100 years.  The chestnut blight was the greatest ecological disaster in American history.  I planted fifty American chest saplings in the backyard of my previous home.  All of them eventually contracted the blight.  The American chestnut tree was considered to be the redwood of the East Coast.

[HopDen]

I'm going to make Randy Moshers' Oatmeal Cookie Ale recipe. It is his riff on his Old Nut Case Brown Ale. Taking a cue from his book, Radical Brewing, I want to add some roasted nuts, specifically, chestnuts. I was fortunate to purchase 15 pounds of locally grown Ohio chestnuts yesterday. First time that I have had chestnuts this fresh and I can attest that there is absolutely no comparison to store bought chestnuts. So that leads to my questions, Has anyone used chestnuts in a beer? How did you add them? My thought is to roast, dry and add to mash. Possibly adding some to the kettle too.

Are they American chestnuts or Chinese chestnuts?  The American chestnut tree has been close to extinct for almost 100 years.  The chestnut blight was the greatest ecological disaster in American history.  I planted fifty American chest saplings in the backyard of my previous home.  All of them eventually contracted the blight.  The American chestnut tree was considered to be the redwood of the East Coast.
[/quote

 Local grower about 30 miles from my house. I don't know the genus of the trees he has planted, they may be intercrossed with American Chestnut trees that have shown resistance to blight but I can't say for sure since I didn't ask. If you are interested you can research the American Chestnut Foundation.

[Drewch]

At that point as far as using in a beer recipe I’m not sure how to proceed. My thought is to dry in the dehydrator and then pulverize to a size similar to couscous.

I don't know how it would work with hazel nuts, but I believe Lazy Magnolia adds (roast?) pecans directly to the mash for their pecan brown ale.

[Semper Sitientem]

I attempted to replicate the Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan Brown. I roasted the nuts at 300 degrees for 10 minutes and then put them in a paper bag with a paper towel overnight. I did this three times. My goal was to extract as much oil as possible. I broke them up in small pieces for more surface area and added to the mash at 60 minutes. I ended up getting some good pecan flavor, but was not happy with the overall beer. I’m going to try another small test batch, but this time add less to the mash and “dry nut” a certain amount after creating a tincture. The two methods should bring out different flavor characteristics. Don’t see why this process shouldn’t work for chestnuts. YMMV.

[HopDen]

Pecan does have a higher fat content than chestnuts. Chestnuts are higher in carbohydrates while obviously carrying fat. My thought on roasting them will mirror how I roast for eating purposes which is 425f for 15-20 minutes. At that point I will dehydrate then pulverize. 1/2 into the mash and the other half into the kettle.