I hadn’t tasted marzipan until I was an adult, the first time I visited Germany. I hadn’t encountered it before then. The Germans go nuts for the gently sweet, toothsome, clay-like paste made from almonds—and so does most of Europe, where it’s almost ubiquitous, especially around the holidays.
However, marzipan isn’t especially popular in North America. It’s not that we don’t like it—because unless you have a nut allergy, who wouldn’t like marzipan?—it’s just that we don’t eat it much. Often, we just sell it as an ingredient called “almond paste,” which strikes me as functional and lacking in romance. However, our paste exists on a marzipan spectrum that includes French pâte d’amande and countless variations with slightly different ingredients around the world.
Whatever you call it, our North American traditions generally don’t include it.
Maybe it’s time to start new traditions—because here’s a cool thing about marzipan: Stealthily, it’s very American. It’s mostly almonds, and the vast majority of those are grown in the Unites States—primarily California. Almond groves are such a massive undertaking there, according to one report, that more than half of U.S. honeybees are employed in their pollination. (Notably, honey is also a common ingredient in marzipan.) Europe gets the bulk of its almonds for marzipan directly from the United States.
So, if we’re going to spread the Gospel of Marzipan on these shores, I think we all know a good medium for it: beer. Marzipan’s comforting flavor—sweet, nutty, and almost cherry-like with that deep almond character—evokes festive cakes, cookies, and pastries. It’s easy to imagine its compatibility with malt-forward beers—and particularly with stout and porter.
Indeed, several brewers in both Europe and North America have released “marzipan” beers. However, they’re often using toasted almonds or flavor extracts to simulate its flavor, rather than adding actual marzipan during the brewing process. For example, 3 Nations in Carrollton, Texas, brews a marzipan version of its Devout Imperial Golden Stout; it includes almond extract and coffee. At The Bruery in Placentia, California, for the barrel-aged imperial stout Marzipandemonium, they add “almond character” plus vanilla “to mimic the sweet, nutty notes found in marzipan.”
While those results may be delicious, we’re more curious about how to use marzipan itself as an ingredient.
For suggestions we turn to Brian Rooney, cofounder of BKS Artisan Ales in Kansas City, Missouri. Rooney has been experimenting with different almond-paste products, as well as how and when to add them. That culminated recently in Holstein: Chocolate Marzipan, a variation on their Holstein milk stout. Because of its rich malt bill, Holstein has more heft than its 6 percent ABV would suggest. Rooney says the beer began as a “happy accident” and became something like a “session imperial stout.”
The idea to add marzipan came naturally to Rooney. “My mom is 100 percent Swedish,” he says, “and in Swedish culture, marzipan is a pretty popular sweet that’s out there. So I became pretty familiar with it.”
The product that Rooney settled on is simply labeled “almond paste,” and it includes almonds and sugar as well as bitter almond oil. That last ingredient apparently gives the product an aromatic potency that can manifest in the beer as cherry-like almond, similar to amaretto. Rooney’s advice to fellow brewers when choosing a product: “Look at the ingredients that are in it and choose wisely.”
For example, you need to account for the sugar, which won’t add flavor but will affect fermentation, depending on when you add it. Look at how much actual almond is in there versus sugar and other ingredients, he says. The almond oil or extract that’s in the marzipan might also have a surprisingly potent effect, Rooney says, so start small and go from there.
“The flavor that comes with it is incredibly powerful, so exercise some caution with it,” he says. He recommends trying about one ounce per gallon (or 7.5 grams per liter) to start, if adding on the cold side, during or after fermentation. From there, you can adjust volume and contact time to get the intensity you want. Putting the marzipan in a muslin bag is also a good idea—it will keep most of the solids from getting into suspension, while still giving the beer access to the oils and aromatics.
Another option: Add the marzipan to the kettle on the hot side, perhaps at flameout. In that case, Rooney suggests doubling or tripling the quantity to achieve a similar level of aroma. Advantages include immediately sterilizing the marzipan, just to be on the safe side, and the simplicity of giving its sugars to the yeast in primary fermentation.
Whenever you add it, Rooney suggests treating it the same way as another aromatic ingredient: “Think of cacao nibs, because that’s the way it carries,” Rooney says. “Because there’s actually almond oil in it, very concentrated.”
Speaking of cacao: Consider pairing the marzipan with some quality nibs for a boost of flavor. With Holstein: Chocolate Marzipan, Rooney chose nibs from Produits Des Iles SA (PISA), a cacao processor and exporter in Haiti, via Kansas City chocolatier Christopher Elbow. He says these Haitian nibs have their own fruity and nutty character that reminds him of cherry and almond. “I thought that if we used this cacao, it might give that impression of a really good marzipan,” he says. “I was totally blown away by how much nutty cherry character we get out of it.” Working with different types of cacao, he adds, “opens up a whole different world of pastry expressions.”
Finally, some safety advice: As with any sugary ingredient, don’t add marzipan and immediately package it, or you may be creating an explosive via refermentation. Also, make it clear to any potential drinkers that your marzipan beer contains nuts—those allergies are no joke.
Meanwhile, I’m thinking a marzipan stout may be just the yuletide treat to share with friends and family next season. And if I happen to buy just a tad more marzipan than I need for the beer, well, I don’t need to share that with anyone.