• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers

How to use exotic ingredients in beer (like fennel pollen in a dry Irish stout)

April 2, 2018Nick Hyde

Bronx+Brewery+Heavy+Fennel_LS1
As an example, The Bronx Brewery details how it created its innovative Heavy Fennel brand. Image credit: Sebastian Arguello.

Fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices aren’t anything new to beer. Experimentation with each has been happening since the beginning of beer. Initially, herbs and spices were used for bitterness, flavor and aroma before the discovery of hops. Once we learned about the preservative nature of hops, we began using more and more hops until beer was defined as only four ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast. These four ingredients give us so much depth when you mix in temperature and time, the possibilities really become endless.

Brewers, just like consumers, are always looking to do something a little different. We are on a quest for new flavors — something new and exciting. So, we’ve started adding more to the main ingredient list and experimenting. Brewers have had plenty of success with this but what you don’t often hear about is the challenges. Using fruits/vegetables/herbs/spices in beer can be tricky especially in the case when the ingredient hasn’t been used in beer before.

So, as a brewer, how can you begin incorporating unique ingredients?

  • Research all you can about the specific ingredient. Go online or find a book and read what you can.
  • Talk to other brewers. Other brewers are a great source of information as they are usually friendly and willing to provide plenty of insight into past experiences working with different ingredients.
  • Get some of the ingredient you’re using. This is the most important — and obvious — thing to do. Smell it, cut it up, eat it and cook with it. This will give you a better idea of what flavors and aromas that ingredient contributes and how it can be manipulated.
  • Tap into the culinary world. Another useful area to gather information and get inspired by ingredients is the culinary world. In most situations, there is some chef out there who has worked with some of your ingredients before. Just like the brewers from before, a chef will have his or her own observations but from a different vantage point. In some cases, they may be able to offer you other flavors that complement or enhance.

Working with our friends at Baldor Specialty Foods, we have been exposed to an extensive list of rare, high-quality produce and spices. One product they introduced me to is a spice called fennel pollen. Fennel pollen is currently very popular in some higher end kitchens and when I asked how those chef’s use it, I was told “They sprinkle it on everything.”

After reading as much as I could about the spice, I took some home and sprinkled some on some grilled vegetables. As a raw ingredient, it was hard to pick out anything other than anise/black licorice. But once I mixed in some carrots with charred grill marks, I found the roast profile really enhanced and changed the profile of the fennel pollen. Instead of being really intense, the fennel pollen was soft and added a soft nutty note with a delicate mint and marshmallow note.

Experiment: How will a coffee bean’s grind affect its flavor in your beer? Ask Wolf’s Ridge Brewing.

With the research and the cooking experiment done, I felt confident that I could make a good beer with fennel pollen by mimicking the way the grilled carrots picked up the roasted flavors, in combination with the fennel pollen. For the sake of drinkability, I wanted to keep the abv low and the amount of roast to a moderate level to give the fennel pollen enough room to shine. The best choice with all these considerations was a dry Irish stout. Post fermentation, the beer had plenty of roast without being smoky or ashy and was creamy yet drinkable.

In the same vein as adding salt to your food, it is best to start small with your ingredient. I recommend using about half of what you think you should use and continue adding more until you reach your idea point. In the case of fennel pollen, I’m glad we started with half because it was actually the perfect amount. This dry Irish stout with fennel pollen ended as a creamy, medium bodied, easy drinking stout with notes of cocoa powder/milk chocolate, mint and marshmallow with a faint licorice note.

Nick Hyde is a brewer at The Bronx Brewery, a craft brewery based in New York City’s South Bronx neighborhood. The Bronx Brewery prides themselves on producing what they call “no-nonsense ales” — approachable, well-balanced, true-to-style beers with absolutely no gimmicks.

hops hop on bine brand hop yard sunset
Vera hop debuts with bold flavor, public availability and GABF spotlight (here’s everything you need to know)
Barley field in the sun
Less barley, more data: AMBA launches barley tracking effort as acreage hits record low
HPA
Hop Products Australia produces bumper crop of hops through new facility
Billy Goat Hop Farm Opens Down at the Hop Yard Campground
You can now camp among the hops at Colorado’s Billy Goat Hop Farm

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • WARNING: Avoid these common beer labeling format errors
  • Michigan Brewers Guild adds full concert experience to Summer Beer Festival
  • Short’s Brewing launches $21 Humulus Lupulus 21-pack to celebrate 21st birthday
  • People news: The Tap Brewery names Christian Paumi as head brewer + moves from Pilot Project, City Built and Karl Strauss

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • TTB COLA label warningWARNING: Avoid these common beer labeling format errors
    June 24, 2025
  • Finney Hospitality Group has named Christian “Chris” Paumi as head brewer for The Tap, the company’s in-house brewery and craft beer bar turned full-service restaurant concept.People news: The Tap Brewery names Christian Paumi as head brewer + moves from Pilot Project, City Built and Karl Strauss
    June 23, 2025
  • Blakes Beverage and Benchmark allianceBlake’s Beverage and Benchmark Beverage team up to scale beyond beer
    June 19, 2025
  • hops hop on bine brand hop yard sunsetVera hop debuts with bold flavor, public availability and GABF spotlight (here’s everything you need to know)
    June 19, 2025
  • Dogfish Head is the official beer of the JAWS 50th anniversary celebration this weekend
    June 19, 2025
  • beer globe global world map glass-001New BarthHaas report reveals 2024’s top 40 biggest global brewers
    June 16, 2025

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2025 · CBB Media LLC

Continue ...

sponsored by