Rescue Brews

Many homebrewers have tried to impart more of a local touch into their brewing by growing their own hops that will flavor batches of beer. But for those homebrewers who want even more of a local terroir, why stop with hops? Options are all around us when looking for unique, locally sourced, and sustainable ingredients to use in our brewing. These options may be found in our own backyards, local businesses, and community gardens. In this article, we’ll be looking at systematic, safe, and ethical ways to include overlooked local ingredients in our brewing to create unique and delicious beer.

JR Renna’s “Rescue Brews”

JR Renna isn’t your average homebrewer. While his homebuilt draft system has been featured in BYO’s Homebrew Nation section, he has done something even more groundbreaking as part of his “Rescue Brew” project. Over the last three years, at least a portion of nearly 50% of JR’s batches have included “waste” ingredients destined for disposal, such as wind-fall apples, excess zucchini, stale bread, and overly ripe peaches.

“I started doing this after my hop grower friend gave me a bucket of ‘ugly’ Cascade cones that didn’t make the cut for commercial sale,” JR says. “They smelled amazing, and the beer turned out great. This made me think, ‘what else is being thrown away or not being used?’”

His approach is deliberate. He’s not just plucking berries from bushes, he develops relationships; he talks to the people that live nearby and grow food or make bread. He then asks them about their excess, items past their expiry, or anything they’re having trouble selling. Finally, he will ask for suggestions on how to use those items in beer.

JR shows that overlooked adjuncts may be fun, but they also have practical and creative benefits:

• Eliminate food waste – According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in the U.S. alone we throw away approximately 30–40% of our food supplies.

• Save money – Your cost per batch goes down when you use free or inexpensive ingredients.

• Engage your community – Neighbors love to see their waste converted into something beneficial.

• Brew local beer – No two towns have the same fruit trees or bakeries.

The best part: You don’t need to live next to a hop field or orchard; you simply need to look around. 

JR says there are three pillars to his Rescue Brews that others should also follow:

• Source responsibly

• Prepare safely

• Design strategically

First Pillar: Source Responsibly

The first rule of rescue brewing: Never take it without asking.

Every September, JR noticed that apples were piling up under his neighbor’s apple tree. So JR asked his neighbor if he could have the apples on the ground, which would otherwise be left to rot. Knowing the apples wouldn’t go to waste, the neighbor was happy to oblige. 

This simple act of process addresses two of the previous points at once: It legally and ethically allows you to access these ingredients while also creating goodwill among your neighbors. Many small farms, bakeries, and home gardeners will gladly donate “seconds” (produce that is too small, deformed, or slightly bruised) or excess items that they would otherwise compost. Beyond neighborhood trees producing fruits or nuts, other places where you may be able to source ingredients include:

• Local bakeries – You may be able to find “day-old” bread, the spent grains from baking (if they bake with grains) or even pastries that are going bad, which you can use in your brews. These are filled with starches and sugars, not to mention flavors, that will benefit your homebrews.

• Farmer’s markets – Many vendors have items that don’t sell by the end of the market day. It doesn’t hurt to ask if they would offer them at discount.

• Community gardens – There are many community gardens throughout cities that have “Harvest Days” when gardeners bring their excess vegetables such as squash, pumpkins, and herbs to share with fellow gardeners. Some of these community gardens allow folks to harvest the excess ingredients.

• Your own yard – JR has been growing lemon balm, mint, and rhubarb just for his beers. Even a small windowsill pot of basil will add a touch of uniqueness to your saison.

What to avoid:

• Roadsides – Plants growing near busy roads absorb car exhaust, oil, and road salt, which may make them unsafe to consume.

• Public parks – Foraging may not be allowed in your city or state parks. Check your local laws.

• Wild plants you are unsure of – If there is a wild plant that you cannot definitively identify (such as a berry, mushroom, leaf, etc.), use something else instead.

JR also recommends keeping a record book that lists where each ingredient came from, when, and how much. He uses this for a quick list to send out “thank you” letters to his donors, which results in reoccurring donations.

One key insight JR shares: “Timing matters.” Most bakeries throw out day-olds early in the morning (but call ahead, they may be willing to save what they would otherwise throw out for you to pick up at the end of the week). Farmer’s markets clear unsold produce right after closing. After a windstorm or a rainstorm, fruit trees will drop their ripest fruits. Coming at the right time will help.

Second Pillar: Prepare Safely

An edible ingredient does not always equate to a good ingredient to brew with. Wild mold, bacteria, and chemical contaminants may also render a beer undrinkable, or even harmful to your health. In order to eliminate such potential hazards, JR uses a standardized, multi-step safety procedure for his “rescue brews” to ensure each is safe and of high quality.

Step 1: Inspect first

• The fruit should be in good shape overall. Some softening is acceptable; however, if you see mush or mold, discard it.

• Breads should have no green or black mold on it.

• A rule of thumb is when in doubt, toss it. Losing one piece of fruit will be less expensive than ruining a batch of beer.

Step 2: Clean carefully

• Wash fruits, herbs and vegetables under cold running water, and use a clean colander for washing off any dirt, insects, or bird droppings on the skins of the fruits and vegetables with your hands. Do not use soap, as it may leave a residue that could spoil your beer.

