American Wheat Beer Sam Adams Summer Ale Clone

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bailiff48

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2010
Messages
13
Reaction score
4
Location
Des Moines
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast 1007 German Ale
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.051
Final Gravity
1.012
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
29
Color
3.1
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14 D @ 65 deg
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
n/a
Additional Fermentation
n/a
Tasting Notes
Taste is almost dead on to Sam Adams Summer Ale.
5 lb Pilsen (36 ppg 1 L)
3.5 lb Wheat (38 ppg 2 L)
.5 lb CaraPils (33 ppg 1.5 L)
1 lb Wheat - Flaked (36 ppg 2 L)

Strike with 3.8 gallons @ 162 (desired rest at 152)
Sparge with 4.2 gallons @ 170

1.5 oz Hallertauer (5%) @ 60
1 oz Grains of Paradise @ 15
1 oz Lemon Zest @ 15
1 oz Hallertauer (5%) @ 5

Pitch yeast and ferment for 14 days. Bottle condition and carbonate with 4 oz of corn sugar.

Taste is almost dead on to Sam Adams Summer Ale. Carbonation was a little low, probably will up to 4.5 oz next time I brew it. I've had lots of compliments on this one and I'm very happy with it. Definitely keeping this recipe on top for the spring when I'm ready to brew a summer ale again.


If you go for this, let me know. I'd be interested to see how it turns out for someone else!
 
I am actually, hopefully, going to try and make this recipe as my very first batch. Loved Brooklyn Summer Ale all summer and am having a hard time finding a clone all grain for that one but I know the Sam Adams is pretty close. Looking forward to it but it will be a little while before I get to it as I am currently gathering kettles and wort chillers and such at this point. So I am assuming overall you liked the batch you made. I saw the note about upping sugar to 4.5 instead of 4. Any other suggestions at this point?

Paul
 
I am actually, hopefully, going to try and make this recipe as my very first batch. Loved Brooklyn Summer Ale all summer and am having a hard time finding a clone all grain for that one but I know the Sam Adams is pretty close. Looking forward to it but it will be a little while before I get to it as I am currently gathering kettles and wort chillers and such at this point. So I am assuming overall you liked the batch you made. I saw the note about upping sugar to 4.5 instead of 4. Any other suggestions at this point?

Paul

Yeah, I liked it a lot! Unfortunately we lost some due to an errant hyperactive dog! :mad: I have not had the Brooklyn Summer Ale, so don't know how the flavors differ, but if it is close, finding the missing component shouldn't be too terribly difficult. At this point (about 2-3 months removed from brewing), I wouldn't change anything aside from the priming sugar. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know how it goes when you are able to brew it, particularly if you adjust it somehow!
 
I will definitely let you know how it turns out but I won't be adjusting anything. This is my very first adventure into beer making so I will be doing it with a friend. If he changes the recipe that's one thing. I have made wine from kits and mead from scratch myself. Really looking forward to this.
 
Are you sure you added 1 OZ. of grains of paradise ?
Other recipes I have seen only add a few grams.
 
5 lb Pilsen (36 ppg 1 L)
3.5 lb Wheat (38 ppg 2 L)
.5 lb CaraPils (33 ppg 1.5 L)
1 lb Wheat - Flaked (36 ppg 2 L)

Strike with 3.8 gallons @ 162 (desired rest at 152)
Sparge with 4.2 gallons @ 170

1.5 oz Hallertauer (5%) @ 60
1 oz Grains of Paradise @ 15
1 oz Lemon Zest @ 15
1 oz Hallertauer (5%) @ 5

Pitch yeast and ferment for 14 days. Bottle condition and carbonate with 4 oz of corn sugar.

Taste is almost dead on to Sam Adams Summer Ale. Carbonation was a little low, probably will up to 4.5 oz next time I brew it. I've had lots of compliments on this one and I'm very happy with it. Definitely keeping this recipe on top for the spring when I'm ready to brew a summer ale again.


If you go for this, let me know. I'd be interested to see how it turns out for someone else!

By 5# Pilsen, do you mean Pilsner?
 
