summer experiment!

I just recently decided to brew a summer beer that was very easy drinking, but also has a nice kick of flavor. It was pretty much an experiment because I've never brewed with any of these ingredients before except for the wheat LME. This is for a 5 gallon yielding batch.

6.6 lbs Briess wheat LME
1 lbs muntons extra light DME

cascade 7.5 % pellets
- 0.5 oz for 30 minutes
- 0.5 oz for ~5 minutes

100 grams crystallized ginger, ground in processor (last 5 min.)
25 grams dried lemongrass (last 5 min.)
45 grams dried orange peel, unsure if sweet or bitter (last 5 min.)
35 grams chopped and dried sassafras bark (last 5 min.)

OG 1.052-1.055
FG 1.013

safale us-05 (american ale yeast): 2 packets sprinkled dry on top of wort

My goal was an american style wheat with a citrus, grassy, ginger flavor.

Let me know what you think! Thanks!


*by the way I bottled it tonight and it tasted pretty good except for the green wheat beer taste. I think it could use a bit more hops

sounds like a Lemon Ginger Ale and the few that I have had are dynamite, only on brewery I know makes it and its on special release i.e. you have to know the brewmaster.

That sounds like a great recipe.

Normally, I frown on a clean yeast profile in a wheat beer, but a lot of banana, clove, and bubblegum wouldn't do much for all the spices you threw in.

I would be very interested in the result.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that if the lemongrass works for you, seek out some lemon basil. It has no basil flavor; instead, it tastes like lemongrass--without the grassiness--and looks just like small-leaved basil.

Amazing stuff.

thanks for the input everyone. That's why I chose the american ale yeast. I wasn't sure exactly what type yeast they use for american wheats, but they all seem to have more of a clean taste with a bit of citrus, instead of the weizen taste with cloves and banana.

That lemon basil idea sounds good! do you know if you have to use more/less per gallon of wort than with the lemongrass? Before I brewed it, I made a tea with all the additions in the same proportions and it seemed as though you have to use A LOT of lemongrass to get the flavor to come out (not to cost effective).

Anyone ever heard of sassafras bark being used? I thought a hint of the aroma and taste would be great for a summer beer

for those of you who care to know, this recipe IS dynamite. Very very good. It does have a wheat character but it is more of a clean wheat taste... no bananas or cloves. The added spices give it a pretty complex flavor, but it is pretty refreshing, just the way I wanted it to be. Some sort of tweek needs to be done but I'm not sure what exactly it is...