BREW #6: Agave Pilsener
I drank a LOT of tequila this past year (thanks to Mickey and his friends at Tommy's) and the whole experience made me curious about agave and it's properties. What sort of a beer would it make? Some of you may remember Tequiza, an agave, tequila, and lime flavored beer unveiled by Budweiser back in 1998. I was hard at work in graduate school back then and not much of a beer drinker.
The only mention of a commercial agave-spiked beer I could find is this Breckenridge Agave Wheat beer. Darn! Someone beat me to the idea! Anyway, I decided to do brew a beer that had a significant amount of agave syrup in it. I imagined it would behave much like honey. I decided to adapt a recipe from Papazian's book that contains honey called "Rocky Racoon's Honey Lager". Here's the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
For 3 gallon batch (I know, what a pain if you're used to 5 gallon carboys... I use them because they're easier for me to lift and clean):
2 lbs Light dried malt extract
1.5 lbs (or 3 cups) Raw agave nectar (Madhava brand)
1.2 oz Saaz hops (boiling)
0.3 oz Cascade hops (finishing)
1 Smack pack of WYeast Pilsen (#0656295)
Arrowhead spring water
1/2 c. corn sugar for bottling
PROCEDURE
1. Bring water (~1.5 gallons), malt, and Saaz hops to a boil and boil for 40 minutes.
2. Add the agave syrup, boil another 15 minutes.
3. Add the Cascade hops for the last 2-4 minutes of the boil.
4. Place pot in a sinkful of cold water to chill and then transfer to carboy already containing the other half of the water.
5. Once near room temperature add the yeast.
I incubated at room temp for 2 weeks and then lagered it in my fridge for another 2 weeks.
TASTING COMMENTS
This tastes like a classic Pilsener, with just a hint of extra sweetness. More body and more filling than the average Pilsener! I can't say I taste an overt agave flavor here, but the syrup I used did not have that distinct character to begin with. I'd consider adding an agave extract if I can track one down. To make it even more like a tequila you could add some oak chips. Hmmm....
The only mention of a commercial agave-spiked beer I could find is this Breckenridge Agave Wheat beer. Darn! Someone beat me to the idea! Anyway, I decided to do brew a beer that had a significant amount of agave syrup in it. I imagined it would behave much like honey. I decided to adapt a recipe from Papazian's book that contains honey called "Rocky Racoon's Honey Lager". Here's the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
For 3 gallon batch (I know, what a pain if you're used to 5 gallon carboys... I use them because they're easier for me to lift and clean):
2 lbs Light dried malt extract
1.5 lbs (or 3 cups) Raw agave nectar (Madhava brand)
1.2 oz Saaz hops (boiling)
0.3 oz Cascade hops (finishing)
1 Smack pack of WYeast Pilsen (#0656295)
Arrowhead spring water
1/2 c. corn sugar for bottling
PROCEDURE
1. Bring water (~1.5 gallons), malt, and Saaz hops to a boil and boil for 40 minutes.
2. Add the agave syrup, boil another 15 minutes.
3. Add the Cascade hops for the last 2-4 minutes of the boil.
4. Place pot in a sinkful of cold water to chill and then transfer to carboy already containing the other half of the water.
5. Once near room temperature add the yeast.
I incubated at room temp for 2 weeks and then lagered it in my fridge for another 2 weeks.
TASTING COMMENTS
This tastes like a classic Pilsener, with just a hint of extra sweetness. More body and more filling than the average Pilsener! I can't say I taste an overt agave flavor here, but the syrup I used did not have that distinct character to begin with. I'd consider adding an agave extract if I can track one down. To make it even more like a tequila you could add some oak chips. Hmmm....
posted by Kate @ 4:21 PM
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