Courage or Just Crazy

The cold is about to set in and why not have a beer that can warm you up a bit?  I have been wanting to create a nice big Russian Imperial Stout for a long time.  What better time than now to create another strange and dark creation...

Fermented black garlic is a mysterious and complex ingredient.  The Dirty Secrets and Deep Flavor of Black Garlic, Dave Arnold (former director of technology at the French Culinary Institute) states, "Black garlic is not fermented."  So, how then does it turn black and taste so different from a regular clove?

The garlic goes through the Maillard reaction by being slowly roasted at a low heat (137-142 degrees f) for about 1 to 2 months.  This process converts sugars and turns the garlic black creating a sweeter caramel like flavor.

The Maillard reaction is named after the French scientist Louis Camille Maillard, who discovered this process.  The reaction is not a singular one, rather it is a series of complex reactions between amino acids and reducing sugars.  The Maillard reaction is also important in beer!  It gives Stout it's darkness. The malt is transformed during the kiln process, which then darkens and changes the flavor of the malt just like the garlic.  The reaction also happens when boiling the wort.  The longer you boil  the darker your beer becomes.  I think by now we can move on from the good ole' Maillard reaction... 

What does black garlic taste like?  In my opinion, it has many layers of flavor.  Sweet, umami, carmel, chocolate and cooked onion are a few I pick up.  "Umami," is one of the five basic taste.  It is a wonderful savory taste found in many foods and beer too.  It is a Japanese word that translates to "delicious taste."

Audrey keeping an eye on the mash

My hope was to create a unique beer.  I wanted to approach the recipe like a chef would or at least how I think a chef might approach a dish.  When you read the label of this Russian Imperial Stout you may have thought that it was bat shit crazy idea or courageous.  I hope it was the latter...

I did not just randomly pick out things to throw in a beer.  My feeling, is that the black garlic will add some interesting nuances to the beer.  The carmel-like and chocolate-like flavors hopefully add to the malt character.  The onion flavor is reminiscent of certain hop flavors, which could make for an interesting note.  Umami is often a by product of big stouts.  Why add more?  Flavor of course, but this is where the Strawberry comes into play.  In my mind, the acidity of the strawberry will cut some of the umami making it easier on the palate.  Plus, I still have not made my annual strawberry beer.  

The original idea for my strawberry beer was to make a strawberry vanilla stout.  I read that black garlic goes really well with vanilla ice cream.  I juxtaposed the original idea with what I read and that is genesis of the vanilla.    

Maillard Reaction!

This Stout is huge with an OG of 1.120.  It will probably be about 12% when all is said and done. This beer was inspired by the first documented Russian Imperial Stout made by Barclay Perkins, called "Courage."  The Russian Royalty loved this beer and most documents point to Catherine II Empress of Russia being the biggest proponent of this dark and luscious brew.  

I love big stouts with their complex, bold and brazen flavors.  In one of my favorite beer books Designing Great Beers, Ray Daniels speaks of doctors during the Victorian age prescribing pregnant women to drink three quarts of Porter and Stout!  I am not a  doctor, but please ladies if you have a bun in the oven do not drink six quarts of beer, and I probably would advise against drinking one of my Black Garlic, Strawberry and Vanilla Imperial Stouts.  

I digress, I hope to be able to share this beer with all of you.  If you do not get to try this concoction I hope to report back to you with good news.  That is all I got for today, remember to drink good beer responsibly and be merry! 

As a side note, 'Rock The Casbah' Saison won 2nd place in People's Choice Category at Portland's "Willamette Weekly Pro/Am Competion."  Very grateful to have been a part of this awesome event. Thanks to all of you for your support!