Green Tomato - Carrot Belgian Amber

         Several years ago I thought up an idea for a Green Tomato Beer. I thought it was crazy back then and I was terrified to try it. It just doesn't sound like it would be tasty when you really think about it. My curiosity finally got the best of me on Sunday. I researched a lot of old world recipes for fermented beverages. I never found anything for a Green Tomato Beer but I did read a lot about Green Tomato Wine. It's not uncommon for people to make a wine from an abundant crop of Green Tomatoes. Tomatoes by themselves didn't sound enticing. This recipe needed a little something more. I love how Carrot juice looks. It's shiny and pearl like. It seems like it would be a nice addition to what was already a vegetable beer (even though Green Tomatoes are a fruit, right?) so it was added in to the recipe. We set a date and sent out an invite to our brewing friends and started a journey into uncharted territory.

        As luck would have it one of our brewing friends is an outstanding chef. Richard Miley was given the task of dealing with the vegetables. He set to work on four and a half pounds of Green Tomatoes and two pounds of Carrots. We added the Tomatoes to the mash. The Carrots would be added in to the boil, along with a Gallon of Organic Carrot Juice.

        Richard Shockley is an avid homebrewer and he is always willing to come out and help do the heavy lifting during our brews. It's a huge help to have someone this knowledgeable help on brewday. He often keeps us on track and helps us adhere to the schedule. He's a boil-over hawk and has saved our kettles from viscious boil-overs on many occasions. The above picture is Shock adding maters to the mash.

        Sachin stole the show on Sunday with a gourmet lunch menu. We had shrimp, lamb and quail cooked on a giant flat wok. It was an amazing sight and the food was incredible. By far some of the best Indian food I have had in my life. The day saw a few wrinkles. We lost a pump on the RIMS system, the target gravity required an addition of brown sugar that we didn't expect and fluid dynamics were chalenging when we transfered into the fermenter. Cooler heads prevailed and we still came in under time for a normal brewday. I love these days. The food is incredible and the fellowship is unbeatable. We look forward to the next big brew and we are so thankful for such wonderful friends and family. Cheers and good health!

Click on the link below to see the video.

First Beer of 2012 video.