Radishes...I know it may sound strange but....

[MatthewS]

... I am thinking ... no I am definitely going to try and make a radish beer(red and/or daikon). My idea as an experiment is to make a tea first and add it to finished beer to see what happens. I was thinking about my Rye Pilsner or Rye Hop.... both fairly pale and easy drinking beers. The other idea to add it to either the mash or kettle. I wonder if the bitterness/spiciness from the radishes will come through....

So.. folks. any suggestions? and please don't say..."Please DONT DO IT!" because I already got that from my owner. But he knows that when i have an idea, I stick to it... The reason this beer will be made is for the beeradvocate.com Extreme Beer Fest in Feb.

Thanks
Matthew
Offshore Ale
MV

[tsewong73]

A buddy of mine did a homebrewed beer with radishes and it turned out pretty good. Deep red color and there wasn't an overpowering radish flavor to it. Rather pleasant. If I recall correctly, he pureed the radishes with some sugar and added them to the fermenter. At any rate, give it a whirl - shake the tree and see what falls out.

Tsewong

[Michael Murphy]

when I was brewing in Rome i had a drawing of a hop on one of my lables and everyone asked me if it was an artichoke, so it gave me the idea, I made a beer with artichokes in the mash, just for S#*#s and giggles, it wasnt mind blowing but it was ok and I got to say artichokes are in there!
I say go for it

[Sir Brewsalot]

Do radishes have fermentable sugars in them, or will they just make the beer red (on the outside and white on the inside).

[Beer Guy]

I believe you may need to watch quantities as I recall that raddish is high in a naturally occouring plant toxin Glulcosinolates .

Glulcosinolates are found in Rape (canola), mustard, radish, cabbage, peanut, soybean, onion.
Side affects are
Goiter; impaired metabolism; reduced iodine uptake; decreased protein digestion.

I am not well versed in this area and I think you would need to a hell of alot to cause issue, and I am not sure if the Glulcosinolates are broken down by heat or alcohol. However if anyone out there has a background in toxology please respond.

Cheers Richard.

[jason.koehler]

Don't use daikon!

Fermented daikon has an odor that is unfortunately similar to a very faint smell of rotting meat, not exactly something I'd like to smell in my pint before I take my first drink...if you're going to use daikon, I'd suggest your tea idea, and not adding it as a part of the fermenting process. Also, grated daikon after a few days starts to take on this same smell, even kept in the fridge in sealed containers, it can be unpleasant and overpowering...you open the fridge and ask yourself "what died in there!?!"

I know this because I am around daikon on an almost daily basis. In fact, just last night I ate some daikon fermented with sake yeast :) Great taste, but horrible smell! (think Vietnamese fish sauce...smells like old sweat, tastes great in curries and soups)

I considered radishes for a spicy beer once before, but I suspect that hops would overpower the radish, though I imagine they would add some nice color. The spicy notes might help with overall mouthfeel though...

Of course with everyhing, this is my personal opinion, and I could be wrong! :D

[GarySped]

Recipes from the past show that radish seeds were used in beer (I think I even made one once - I'd have to dig out my old notes) and I think I mentioned it in my Zymurgy article many years ago but I am unaware (until I read the postings above) of the use of whole radishes.

Gary.

[tsewong73]

Boy, was I wrong. I contacted that friend of mine who did the radish beer. He said, "beets, you fool, beets!" So, he used beets - not radishes. Sorry. Hell, why not try beets?

[liammckenna]

I second the glucosinolate comment.

These compounds are complexed with sugars so will probably be freed during fermentation.

Have no idea if they are toxic to yeast or not. With radishes as the source, I also think you would have to use a heck of a lot to pose any human risk.

I would suggest juicing some radishes and playing with juice and finished beer on the benchtop to find some sort of acceptable balance point before proceeding to production batching.

When hydorlyzed, glucosinolates release isothiocyanates which are largely responsible for the aroma from mustards and horseradish.

Funky sulfur potential.

Pax.

Liam

[RobZamites]

Beets? YUCK! :eek: :mad:

[MatthewS]

I think...

therefore I will...

I am going to try the tea idea with both juiced radishes and some seed as well

Come to Boston for EBF to try this beer if you are so inclined..
regardless I will post on how it turns out.

Matthew
Offshore Ale

[jason.koehler]

Beets? YUCK! :eek: :mad:

Beets can't be all that bad...after all, it's beet sugar that goes into so many Belgian ales...

[tsewong73]

Right on, Jason. I was thinking the same thing Rob was - yuck. But when I tried it, it didn't have any beety taste. In fact, no vegetable flavor at all. Tasted just like beer. Of course, my pee was beet red for a few days, but that might've been something else.

