GROUP BREW??? Cranberry zinger--from BYO

I'm REALLY tempted to get one of these going real soon--to have ready for Turkey Day. I suggest a group brew because a few have expressed interest in this. We'll include the extract brewers in this, as BYO doesn't provide an AG option and I'm in the mood to brew up a quick brew.
Any interest?

Cranberry Zinger
5 gallons

OG = 1.044 FG = 1.007
IBU = 11 SRM = 3 ABV = 4.8%

14 oz. Briess wheat dried malt extract
3.3 lbs Coopers Wheat liquid malt extract

2.0 lbs. orange blossom honey
3.0 lbs whole cranberries
2 medium navel oranges (seedless)
2 medium apples (granny smith)
1/4 tsp. yeast nutrients
1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme
1/2--2 tsp. malic acid or acid blend (optional)

4 AAU Willamette hops (30 mins)
(0.8 oz./23 g of 5% alpha acids)

Safale US-56 dried ale yeast (3 packages)

1.2 cups corn sugar (for priming)

Step by step
Bring 1.5 gallons of water to a boil and add dried malt extract and hops. Boil for 30 minutes, adding yeast nutients with 15 minutes remaining in boil. After boil, shut off heat and stir in liquid malt extract and honey. Put lid on pot and let hot wort sit for 15 minutes before cooling. Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Add water to make 5 gallons, aerate, and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68F degrees. Let ferment until completion. Make cranberry relish by combining cranberries, apples (cored) and whole oranges (rind and all) in a grinder or food processor, chop to cranberry relish consitency. Put cranberry relish at bottom of sanitized bucket, rack beer on top of it and add pectic enzyme. After 7-10 days of contact with relish, bottle or keg beer. Adjust acidity with malic acid, if desired. Bottled or keg and carbonate so beer is fizzy.

So how does a group brew work? Can we stay in your spare bedroom?

El Pistolero said:

So how does a group brew work? Can we stay in your spare bedroom?

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Shoot...with you riding out this hurricane, the bedroom might be an actual home for you in a few days anyway! J/K....I hope everythign works out for you guys!

Group brew is we all do the same recipe on a given date.

Let's do it.

El Pistolero said:

So how does a group brew work? Can we stay in your spare bedroom?

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I sure hope that wasn't a slap happy to the Austin hospitality..we were actually sincere in our concern.

Hows about you brew 10 gallons, and give me half?

Nah, actually I'd mentioned before that I liked the looks of this one. Maybe I can put together an AG version.

Sudster said:

I sure hope that wasn't a slap happy to the Austin hospitality..we were actually sincere in our concern.

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No, I knew you were sincere, and I was sincere in saying I'd rather be there. I just thought a group brew meant brewing as a group...silly me.

Sam75 said:

Nah, actually I'd mentioned before that I liked the looks of this one. Maybe I can put together an AG version.

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I'm gonna still brew it extract. I want a fast brew for this one, as I have 3 planned AG batches in the near future.

El Pistolero said:

No, I knew you were sincere, and I was sincere in saying I'd rather be there. I just thought a group brew meant brewing as a group...silly me.

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Well, no Zinger for you! Come back 1 year!

So, when do you propose we brew it?

Sam75 said:

So, when do you propose we brew it?

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I'd like to get it done SOON. I want it ready by Turkey day (BTW--you are coming over for the eats, right?)

I figure a trip over to the HBS for the extract and do it the same day. Next week some time? Possibly even the week after. What days off during the week do you have??? October is killer for me.....




BTW, this is post 666

Dude, I've got some Wilamette. Pick the stuff up for me while you're down there, and I'll provide the hops.

Sam75 said:

Dude, I've got some Wilamette. Pick the stuff up for me while you're down there, and I'll provide the hops.

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Will probably go Thurs the 29th and brew Friday the 30th. Good for you?

ORRELSE said:

Shoot...with you riding out this hurricane, the bedroom might be an actual home for you in a few days anyway! J/K....I hope everythign works out for you guys!

Group brew is we all do the same recipe on a given date.

Let's do it.

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Hey, King Mullet, do we have to use the EXACT same ingredients? Can I substitute the *ME if I need to?

Cheesefood said:

Hey, King Mullet, do we have to use the EXACT same ingredients? Can I substitute the *ME if I need to?

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YES. EXACTLY THE SAME. NO. SUBSTITUTIONS. ALLOWED.

