Lemon & Basil Summer Ale Recipe--Need Feedback

lumpher said:

putting sweet basil and lemon zest in a semi-american ipa makes my mouth twist up... don't exactly know what that means, but that's what happens

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bobbrews said:

Don't boil the basil and lemon zest; Flameout and/or dryhop with them.

I wouldn't be afraid of adding more flameout hops too.

What's your goal with using 1 lb. of 2-row here? I would'nt bother incorporating it unless its 25% or more of the recipe.

You don't need carapils either. DME already contains a portion of Carapils.

Try to get that FG lower for a crisp Summer ale.

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rokets34 said:

I probably should have added that this is my first crack at building my own recipe...Thanks for your input. I was hoping the 2 row would lend some additional "ale" flavors, am I off the mark there? I've upped the amount to get it closer to the % you suggested.

I've made some changes to get the fg down and to dry out the beer, also took your advice on the hops and lemon/ basil.

Any additional input out there?

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rokets34 said:

I probably should have added that this is my first crack at building my own recipe...Thanks for your input. I was hoping the 2 row would lend some additional "ale" flavors, am I off the mark there? I've upped the amount to get it closer to the % you suggested.

I've made some changes to get the fg down and to dry out the beer, also took your advice on the hops and lemon/ basil.

Any additional input out there?

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brtisbuck said:

The 2 row is a base malt, it won't impact the flavor noticibly. You could omit the 2 row. If you might want to tinker with some rice syrup solids - they ferment dry and impact the flavor little - like maybe replace a # of extract with it. Another way to dry it out is a teaspoon or so of amylase enzyme into the primary after 7 days. That will help dry it up some, but will boost alc in the process.

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rokets34 said:

Thanks for the advice. I've removed the 2 row, guess I was just confused about it's purpose. I added an additional crystal to add a bit more complexity and reduced the corn sugar to get the fg down to 1.05. I would like to see the fg even a bit lower, so maybe I'll try the enzyme you suggested. Is this a yeast nutrient or does the enzyme actually assist in breaking down sugars? Does it have any affect on the taste or mouthfeel?

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Tinga said:

I would ignore the enzyme for now. you can make a plenty dry ale without it. Keeping the cornsugar will help dry the beer out actually. corn sugar is 100% fermentable and will therefore bring the FG down. I think you may have OG and FG mixed up in this post. original gravity is how much sugars there are dissolved in the wort before it is fermented. finished gravity is how much sugar is left there after fermentation has finished. the more sugars the yeast eat the lower your fg will be. if there are more simple sugars the lower your fg will go. I would say with a summer ale with additions such as basil and lemon zest you want a very little amount of hops. I'm thinking less than 25 IBUs. the amount of attenuation is up to you. I could see this summer ale good either sweet or dry so it's up to you and what you want. if it is sweet make sure you add plenty of basil and lemon to get those flavors to balance.

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