From nuts to beer

Resource, Jun/Jul 2006

It's been said that chestnuts are "grains that grow on trees." This statement is certainly true for a Michigan brewer, who has taken locally grown edible chestnuts and brewed a one-of-a-kind beer.

The edible chestnut market is becoming increasingly profitable, and members of the Chestnut Growers, Inc., a group of 36 Michigan growers who produce and sell nuts, continue to look for new ways to market their crop. After tasting a chestnut beer produced by an amateur home brewer, growers realized that many possibilities exist for marketing the popular nut.

With help from Michigan State University (MSU) professors from the departments of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, and Horticulture and the MSU School of Packaging, chestnut growers learned how to grow their crop and let others become aware of their efforts. Growers invited brewers from the state to a gathering to sample the product.

Ron Jeffries of Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in Dexter, Mich.. became interested in the concept and set forth to produce a beer using chestnuts. JelTries named his product Fuego del Otono ("Autumn Fire").

Though chestnut beer has been brewed in Europe for years, until recently there was no record of any being produced and distributed in the United States. Jeffries produces the only bottled chestnut beer commercially available here.

In contrast to most beers, which are made from and flavored with barley, Jeffries uses the carbohydrates found in chestnuts as a source of flavor in the beer. Jeffries makes a mash from barley and boils the chestnuts. Once combined, the barley mash, which is full of enzymes, helps break down the starches in the chestnuts and removes the nuts' flavor. When the brewing process is complete, the nuts are tasteless and the beer is full of chestnut flavor.

"The beer has a fantastic flavor," Jeffries says. "It tastes like fall and brings to mind leaves crunching under your feet on a sunny autumn day."

Jeffries says the chestnut beer has been so popular that lie has already sold his entire supply. He plans to brew at least twice as much next year.

MSU researchers have conducted several research projects with chestnuts with funding from Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), Michigan's plant agriculture initialive at MSU. To learn more about Michigan's plant agriculturc initiative at MSU, visit www.greeen.msu.edu.