I'd be in. I've been looking for an excuse to get down to my home brew store since I've been purchasing a lot online.

One question- what would be a good yeast to use if they don't have the one listed in the recipe?

Safale US-56 dried ale yeast (3 packages)

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Why three packs, I have no clue.

BTW, I hope you all realize I was joking about the substitutions.

JillC25 said:

One question- what would be a good yeast to use if they don't have the one listed in the recipe?

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Wyeast 1056 or White Labs WLP001. The famous "chico" strain.

BTW--I'm only going to use 1 pack. After I saw that 1 pack of Safale 56 take off in an hour with no starter on my last LWPA batch, 1 is enough.

ORRELSE said:

Wyeast 1056 or White Labs WLP001. The famous "chico" strain.

BTW--I'm only going to use 1 pack. After I saw that 1 pack of Safale 56 take off in an hour with no starter on my last LWPA batch, 1 is enough.

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I finally got the joke from your Freedom Ale. The buck-o-fav part. Duh!

JillC25 said:

I'd be in. I've been looking for an excuse to get down to my home brew store since I've been purchasing a lot online.

One question- what would be a good yeast to use if they don't have the one listed in the recipe?

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Oops! I misread your question. ORRELSE is correct.

Question: Will you bottle or keg? I too saw this in BYO and found it interesting. But as I live in Oklahoma and the nearest shop is 150 miles away, it may take me a little longer to get to it. Cheesefood, what is recipe for Caramel Vanilla Cream Ale?

Thanks, Tim

Timmy....I plan to keg mine.

Where are you in Oklahoma? I'm originally from Owasso....just north of Tulsa. I'm getting stationed at Tinker AFB in OKC this time next year.

timmy63 said:

Question: Will you bottle or keg? I too saw this in BYO and found it interesting. But as I live in Oklahoma and the nearest shop is 150 miles away, it may take me a little longer to get to it. Cheesefood, what is recipe for Caramel Vanilla Cream Ale?

Thanks, Tim

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Caramel Vanilla Cream Ale. Read the entire thread for changes I made along the way.

Warning! This recipe is untested. I have a batch in the basement going right now. I'll post reviews in about 6 weeks.

Hi Sam. I'm in Enid. Born and raised here. We've got Vance AFB here and glad to have it. When you get to Tinker, look me up, we will talk BEER!! Owasso is near the best Home Brew store in this state. It is called High Gravity and is on South Memorial just south of Woodland Hills mall. It is a great place! Owner's name is Dave and he and his wife have helped a lot over the last few years. Neat Club there too. Called the FOAM Rangers. I can't make their meetings but I try to get to High Gravity at least once a month.
_________________
Tim

Thanks Cheesefood. I may give it a try
______________
Tim

Sam75 said:

I'm getting stationed at Tinker AFB in OKC this time next year.

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My most sincere condolences. Except for the nudie bars of course.

Seriously tho...remind me when that happens. I graduated HS there, used to work there, and still have tons of family and friends who do. Maybe on one of my visits you can show me how to do AG.

Timmy: Cool! Thanks for the tip on the HBS....I will check it out. My family still lives in Owasso. It's funny...I can't quite wrap my mind around a HBS in Tulsa. Seems to be such a liberal thing for the city to allow.

El Pistolero: Hey, I'm lookng forward to it. I've been all over the world since I left OK 12 years ago. Especially after 3 years here in VA, I'm looking forward the the slower pace. You're welcome (as is Timmy). We plan on buying a place out there, so brewing space will be part of the plan. I'm willing to bet you come around to AG before I get out there, though. If not....I will teach you, grasshopper.

orrelse- ya still making this brew?

JillC25 said:

orrelse- ya still making this brew?

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You bet!
Due to a BUSY weekend, I'm probably going to have to brew it early next week. I believe Sam is going to attempt it this weekend.

It may not be a "true" group brew but if we all get within a week of brewing it we will all be able to enjoy and critique together.
So when ya up for it?

Hey Sam....work got in the way of getting back to the forum. What a bummer. Yes, I was quite surprised to find such a well equipped HBS in Tulsa. But it really is a greay place. They have classes and on Saturdays, if you can be there, they hand out samples!!!! They got my wife hooked on wine kits!!! It is really fun too, but I still prefer beer. (Although I have 3 wines going now!!) The HBS in OKC is kind of a disappointment. At least it was for me. It is on Penn (about Penn and 36th). It has the basics, but as I a a gadget guy, I was a little let down. Yes it is somewhat of a liberal thing but I have found Tulsa to be much more liberal than OKC. My wife and I joke that Tulsa doesn't "feel" like you are in Oklahoma anymore!!! And remember that every one in Oklahoma is not close-minded!!!!