Well the reports are in on the Summer Ale clone. So far so good. Even I like it. I don't think it is an exact match but I think we are in the neighborhood overall. One of my taste testers came back and said she would give it about a 7-8 overall. Another said he would like to drink a lot of it. I liked it too. I would agree about a 7 overall. But we had problems making it so I attribute that to our problems. Turns out I was shorted a little bit on each of the grains by about 1/4 to 1/2 pound so we made up the difference with some grains that he had. Also we misjudged the liquid levels and had to add about a 1/2 gallon of water while it was fermenting. He only got a little less that 4.5 gallons of wort initially. And that was my comment on flavor. I thought it was there but it is a lighter flavor than I was hoping for, but like I said, fairly good overall. I am pleased overall and am now going to try and make my own on my own all by myself now. Thinking of making an Irish Red. We shall see how it goes.
 
I know this thread has been inactive for a little now, but I did this recipe so I thought I'd comment. I brewed a few weeks ago, bottled two weeks ago, and had my first taste today, and it was almost spot on! Mine was a little too lemony, but that's because I only eyeballed how much lemon zest I had made. Also, there may be a typo in the recipe. It says 1 oz Grains of Paradise, and maybe it should say 1 gram? At my LHBS they sell it by the gram for $1/g, so 1 oz would cost $28. I used the 1g bag and like I said, almost right on.
Anyway, I really recommend this recipe. This was my first AG and I only hit 63% efficiency, but still, very good. If you Like SA Summer Ale, go for it!
 
+1

I did a variation, but it is really good. Probably my favorite wheat brew I have done so far. It reminds me of summer ale off the tap (2 for 1) at Chilis from way back when ;)


11G batch @ 75% efficiency; 1.051 OG

10lbs pils
7 lbs wheat malt
2lbs flaked wheat
1lbs carapils

tett 89g 4.7% aa (60min)
2oz lemon zest (15min)
hallertau hers 40g 3% (5min)
tett 60g 4.7% (5min)
4g grains of paradise (5min)

WLP 051
152F mash
 
I just bottled this today, and think I had an issue with my yeast or efficiency. Post boil gravity was 1.030 (seems fairly low considering the OP's was 1.051) and Final Gravity at bottling was 1.019.

:(
 
I just bottled this today, and think I had an issue with my yeast or efficiency. Post boil gravity was 1.030 (seems fairly low considering the OP's was 1.051) and Final Gravity at bottling was 1.019.

:(

This just hit me. They were adjusting the grain mill when I was doing my shopping at normally. I'll bet the grains didn't get crushed enough.
 
Brewed this 3 weeks ago and just opened the first bottle, absolutely amazing. Used WLP020 instead of Wyeast 1007, but that's the only thing different I did in the recipe, taste is spot on. Thank you for the recipe.
 
I brewed this recipe on Memorial Day. 2 days later my fermenter lid blew off sometime during the day while at work (what a joy). I sanitized and replaced the lid and did 2 more days in primary. I then racked to secondary. Kegging tomorrow. Will pull the first pint shortly thereafter. I will report back. Really hoping this didn't get ruined when the lid blew off.
 
Relax...

Wheat beers tend to blow off the lid. There's plenty of Co2 in there and enough alcohol
to take care of anything that blows in...

Mine will be ready end of the month. Enjoy...
 
I make my Sam Adams summer ale with wlp008. That is supposed to be the yeast they use but wlp001 tastes about the same.
 
My brew is finally ready for tasting.

Alterations to the recipe:
wyeast 1056 American Ale
2 cups DME (to make up for terrible initial gravity.)
Acid malt to adjust ph.

Comparison between commercial and homebrew resulted in:
homebrew sweeter
homebrew a bit more bitter
commercial crisper
commercial has more paradise flavors
commercial yellower.

So I'm going to swap the dark wheat for the light to adjust color. And switch back to wlp008.

What should I adjust to reduce the sweetness? I was dryer (1.008) than the 1.010 commercial FG.
Also, why do we have flaked wheat and dextrine malt. Don't both do the same thing ?
 
Flaked wheat gives it body just like the real thing. If your to dry try using your mash temp. So if your mashing at 152 try 154. Could be your temp is off by 2 degrees.
 
5 lb Pilsen (36 ppg 1 L)
3.5 lb Wheat (38 ppg 2 L)
.5 lb CaraPils (33 ppg 1.5 L)
1 lb Wheat - Flaked (36 ppg 2 L)

Strike with 3.8 gallons @ 162 (desired rest at 152)
Sparge with 4.2 gallons @ 170

1.5 oz Hallertauer (5%) @ 60
1 oz Grains of Paradise @ 15
1 oz Lemon Zest @ 15
1 oz Hallertauer (5%) @ 5

Pitch yeast and ferment for 14 days. Bottle condition and carbonate with 4 oz of corn sugar.

