Aphrodisiac Ale recipe -- NEED Feedback!

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uberlad

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Hey folks,

I'm planning my 8th or 9th brew coming up here in February and need some advice on the recipe. The beer is a blonde ale (at least I think it is), with various aphrodisiacs thrown in. Hey, it's for Valentine's day :)

Here goes:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 31.6 (0.57 BU:GU)
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 7

Amount Item Type %
8.00 lb Belgian Pilsner Grain 73 %
1.00 lb Belgian Aromatic Grain 9 %
1.00 lb Briess CaraPils Grain 9 %
1.00 lb Simpsons Golden Naked Oats Grain 9 % (Simpsons Golden Naked Oats : Northern Brewer)

0.5 oz Centennial (60 min) Bittering Hops
0.5 oz Centennial (30 min) Bittering Hops
0.5 oz Cascade (10 min) Aroma Hops

1 Pkgs Wyeast German Ale (1007) (Wyeast 1007 German Ale : Northern Brewer)

12.0 fluid oz Apple Juice (10 min)
12.0 fluid oz Pear Puree/Juice (10 min)
12.0 fluid oz Pineapple Juice (10 min)
1.0 fluid oz Vanilla Extract (10 min)
3 Whirlfloc tablets (10 min)

Bottle carbonate with Clover Honey
---------------------

Some of my concerns:
1. Did I pick the right yeast? I want something balanced and not too fruity, as the juices will take care of that.
2. The IBUs and/or BU:GU measurement might not be totally accurate as I don't think it's incorporating the juices. In other words, probably won't be as bitter as it says.
3. Overall, what do you think about my choice of hops and malts? Trying to give my blonde ale a little bit of fruity zest with the Cascade/Centennial, to complement the fruit juices.
4. Would bottle carbonating with Clover Honey be too cloying? If so, any recommendations on what else I can use? Trying to stick to aphrodisiac theme :)

Any help would be appreciated!
 
2 quick things I see:

1# of aromatic is a bit much. I would keep it <5%. A little goes a long way with that malt. Maybe 1# of munich or even victory instead to give it a toasty malt note.

And you only need 1 whirflock tablet. Many only use 1 in a 10 gallon batch.

The hops look good, I'm a fan of wyeast 1007, but don't know about the juices and vanilla? give it a shot
 
You should hold the vanilla until bottling time. The aromatics in vanilla are kinda delicate and easily lost. Vanilla can overpower other flavors, too. Just add it to taste when you bottle, it's already alcoholic and it's not going to mess anything up.
 
The Apple, Pear, and Pinapple juice you are adding to the boil are just going to be added fermentables. 12 oz of juice is not nearly enough to get these flavors showing up in your final product. You might as well just be adding sugar.

If you keg, you could cold crash, then add these juices to your beer before you force carb. Otherwise, if you want these flavors to show up in the beer, you really need to use whole fruit or fruit puree, up the amount pretty significantly (like 1-2 lbs of each), and put them in during a secondary fermentation step.

The vanilla flavor will show up either way, but I would save that for bottling time to keep the aroma, since it is an extract. No use in adding it to the boil.
 
The Apple, Pear, and Pinapple juice you are adding to the boil are just going to be added fermentables. 12 oz of juice is not nearly enough to get these flavors showing up in your final product. You might as well just be adding sugar.

If you keg, you could cold crash, then add these juices to your beer before you force carb. Otherwise, if you want these flavors to show up in the beer, you really need to use whole fruit or fruit puree, up the amount pretty significantly (like 1-2 lbs of each), and put them in during a secondary fermentation step.

The vanilla flavor will show up either way, but I would save that for bottling time to keep the aroma, since it is an extract. No use in adding it to the boil.

This^^ and IMO swap the yeast out for Kolsh yeast it can add some pear like flavor/aroma and it clears nicely.
 
Just curious, why are you using 3 Whirlfloc tablets? 1 tablet is good for 15 gallons. Using 3 is way overkill.
 
I have to split my boil between 2 pots... One is bigger than the other. Always thought more whirlfloc would equal more clarity. My noob tendencies are slowly being weaned out though.
 
I have to split my boil between 2 pots... One is bigger than the other. Always thought more whirlfloc would equal more clarity. My noob tendencies are slowly being weaned out though.

You'd be fine with breaking the tab in two halves and dropping one half in each pot.
 
+1 on the oysters!

Not really a great match with the current beer profile. However, I would go full bore for the kolsch idea and serve it with oysters to that special someone. Kolsch goes great with seafood imo and you could always have a bit of chocolate for dessert!
 
You could add catuaba, damiana, long pepper, maca, muira puama, or yohimbe in lieu of some of the bittering hops.
 
When I read this I expected horny goat weed or at least pomagranites (sp?) Add some of that and ull be more true to name! Lol
 
The original recipe I was toying with actually included Figs or Pomegranate juice, but I thought that would throw it off. Maybe I'll give it a shot...

Also, good ideas on bittering hops!
 
You could add catuaba, damiana, long pepper, maca, muira puama, or yohimbe in lieu of some of the bittering hops.

Agree with using garden herbs and spices as aphrodisiacs in beer. Medieval beers were famous for using gale, yarrow, lavender, heather, and horehound in beer to stimulate the senses and excite the passions of the drinkers.

If you want aphrodisiac qualities, skip the hops, which are sedatives, and use something out of the garden to excite your drinking mate.
 
Glossolalia said:
You could add catuaba, damiana, long pepper, maca, muira puama, or yohimbe in lieu of some of the bittering hops.

What amounts of these herbs would you recommend?
 
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