kevin886

Recipes 

Going to do 5 gal wheat that I'm going to break down into 3-4 smaller batches and mix up some things in the secondary. thinking of adding some apricot nectar to one. Also want to do a bourbon orange blossom - use a smoother bourbon to soak some oak chips and prime with orange blossom honey. For the 3rd I'm thinking of a raspberry jalapeno? Had one recently that was really good and want to give it a go. and for number 4 adding some basil.

my base is a really simple wheat - 2-row, wheal malt, a little Munich and flaked wheat. Using Cascade and Liberty for the hops. So pretty straight forward.

Anyone have any experience with above? I'm open to other suggestions as well. Really want the additives to be the heroes in each batch but also just have some fun and move a bit out of my comfort zone. Thanks!

sativen

Recipes 

Apricot nectar: no experience, but should be good.

Bourbon orange blossom: I think you'll lose the delicateness of the orange blossom if you use too much bourbon. Add that honey when primary slows, but before it stops.

Rasp Jalapeno: I've used dried jalapenos before as a "dry-hop" addition. Use caution, as it does not take much to go a long way. The first batch of pale ale (5 gallons), we used 3 oz of dried jalapeno, and my wife was the only one who would drink it straight. This last batch (5 gallons), we used 0.25 oz, and it was a nice touch without overdoing it. It'll probably take 1-2 pounds of raspberries per gallon of beer to get a good flavor.

Also, if you keg, jalapeno will taint your beer lines and o-rings. I now have a dedicated beer line for pepper beers that I can switch out when I get one back on draft.

Basil: Don't have any experience with. I am thinking about doing a basil IPA really soon though, but that will be in the boil.

lalnx

Recipes 

I did an american wheat with S-05 yeast, dry hopped with amarillo/citra, had a couple friends over, and the keg had about a 4 hour lifespan. Very tasty

kevin886

Recipes 

@ sativen Thanks! That jalapeno tip was key. I was worried about adding too much, but didn't know if the sweetness from the raspberries would offset a little or not. Definitely have a good base to go from though.

for the bourbon orange - still trying to figure this one out. i might forgo the orange blossom and just go with the bourbon but thought the sweetness of the honey might also help mellow the bourbon-ness

@lalnx - I was toying with a little dry hopping for one of the batches, maybe apricot?

lalnx

Recipes 

I also make an APA with only 2 oz of the ld carlson apricot extract, that turns out great.