Why it works: Beer and sugar work together. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 699 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Bran Yeast
Ingredients
Directions
Make the wort
Boil the bran in 2 quarts of water with hops for 10 minutes.
Strain the liquid and let it cool to lukewarm.
Ferment and bottle
Add 3-4 tablespoons of beer yeast and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar or treacle.
Transfer to a jar or small wooden cask and place it in a warm spot to ferment.
Once well fermented, bottle it, cork tightly, and store in a cool place.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Beer + sugartop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together699 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Hops + beertop 42% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together0 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
-
Hops + sugartop 43% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bran
- Provides starches and flavour that the yeast ferments into the brew.
- Beer yeast
- Ferments the sugars, producing alcohol and carbonation in the brew.
- Brown sugar or treacle
- Supplies extra sugar as fuel for the yeast, adding sweetness and colour.
- Hops
- Adds bitterness and aroma that balance the sweetness of the liquid.
The step that matters
Let the liquid cool to lukewarm before adding yeast. Yeast is killed by very hot liquid, so it must be cooled enough to stay alive, yet not so cold that fermentation starts slowly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Spruce Beer58 recipes
Ginger Beer11 recipes
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes