Adding pistachio to coffee porter

In response to 3): Have you considered doing a fat wash to just get out the pistachio flavoring and keep out the fat?

 

I have never used nuts but I imagine it might be best to seek out a flavor extract rather than using actual nuts, because of the fat. It must exist, as I'm sure they use some kind of flavor extract in the green puddings and ice creams that are available everywhere. Assuming you can find an extract, then add just a very small amount to your batch at a time, like 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until it tastes right. Probably will require ~2 teaspoons per 5 gallons as a wild guess but I could be way off. Some extracts are more powerful than others (e.g., too much fruit or coconut extracts can taste pretty nasty).

 

Again, I'm not an expert, but I doubt the extract would turn your beer green. It would probably just turn a deeper blacker black. Anyway... it's almost St. Patty's Day!

 

I just did this with my last batch of Brown ale. I took 1/2 lb of unsalted pistachios (shells and all) and boiled them in a 2 cups h2o for ten minutes then let it cool down, then froze the solution. When you thaw it out stain through a coffee filter to remove the fat solids, warm it up to your fermenter temp and add to secondary. This gave the beer a nice mellow pistachio flavor with a soft buttery mouth feel. I also added 2 whole vanilla beans that were soaked in a little vodka for a week. You could do the alcohol extraction method also with the pistachios. Good luck with yours.