Some friends and I have decided it would be fun to have our own little brewer's competition and tasting. Mostly we need another excuse to get together for the tasting. Anyway, we are thinking of doing it Iron Chef style, with a common ingredient but any style we want: lager, ale, stout, porter, lambic, trippel, whatever, but one adjunct common to all. We are trying to think of something which won't be invasive, taking over the beer, but definitely noticeable. Any suggestions?
rye. always an interesting, yet challenging grain, and flavor impact can range from subtle to fairly overpowering.
My homebrew club does this. They give out a common grain bill. They allow you to leave your grain plain, toast it, smoke it, roast it, etc. You then get put into a group (pulling a piece of paper out of a hat) and select 1 of 3 yeast choices and 2+ of 5 special ingredients limited to only people in your group. Some of the special ingredient choices include: Star Anise Ginger Molasses Juniper Berries Apple Juice Allspice Any Vegetable (specify which vegetable) Licorice Liquor Honey Rosemary Mustard Seed Jasmine Chicory Whole Leaf Tea Oysters Pepper Mint Chile Pepper Coriander Chocolate Hibiscus Horseradish Agave Maple Syrup Any Fruit (specify which fruit) Nutmeg Coffee Cloves Lemon Grass Cinnamon Pomegrenate Juice Grains of Paradise Chamomile Saffron Heather Tips