Taste is almost dead on to Sam Adams Summer Ale. Carbonation was a little low, probably will up to 4.5 oz next time I brew it. I've had lots of compliments on this one and I'm very happy with it. Definitely keeping this recipe on top for the spring when I'm ready to brew a summer ale again.


If you go for this, let me know. I'd be interested to see how it turns out for someone else!


According to the sam adams page for this beer the ibus are 7....no where near 29. :confused:
 
I use .50 Oz hallertauer @ 30 and .50 Saaz @ 10 which ends up at 7.1 ibus, depending on the AA's of the hops. According to the Web site both these hops are in summer ale. I do believe they added the saaz hops the this year's brew.
 
Here's my recipe:

Sam Addams Summer Ale clone - Blonde Ale
Brewer Shadows69
Date 5/17/13
Batch Size 5.613 gal Boil Size 6.507 gal
Boil Time 60.000 min Efficiency 70%
OG 1.050
FG 1.014
ABV 4.7%
Bitterness 7.4 IBU (Tinseth)
Color 4.2 srm (Morey)
Calories (per 12 oz.) 165

Fermentables
Total grain: 11.025 lb Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Rahr - 2 Row Malt Grain 7.000 lb Yes No 80% 2.0 srm
Briess - Wheat Malt, White Grain 3.000 lb Yes No 86% 2.6 srm
Wheat, Flaked Grain 8.000 oz Yes No 77% 2.0 srm
Cara-Pils/Dextrine Grain 8.000 oz Yes No 72% 2.0 srm
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L Grain 0.400 oz Yes No 74% 60.0 srm

Hops
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Hallertau 4.6% 0.500 oz Boil 30.000 min Pellet 5.6
Saaz (Czech Republic) 3.0% 0.500 oz Boil 10.000 min Pellet 1.7

Misc
Name Type Use Amount Time
Paradise Seed Flavor Boil 1 gram 15.000 min
Lemon Spice Boil 1.000 oz 15.000 min

Yeast
Name Type Form Amount Stage
WLP008 - East Coast Ale Yeast Ale Liquid 2.367 tbsp Primary

Mash
Name Type Amount Temp Target Temp Time
Infusion 3.800 gal 162.000 F 152.000 F 60.000 min
Infusion 4.200 gal 183.000 F 167.000 F 10.000 min

Notes
2.00 oz dry Lemon Zest (Boil 10.0 min) Misc or 1oz fresh lemon peel

1.00 gm Seeds of Paradise (Boil 10.0 min) Misc

Mash in at 164 degrees pot temp (150)

Mash out at 187 degrees pot temp (169)

70 min boil

updated 7-2014
 
Only 1g of seeds of paradise seems light. Most recipes have around 4g. Crushed I assume.

Btw, I keep seeing flaked wheat. What for?

Nice recipe!
 
(Edit that should be 2 grams of seeds of paradise) I stuck with 2 grams of seeds of paradise because that is what the Local brew sold them in a packet (Stuff isn't cheap). I since have scored 4 oz of seeds of paradise on eBay for around $15, so i may up it a little. Flaked wheat adds a little body to the brew.
 
Bringing this back to life.

I'm not sure how much Grains of Paradise is in a gram. Is there an idea of how much would equal a gram?
 
I was in a store today and saw some Grains of Paradise and it reminded me that I had looked this recipe up before but never tried it. I think I am going to give it a go.

I do have one question though. I have read elsewhere that you should boil Pilsen an extra 30 minutes (cant remember why) but the recipe says 60min boil. Can anyone comment on this? Should I bother with the extra boil time? Does not look like anyone else did.

Thanks,
Klink
 
Some people say Pilsen needs a 90 minute boil to get rid of the extra DMS it has over regular 2-row. Others say it's not the case, and that's old thinking that doesn't really apply. I still boil my Pilsen-based wort for 90 minutes, though.
 
Pilsner malt does have more dms than 2 row. You might be able to get away with 60 minutes but it is not advisable. You also have to remember those who think it doesn't effect their beer may have a less sensitive palate or just don't know what dms tastes like. I'm a bjcp judge and noticed I have a higher sensitivity for it and get it a lot more than I hope to and it kills people's scores.
 
I use 2 row in my recipe. 60 min boil and only one hop addition at 30 minutes. Website claimes only 7 ibu. Also, in the last two years they added saaz hops to the brew.
 
Just brewed this, subbed in 2row for the Pilsner Malt, zested 3 lemons, and used US-05... I'll report back but its smelling great!
 
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