• When cleaning herbs, submerge them into a bowl of cold water, then swish them around and drain. By doing so, it removes many small bugs that are often hiding on the underside of the leaves. 

Step 3: Preparation before brewing

• Fruit preparation may include cutting cores, removing pits, and cutting the fruits into small pieces.

• For bread, break it into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces, and discard all heavy seeds or cheese (if applicable). To kill any potential mold spore development, place the bread in an oven preheated to 200 °F (93 °C) for an hour or two, which can also increase the Maillard reactions in the bread, adding another depth of flavor.

• After cleaning them, herbs can then be used either whole or chopped. Since the majority of herbs are used fresh, there is no need to dry them prior to use.

Step 4: Kill microbes (when needed)

JR has some methods for preparing wild-harvested local ingredients that will be used post-boil (the most common use of fresh fruit is during secondary fermentation):

• Freeze-thaw method – Freeze the fruit for two days, then thaw it prior to use. By doing this you will be breaking down the cell walls, making it easier to access what you want from the fruit, as well as killing off most of the wild yeast and bacteria that may be on it.

• Pasteurization method – Heat the fruit to 160 °F (71 °C) for ten minutes and then cool the fruit before adding it to the beer.

Step 5: Sanitize tools

All knives, cutting boards, and containers that touch your ingredients should be treated the same way as your post-boil brewing equipment and be clean and sprayed down with sanitizer.

Third Pillar: Design Strategically

All ingredients don’t work well in all beers. Adding a pound of zucchini to a hop-forward IPA, for example, will result in an unbalanced and unpleasant flavor. Match the adjunct to the style so it enhances, not overwhelms.

Based on experience through trial and error, here are some of JR’s pairing recommendations.

Garden fruit

Beer styles with lower flavor intensities are often the best bet as they will allow for the subtlety of fruits such as apples, pears, plums, and peaches. Think wheat beers, blondes, and pale ales. The simplicity of their basic framework allows the fruit to be the focal point and not the grain/malt. The best time for these additions is after primary fermentation (during secondary) in order to preserve fruit aroma. A note on apples: Sweet eating apples are often better in beer while the more tannic cooking or cider apples are better for hard ciders.

Bread 

A lot of breads such as rye, sourdough, etc. will add a complexity of flavor to your beer. Consider styles such as brown ale, porter, dark lagers, or dark milds for these. Even a toasted wheat bread can bring notes of toast, malted chocolate, and caramel to the beer. Bread can be added in the mash or steeped for 10 minutes at flame out (off the heat) to extract flavor without adding any extra starch. You can do some experimenting on how much to use, but somewhere in the range of 8–12 oz. (225-340 g) for a 5-gallon (19-L) batch is a good place to start. 

Herbs

Herbs pair great with styles ranging from light (Kölsch, blonde ale), to others like saison and Gose. They’re often used in lighter styles to allow the delicate herbal flavors and aroma to shine without being overpowered, or they can be used as a complementary background note in a style like saison. Add herbs in the last 5 minutes of the boil to sanitize them and keep their flavor; or use as a dry herb when added to the secondary for the aroma. The addition rate will vary depending on the herb, but 0.25–0.5 oz. (7–14 g) of fresh herbs per 5-gallon (19-L) batch is a good place to begin. 

Garden vegetables

Use zucchini, cucumber, or pumpkin in a light, crisp style such as cream ale, lager, or Kölsch (they will add body but won’t overpower the beer). You should brew with about 2–3 pounds (0.9–1.35 kg) for a 5-gallon (19-L) batch. Add the vegetables either in the mash or during the boil (30–60 minutes). Boiling is a good way to break down the fiber of the vegetables as well as get them sanitized completely.

JR keeps notes of flavor combinations tried or seen elsewhere, with combinations such as apple + coriander; bread + chocolate malt; lemon balm + wheat. He updates it after every batch.

I’ve taken two examples of batches taken directly from JR’s notebook to demonstrate how this is put into use:

Batch #47 – “Neighbor’s Orchard Saison”

• Sourcing: 3.5 pounds of Mrs. Delgado’s honeycrisp apples windfall. Washed, cored, and frozen to retain all possible flavors and nutrients.

•Process/Result: After thawing, they were added to the cider blend on the sixth day of fermentation. The finished product had an autumn character (FG = 1.004), was light and crisp and tasted like “autumn in a glass.”

Batch #52 – “Bakery Loop Brown”

• Product Ingredient: 10 oz. day-old rye boule (Main Street Bakery).

• Preparation Method: Baked at low temperature until dry, then crushed.

• Addition: At flameout, steeped for
10 minutes.

• Flavor Profile: Complexity from deep malt, soft mouthfeel with little to no bread flavors.

Why This Matters

Homebrewing has always been about creativity and self-reliance. But in a time when food waste is a global issue and many of us feel disconnected from our food sources, using local foraged foods or what would otherwise be waste products offers a way to brew with purpose. 

As JR puts it: “The best ingredient isn’t always the most expensive. Sometimes, it’s the one that was almost lost.” And that’s a beer worth brewing.