In my travels to Scotland from 2017 to 2019 for my M.Sc. studies I noticed a common theme. The academic professors (wonderful people, love them all!!) had little if any real world experience. They had all variously worked in industry for a small handful of years until they realized they were smart enough that the day-to-day tasks of working in a brewery were boring. So, they made an exit and headed for the hallowed halls of academia.

The other thing I noted was none of these people were engaged in some back-yard distilling activity on week-ends. None seemed to talk about brewing beer in their kitchen on weekends.

These observations were highlighted recently when I was alerted to the notion of using field peas to make alcohol. An entire paper had been written in 2019 and published in an environmental type journal.

When I read this paper, I quickly realized that the paper was conjecture. No actual alcohol from peas had been made.

At issue is the fact that peas are classed as legumes. There are tiny hairs on the root system of the pea plant. These hairs interact with the air that penetrates the first few inches of the soil in the farm field. The net product of this interaction is Nitrogen being added to the soil. Legumes are thus referred to as “Nitrogen fixers”. The benefit of this is if a farmer grows peas in season 1, by virtue of the Nitrogen added to the soil, the farmer will have to add a reduced amount of fertilizer to the soil in season 2. This is favorable for the environment because the Haber Bosch process for ammonia fertilizer manufacture is not exactly eco-friendly.

The 2019 paper argued that growing peas will be eco-friendly, the alcohol could be used for making Gin, farmers will benefit economically, blah…blah…blah.

But, here is what most people don’t know. Peas are very much subject to blights and mildews. If a pea crop becomes infected, the bacterial spores can remain in the soil for several years. Subsequent crops planted in the field will be negatively affected. Hence, a farmer faced with an infected pea crop will resort to spraying the field with a harsh chemical like 2-4-D. This is some nasty shit! We are talking scorched earth policy. Bacterial spores and any living microbes will be killed dead by the 2-4-D. Any surface run-off after a rainstorm will carry residual 2-4-D into the surrounding environment. Birds and animals will be at risk.

Looking closer at the notion of legume alcohol, it is important to remember that legumes have less carbohydrate than cereal grains. A way less! Moreover, the alcohol from legumes will have a unique taste profile. Consider my experience with lentils – a legume plant. In 2019 I made some lentil-barley distillate (50/50 grain mash bill). I barrel aged the distillate in a small oak barrel for 6 months. The “whisky” had a zesty, zingy profile. Many people enjoyed sipping it. For serious whisky drinkers, it was a no go. Whisky, they said, should not be zesty. As for peas, there will be a residual flavor of some sort that gets imparted to the distillate. To get rid of this flavor will require distilling the alcohol through multiple plates in a tall column to get 96% abv product. Even then, there still might be a trace of unique flavor.

I am going to try to make some pea alcohol in the coming weeks. I have access to organic field peas that have not ever seen any added chemical or pesticide. I will mash using enzymes and ferment with Lallemand distillers yeast. It is my understanding that peas have perhaps 20% carbohydrate content. Maybe this number is not totally accurate, but in any case peas will have less fermentable starch than cereal grain.

I will post again on this site when I have some alcohol made. Stay tuned. In the meantime, when you hear about using “novel” ingredients to make alcohol, exercise some skepticism. Cereal grains are not going to be replaced any time soon… Anyone with some common sense knows that…..