[beertje46]

Tasted just like beer. Of course, my pee was beet red for a few days, but that might've been something else.
DOH! Better get that checked out...

[GarySped]

I just dug out my article from Zymurgy (Special issue 1993). It was carrot seeds not radish but the following might work for the radishes though maybe not the "apricot" flavor. The use of carrot seeds made an ale that "tastes like an apricot-ale" (go figure). To every gallon of ale (This would be UK gallons) add one and a half ounces of wild carrot seed (bruised a little) and hang in a linen bag for about three weeks. This is the gist of it. [I would use regular carrot seeds though but flavor might be different]. Sorry about the confusion over carrot and radish seeds. I forgot what I wrote 13 years ago.

Try the recipe with radish seeds and see what happens. A little experiment for you. I'd be happy to try carrot or radish seed beer.

Gary

[beertje46]

Look who I found! (http://www.alcbevtesting.com/ReplaceGifs2006/FinalOilPaintingofGary.gif)

[AlexisScarlett]

What are the wild carrot seeds you used?

Out here Queen Anne's Lace is called Wild Carrots and the seeds are intoxicating and can cause hallucinations on their own!

The flavor is different and the aroma is the same. But the effects of carrots from the garden (Daucus Carota) and Queen Anne's Lace (Apiaceae) could be a nice apricot tasting beer or running through town naked and pursued by giant spiders.

[nohandslance]

I want to run wild through the streets of Montrose Naked! when will the beer be ready? Please give us some more insight into these ingredients.

[liammckenna]

You might want to have a read of this link:

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:-p0_c19JRbgJ:www.nrel.gov/docs/fy05osti/35254.pdf+radish+seeds+toxicity&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=115

It outlines toxicity issues with Brassica species including radishes. Seeds are extremely rich in glucosinolates. I would stick with radish juice.

Also if using any seeds, be sure of source. Many commercially available (not all, ask) agricultural seeds are treated with various noxious chemicals.

Pax.

Liam

[AtoMic]

Many years ago, I brewed a beet beer. In fact, it was a recipe of a belgian witbeer with "drybeetraving" (mashed beets in secondary fermentation). 20% of mashed beets added to the beer.

Ooooo yes, it's disgusting when it's time to clean the material...

For the taste, I can say everybody who blind tasted it liked it. They tought it was cranberry or rasberry. Everybody who knew what they were drinking hated it. Since, I understand there is a lot of taste buds between the ears...

With that experience, I thought I was close to the most unusual beer experience. I agree the radish beer will be the best.(I'm not talking about the taste...)

By the way, beet sugar has no beet taste. It's only sugar.

[AlexisScarlett]

I want to run wild through the streets of Montrose Naked!

No you really don't-- even in the wild wild west the cops regretably have little appeciation of public nudity and they will probably ticket you for unleashed spiders too!

I looked up the Wild Carrot Seed ale ( Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers, Stephen Harrod Buhner) and on page 351 it says Queen Anne's Lace and Wild Carrot Seed are the same thing. Maybe so in England. The wildflower I call Queen Anne's must be misnamed. But "the herb has traditionally used . . . as a "morning after" herb" Cool

So a Valentines offering-- Beet Gruit with Carrot Seed. Red colored aphrodisiacal and no one gets pregnant!

Found nothing about radishes-- even the ancient people did not brew with something maybe it was meant to be left alone.

[beertje46]

Wiki results (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Anne%27s_Lace)

[AlexisScarlett]

So this the bad boy, Water Hemlock--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Hemlock,
Poisonous means you see visions or die depending on dosage.
Musky is right for the smell

Cleared the name of the carrots everywhere but now you know they can be used for birth control.
Salad with dinner ma'am?

[davidmeyers]

Radishes go great WITH beer! So do bratwursts! Say, I have an idea! How about a bratwurst beer, with radishes! It's a meal you can drink! I've heard of beer dubbed "liquid bread" why not an entire liquid square meal! You can even serve the beer in a sausage casing. Kind of like a tasty water balloon. I seem to remember a post about obsene beer names, maybe one of them can help name it! Of course, the grease from the brats may effect your head retention, but people will be too amazed (and full), to notice! ;)

[mr.jay]

Don't listen to him. At some point in history, some dude had to look at a hop cone, and say, "let's see what happens if we throw one of these in?"
Hey, David, I was part of that thread, so here's a slogan for your sausage beer.
Ready! 2,3,4:
"Oh, if I were a David Meyer Weiner..." and so forth. I'm sure Oscar would be
pleased!

:rolleyes: Happy brewing! :D