Get hold of me when you get here and we can exchange recipes, stories, ideas, etc. My wife has some good friends who live near Owasso now. I think he works for ARCO or something. Computer guy. Nice folks though.
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Tim

Sounds like a plan timmy, thanks!

I think I've got everything I need....I plan to brew it Sunday. Extract, 1.5gal, 30 min boil. It'll be a snap!

ORRELSE said:

It may not be a "true" group brew but if we all get within a week of brewing it we will all be able to enjoy and critique together.
So when ya up for it?

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Definetly! I picked up some goods today at the homebrew store. I will probably brew next friday. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Sweet....brewday was ~1 hr from the time I turned the kitchen burner on to the time I got it into primary. I didn't, however, let it sit for 30min with the lid on it after the boil. Didn't see the point.

Easiest brewday ever.

JillC25 said:

Definetly! I picked up some goods today at the homebrew store. I will probably brew next friday. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

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Cool. I'm brewing it Friday as well. Can't wait to try this one!
BTW, LOVE the sig. I WISH everyday was brewday!

Sam--anything you'd do different than how the recipe goes?

ORRELSE said:

Cool. I'm brewing it Friday as well. Can't wait to try this one!
BTW, LOVE the sig. I WISH everyday was brewday!

Sam--anything you'd do different than how the recipe goes?

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Well, one thing that stood out to me was that the recipe says to let the wort sit for 30 min with the lid on. I presume that this is to pastuerize the honey. That's the only logical conclusion I can come to.

I don't think it's necessary....in fact, I think it's potentially bad. I don't think it's necessary because honey is pretty much naturally clean. It'll keep for years and years on its own. I'm not concerned that it'll contaminate my wort. I am concerned, however, with the potential for DMS "cooked corn" flavors left behind by covering the hot wort for that long. Definitely not a desirable flavor in what's supposed to be such a crisp brew!

That's my take, but WTF do I know?

Brew day today!

I made some modifications to the ingredients bc i was limited in my selection at the HBS. I may have to go with relgular honey too if i can't find the orage blossom sh*t.

I'll post my recipe after I get all my ingredients together. Work day is draggin on

JillC25 said:

Brew day today!

I may have to go with relgular honey too if i can't find the orage blossom sh*t. ...

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I always had to go to a 'specialty' grocery store to buy orange blossom honey. I use it in a red ale I brew. It was never on the shlef next to the Sue Bee generic clover honey at my mega-mart grocery.

Then one day I happened to be in the Hispanic aisle of the mega-mart and, there it was - on the shelf next to the guava nectar and the Abuelita Mexican Chocolate! Orange blossom honey with the honey comb in the jar!You might try that, if your grocery has an Hispanic aisle.

Well, mine is now officially a raspberry zinger. I couldn't find cranberries, anywhere. I love cranberries, so I was really looking forward to this, but I think it'll still come out really nice. I just subbed 3lbs of raspberries....the rest of the fruit relish is the same. It should still have some nice tartness to it.

Also, if this turns out nice, my wife might actually like it, too. The only beer she likes is Lindemanns Frambois. I dout this will have near the raspberry flavor to it, but it might be enough to appease her.

Also, here's a hint: if you up the DME to 1lb, and the LME to 4 pounds, your gravity will be right on for 6 gallons. That should make up for any loss from racking it off the fruit.

Ok,

About to put my ingredients on the boil for this one. I did find the orange blossom honey- after going to trader joes and whole foods and finding everything BUT orange blossom honey- my awesome boyfriend finally scored some at super G. so im set!

6 lbs Wheat extract
2 lbs OB honey
1 oz williamette
irish moss

GO FLYERS!

Zinger is brewed!
Absolutely no problems, everything went off without a hitch. It brought back old (seems like forever) memories of extract brewing.

Anyway--its in the fermenter and sitting until next week!

Can't wait for turkey day when I get tanked on cranberry zinger!!!!

ORRELSE said:

Anyway--its in the fermenter and sitting until next week!
Can't wait for turkey day when I get tanked on cranberry zinger!!!!

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Sweet! Thanks for the recipe

Did you take an OG?

Mine was 1.06

Cheers!