Somewhere I got the idea that it would be a good idea to brew a peanut butter beer. I scoured the web for ideas and most suggested using Bell Plantation PB2 (powdered peanut butter) or drying out all-natural peanut butter. Fast forward a few months. I had the opportunity to taste Terrapin’s Liquid Bliss at the 12 South Winter Warmer and then another peanut butter beer a month or so later at a homebrew club meeting. Both lacked the peanut butter punch that I was hoping to have with my brew.

As I grew closer to brewing the beer, I finally found a good source of feedback on a shared recipe. I used the Chocolate Covered Beavr Nutz recipe as a base. Opinions and amounts of peanut butter powder varied, but 12oz. seemed to be the consensus. So modified the recipe for a few ingredients I had on had and I added flaked oats for a thicker mouth feel.

For the peanut butter, I went with 4oz of plain PB2 suspended in a hop-sack for the last 15-minutes of the boil. After two weeks of fermentation, I added a full 16oz. package of Chocolate PB2 straight into the fermenter and let that soak for 2 weeks. I cold crashed for 72 hours before kegging and I had no issues. All of the PB2 had settled to the bottom of the bucket quite nicely.

As far as taste goes, it was good. I served about 2 gallons at one event while it was still a little young in the keg. You could get a hint of peanut butter on the nose, but the taste was all chocolate. While that wasn’t a bad thing, it wasn’t the peanut butter beer I wanted. I served the remainder of the keg at another event a week later. By this time, the peanut butter was more prominent on the nose and slight on the palate.

Several noted there was a slight fruity after-taste in the beer. Since I used S-05 and fermented in a 66-degree controlled environment, I knew it wasn’t from the yeast. After tasting some of the Chocolate PB2 by itself, I believe this is what contributed that flavor. While not a bad flavor, it most certainly masked some of the other flavors I wanted to come through in the beer.

So, for Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Stout version 2 I think I will make the following adjustments.

• No PB2 in the boil
• 16oz of Plain PB2 in the secondary for 7-14 days
• Cocoa Nibs in the secondary (I’ll have to determine the amount and time for these)

We’ll see how it comes out and I’ll post an update when I finally get to version 2. If you’re interested, my modified recipe is below. If you brew, definitely leave a comment and let me know what you changed and how it comes out.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Stout

American Stout

Type: All Grain	Date: 3/25/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal	Brewer: Phillip Duncan
Boil Size: 7.76 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: My Equipment
End of Boil Volume 6.76 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 78.0 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 11 lbs 8.0 oz Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) Grain 1 74.7 % 1 lbs 4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 2 8.1 % 1 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.5 % 12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.9 % 8.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 5 3.2 % 6.4 oz Wheat – White Malt (Briess) (2.3 SRM) Grain 6 2.6 % 1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] – Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 35.9 IBUs 0.50 oz Select Spalt [4.75 %] – Boil 60.0 min Hop 8 6.6 IBUs 0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] – Boil 45.0 min Hop 9 7.6 IBUs 0.50 oz Select Spalt [4.75 %] – Boil 20.0 min Hop 10 4.0 IBUs 2.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml] Yeast 11 –
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.067 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.082 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.6 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 9.5 %
Bitterness: 54.0 IBUs	Calories: 278.5 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 41.4 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge	Total Grain Weight: 15 lbs 6.4 oz
Sparge Water: 4.80 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 19.25 qt of water at 172.5 F 152.0 F 45 min
Sparge Step: Batch sparge with 2 steps (0.92gal, 3.88gal) of 168.0 F water
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Keg	Volumes of CO2: 2.3
Pressure/Weight: 12.54 PSI	Carbonation Used: Keg with 12.54 PSI
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 45.0 F	Age for: 30.00 days
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Storage Temperature: 65.0 F
Notes
Added 4oz of Bell Plantation PB2 in thelast 10 of boil in a hop sack. After 2 weeks of fermentation, I added 16oz Bell Plantation Chocolate Peanut Butter and let it secondary for 2 more weeks.Next batch, I’d probably add the 16oz plain PB2 and cocao nibs, as I think the chocolate PB2 added a somewhat friuty finish that I somewhat did not like.