TCM beers: Familiar yet strange
Jim and Dad’s Brewing Company (J&D), located in Yilan County’s Yuanshan Township, has chosen something quite different to mix into their craft beers: herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
In 2020 J&D worked with the local Guangshen Herbal Pharmacy to come out with two “Old Time Yilan Flavors” beers called “Kumquat Kiss Good Morning” and “Kumquat Kiss Good Night.” Both beers are infused with candied kumquats, but paired with herbal ingredients with different functions: Kiss Good Night was inspired by sleeping aids used in TCM and incorporates medicinal ingredients that include lucid ganoderma, chrysanthemum, and creeping liriope, giving this beer a soporific effect. Meanwhile, Kiss Good Morning contains refreshing and stimulating herbal ingredients, including red ginseng and dried longan.
Adding TCM herbal ingredients to comestibles is a common practice for the majority of Taiwanese people. For example, using a distilled beverage such as rice wine to brew medicinal spirits is one of the ways people combat the condition known in TCM practice as “deficiency cold.” However, TCM herbal craft beers are quite unfamiliar to people in Taiwan.
To address consumers’ unfamiliarity with TCM beer, brewer Douglas Liu chose to add candied kumquats as an ingredient. He says that combining TCM herbs with candied fruit not only reduces the shock that consumers feel on seeing the product, but can also generate a feeling of delight, leaving consumers with a deep impression of the Old Time Yilan Flavors product line.
Using candied kumquats not only compensates for the strong acidity of the fresh fruit while retaining the rich fragrance of the peel, it also solves the brewing problems produced by the thickness of the peel and the presence of natural essential oils. Most importantly, while the kumquat balances out the naturally bitter flavor of the TCM ingredients, the brine used in the pickling and candying process adds a slightly salty sensation, so that the kumquats are not too sweet. Thus people can enjoy the beer without concerns about the widely held impression that TCM herbs are bitter, astringent and unpalatable.
However, there are sweet-tasting options among TCM ingredients, so why did J&D ultimately use kumquat? Douglas Liu admits that they previously tried Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) and goji berries, but had problems with both. With the latter, for instance, brewing a batch of 2,000 liters of beer required too large a quantity of goji berries, causing them to abandon them in the end. Although jujubes are larger in size, so that fewer are needed, they have the same problem of their sweetness becoming dissipated as affects other Taiwanese fruits like pineapples.
Liu also mentions the issue of food safety. He says that each time a new ingredient is added during the brewing process, there must be repeated trials. Brewers not only adjust the timing of when the new ingredient is added to optimally preserve its fragrance or sweetness, they must also pay close attention to whether there are any risks in that may affect the beer after it is bottled and on its way to consumers.
Brewing beer is like a chemistry experiment, and each element added to the process can cause different changes in the beer.
J&D offers both its Old Time Yilan Flavors series made with medicinal herbs and candied kumquats, and Taiwan-flavored beers brewed using ingredients such as rice and tea.
Brewer Douglas Liu joined Jim and Dad’s Brewing Company right after graduating from university. He uses his expertise to produce many beers that include local Yilan County ingredients.
These wooden kegs placed in a corner of the brewery are part of the process for brewing wood-aged beers, which are very popular with consumers.