There are those who are true trailblazers. There are those who, dare we say, are beer brewing geniuses. Then, there are those who brew Cucumber Stout. These Brew Dudes fit into the third category. Read and watch on for details of this foolish brew including the recipe and our tasting notes.

Behold, Cucumber Stout!

Our Cucumber Stout Recipe

This recipe is based on Jasper Home Brew Supply’s Mickey Finn’s Dry Irish Stout with one notable added ingredient.

Batch Size: 5 US Gallons

Boil Size: 7 Gallons

Ingredients:

5.8 lbs. / 2.6 kg Irish Stout Malt
0.8 lbs. / 0.36 kg Light Wheat Malt
14 oz. / 0.4 kg Roasted Barley
8 oz. / 0.23 kg Flaked Barley
1 lbs. / 0.45 kg of cucumber (sliced precisely to a 5 mm thickness)
1 oz. / 28g of East Kent Goldings hops at 60min (bittering)
1 oz. / 28 g of Challenger hops at 60min (bittering)
1 packet of WY1084 Irish Ale yeast

Mash all grains and cucumber for 1 hour at 150° F / 66° C. Capture 7 gallons of wort and boil for 60 minutes. Chill to 68° F / 20° C and pitch yeast. Ferment for 2 weeks and then package.

Cucumber Stout Tasting Notes

Well, it wasn’t bad! The stout base recipe has a strong roast character coming from the roasted barley. It was very intense that Mike asked if there was any Black Patent malt in the grain bill. It was noticeable in the aroma and delivered in the taste. There was some hop presence in the aftertaste but nowhere else.

Of course, the big question was, “Was there any cucumber notes?” Thanks for asking. Yes, there was. There was an essence of cucumber in the flavor of the beer – a little bit of the cooling sensation that you get when eating the vegetable.

Other questions include:

Was this an April Fool’s prank? A bit

Did it come out better than expected? Yes.

Will we brew it again? Maybe.

Is the sight of Mike kicking over a mash tun funny? Quite.

Thanks for playing along. Homebrewing is fun when it’s not taken seriously.

BREW ON!