Apple Jackhammer Recipe

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Torchiest

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This is my attempt at making something vaguely resembling Unibroue Ephemere. I was going to go with a Belgian Wit yeast at first, but I decided I wanted it a little bit fruitier, but still phenolic.

I'm debating whether or not to use coriander and orange peels this time. I'm not sure if a whole gallon of apple juice is too much, but I think it should be okay. The only other issue is that I'd like it to have a tart, granny smith flavor, but I don't know if it's possible to get granny smith apple juice.

I'll be making a starter tomorrow and brewing Monday, if all goes to plan.

EDIT: I'm pretty sure the gravity estimates are a bit low, because there doesn't seem to be an easy way in BeerSmith to account for fermentables that the apple juice contributes.

Apple Jackhammer

Brew Type: Extract
Style: Witbier
Batch Size: 5.00 gal

7.00 lb Wheat Liquid Extract
1.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row)
1.00 lb Wheat, Torrified
0.50 lb Oats, Flaked
2.00 oz Willamette [4.20%] (30 min) 20.8 IBU
1.00 gal Apple Juice (primary)
1 Pkgs Belgian Ale (White Labs #WLP550) Yeast-Ale

Estimated Original Gravity: 1.053 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Color: 8.2 SRM (2.0-4.0 SRM)
Bitterness: 20.8 IBU
Alpha Acid Units: 1.7 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 5.2 %
 
Sounds interesting, hope it works out for you. I haven't tried an apple beer yet, but it sounds good.
 
Definitely keep this post running. I'm going to be jumping on this bandwagon within a week or so.....got to get the IPA going first.

I think the grain bill looks nice.....I am on the fence as to whether I'd AG this because I've never donean AG wheat. Going to do some more research about the apple juice part from the perspective of fermentables and fresh vs. bottled vs. mixed/unknown apples, etc.

I'll let you know if I come up with anything......
 
This is what Qbrew gives without the apple juice.

I used 30 points and 5 degrees for the Torrified Wheat and 35 points and 5 degrees for the Liquid wheat malt extract.


Apple Jackhammer


Recipe Apple Jackhammer Style Belgian Blond Ale
Brewer Batch 5.00 gal
Mashed

Recipe Characteristics
Recipe Gravity 1.063 OG Estimated FG 1.016 FG
Recipe Bitterness 19 IBU Alcohol by Volume 6.3%
Recipe Color 6° SRM Alcohol by Weight 4.9%

Ingredients
Quantity Grain Use
7.00 lb Wheat malt extract extract
1.00 lb American two-row mashed
1.00 lb American wheat other
0.50 lb Flaked oats mashed
Quantity Hop Form Time
2.00 oz Willamette pellet 30 minutes
Quantity Misc Notes

Recipe Notes
 
OK - looking at a AG variation of this (with some hop variation due to what I have in stock), here is what I'm thinking:

5 lbs. Pale 2-row
3 lbs. White Wheat (winter)
.5lb. Flaked Oats
.5 lb. Torrified Wheat

.75 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfruh pellets (40 min / 12.5 IBU)
.5 oz. German Perle whole (5 min / 3 IBU)

That should get me around 1050SG and 15.5 IBU's.

I am not sure how the apple juice is going to affect the gravity and all....I've got to do more reading on that. I think it is going to lead me towards dropping the 2-row, but we shall see. Keep me posted on your thoughts to this, and what you plan to do. If I come across anything Earth-shattering, I'll bounce it off ya.

The WLP550 seems like the best yeast bet, but I'm also intrigued by the WLP410:

* WLP410 Belgian Wit II Ale Yeast
PLATINUM STRAIN – May/June
Less phenolic than WLP400, and more spicy. Will leave a bit more sweetness, and flocculation is higher than WLP400. Use to produce Belgian Wit, spiced Ales, wheat Ales, and specialty Beers.
 
Yeah, I really really want to use that yeast, but it's only available for a couple months out of the year. I was, in fact, going to use it for my raspberry wit that is conditioning, but that was before I noticed the limited availability. I used WLP400 for that beer, and it came out pretty good, but I definitely plan on using WLP410 when it's the right time of year. Might even save some and use it in a Christmas ale this time around.

If I recall correctly from something I may have read in EdWort's Apfelwein thread, apple juice has a SG of ~1.050. So adding one gallon to the batch would be one fifth that, or a ten point boost to 1.063 on my recipe. I'll probably drop down to 6lbs of Wheat LME.

Also from that thread, I know you can get pasteurized (i.e. sanitized) apple juice from the store, which means you could just pour it into the primary after you've got the wort in there.

Putting it into BeerSmith, my estimated ABV is 5.4%. Unibroue Ephemere is 5.5%, so I think this is on the right track. Even if it doesn't come out the same, I'm confident it will be tasty and interesting.
 
"I am not sure how the apple juice is going to affect the gravity and all....I've got to do more reading on that."

Looking back at my apfelwein notes, the gravity of my apple juice straight from the box was 1.050. And it fermented totally dry.
 
I bought two half gallon jugs of Central Market organic unfiltered pasteurized apple juice. It's got some nice sediment in the bottom; I'm hoping for a high quality real apple flavor. The only thing I was concerned about is that I want a more tart, granny smith flavor, and it seems that all apple juice is made from red delicious or similar types of apples. However, the one that I ended up purchasing had both red and green apples on the label, so hopefully it will have some nice tartness. T-minus 15hrs until brewtime!
 
It's done. I ended up brewing with a bit too much water, and after I added the apple juice, I was pretty close to filling the whole dang six gallon carboy! I've got a couple inches of clearance, but I would guess it's probably not going to be enough. I already put in the blow-off tube.

My OG was 1.052, which makes sense considering I have about 5.5 gallons of wort now. I tasted the sample, and it was interesting. Sweet apple and a surprising amount of hop bitterness. Glad I used Willamette. I got a major full boil this time, my best so far, including two boil overs, so I'm sure my hop utilization was much higher than previous times.
 
It's done. I ended up brewing with a bit too much water, and after I added the apple juice, I was pretty close to filling the whole dang six gallon carboy! I've got a couple inches of clearance, but I would guess it's probably not going to be enough. I already put in the blow-off tube.

My OG was 1.052, which makes sense considering I have about 5.5 gallons of wort now. I tasted the sample, and it was interesting. Sweet apple and a surprising amount of hop bitterness. Glad I used Willamette. I got a major full boil this time, my best so far, including two boil overs, so I'm sure my hop utilization was much higher than previous times.


How did this turn out? Sounds like you guys are (were) onto something and I am keen to learn and try to get some similar flavours to Ephemere black currant beer from Chambly Quebec
 
Wow, hadn't looked at this thread in ages. The beer was actually pretty good. It ended up having a "flaw", diacetyl, which gave it a butterscotch flavor. The funny thing is, that flavor actually worked with the overall apple flavor. :D

I'd say the one gallon of juice to four gallons of beer ratio was pretty good. I'm actually thinking about trying to brew this one again, maybe in the spring. It would make a great cool down after yardwork kind of beer.
 
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