Looking for Kona Big Wave Golden Ale Clone

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swamplawn

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Does anyone have a recipe (All Grain) for Kona's Big Wave Golden Ale?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

From their website (www.konabrewingco.com)-

Big Wave is a light golden ale with a subtle fruitiness and delicate hop aroma. A smooth, easy drinking refreshing ale. The lightly roasted honey malt contributes to the golden hue of this beer and also gives a slight sweetness that is balanced out by our special blend of hops.

Bitterness- 20 IBU
ABV- 5.3%
OG- 12.5 P
Malts- Pale Premium 2 Row, Honey
Hops- Northern Brewer, Willamette, Hallertau
 
here is what I just tries. I'll let u know in a few weeks

Batch size 5 gallons
Boil size 6.1 gallons
Boil time 60 minutes
Grain weight 10 pounds
Efficiency 75%
Original gravity 1.057
Final gravity 1.013
Alcohol (by volume) 5.8%
Bitterness (IBU) 17
Color (SRM) 5.3°L
Yeast
2 liquid packs
White Labs
WLP001 California Ale

Grains/Extracts/Sugars
10 pounds
2 Row Base
37ppg, 2°L 9.5 pounds
95%
Honey
30ppg, 25°L 0.5 pounds
5%

Hops
0.52 ounces
Liberty hops
15%, Pellet 0.32 ounces
Willamette hops
5.5%, Pellet 0.1 ounces
Hallertauer hops
4.2%, Pellet 0.1 ounces

Additions
0.1 ounces
Irish moss
Fining 0.1 ounces

Mash
60 minutes, 7.9 gallons
Strike
Target 154°F 3.8 gallons
165°F
60 minutes (+0)
Sparge
Target 170°F 4.2 gallons
177°F

Boil
60 minutes, 6.1 gallons
Liberty hops
15%, Pellet 0.32 ounces
60 minutes (+0)
Willamette hops
5.5%, Pellet 0.1 ounces
20 minutes (+40)
Irish moss
Fining 0.1 ounces
10 minutes (+50)
Hallertauer hops
4.2%, Pellet 0.1 ounces
1 minutes (+59)

Ferment
14 days @ 68-73°F
 
Well? Any update? I was just out there and really fell in love with the draft version - great tropical hop character - I'm surprised they dont list something like citra or the like. The bottled version loses a lot of this tropical character. I say this because at our hotel one bar had the kegged version - the other only bottles and there was a notable diference. Given that this was all in HI, there was no travel issues for the bottles.
 
The bottles I get have really big tropical aroma and flavor. It's one of my favorite beers right now. I assume that the galaxy and citra clones would be closer to how it tastes nowadays.
 
I've searched for a clone too. Would love to hear more about findings/trials
 
I listened to an interview with one of the breweries in Hawaii and I recall them using pressed pineapple but it may have been Maui Brewing Co
 
Honestly, I just came back from Honolulu, and Firerock and Koko Brown were IMO by far superior. I was not a fan of the Big Wave, but I think it would be a very easy beer to clone.

I would try this, from what I remember it will get you close.

6.5lb 2 row
1lb Crystal 20 (maybe drop to a 10l)
.25lb Biscuit (I remember there was a slight malty biscuity taste, maybe I'm wrong, I would do it to your taste, if you taste something in there more than just the crystal malt I would try this. The big thing is this is a pretty light beer so experiment carefully. It needs to blend with the tropic fruit taste you get from the citra. Also could be why people are using honey is some of the other clones.)
.5lb Carapils (every beer I add 5-10%)

.75 oz willamette 60 min
irish moss 15 min
.5 oz citra 10 min
.5 oz citra 5 min
1 oz citra flame out

1043 OG
19 IBU
6 SRM
Id try to get the FG around 1010-1009. Id prolly shoot for 150 mash maybe a bit under than over to keep the beer lighter.

Questions and critiques welcome. But not to bash the poster above with the recipe, but I dont think it will get you what you would expect (even though snooping around it looks like he based it off all the other previous clone recipes from others).
 
Their own site says galaxy and citra, so I think you're pretty close. It seems that they might've changed the recipe at some point. I'll give it a shot using your guide once I get a fermenter free, but maybe add some galaxy and nix the willamette. I just tried the firerock for the first time last night and I'm not too fond of it. A bit too bitter or something I guess. I prefer less upfront bitterness and more fruit.
 
Looks like a great recipe. I wasn't a fan of fire rock either- I think there's too much dark crystal and the hops don't do much for me in that combination.
 
Well? Any update? I was just out there and really fell in love with the draft version - great tropical hop character - I'm surprised they dont list something like citra or the like. The bottled version loses a lot of this tropical character. I say this because at our hotel one bar had the kegged version - the other only bottles and there was a notable diference. Given that this was all in HI, there was no travel issues for the bottles.

Their bottles all come from widmer and someone on the east coast (craft brewers alliance or whatever it's called). The draft on the islands is 100% from their small brewery on kona (~20 bbl I think), and it's definitely best at the brew pub followed by draft and then bottles. They use citra now but the original recipe was brewed before citra was available, so I don't know when they changed it.
 
HIlife said:
Their bottles all come from widmer and someone on the east coast (craft brewers alliance or whatever it's called). The draft on the islands is 100% from their small brewery on kona (~20 bbl I think), and it's definitely best at the brew pub followed by draft and then bottles. They use citra now but the original recipe was brewed before citra was available, so I don't know when they changed it.

Thanks for the info! Wish I could've tasted it straight from the pub!
 
I just bought some more Big Wave, this time not from the same store (Vons), but from BevMo. After I bought it, I cracked one open and noticed that the flavor wasn't there. Not much fruit at all and kind of boring. Checked the bottling date and indeed, it was bottled October 1, 2012. The other ones were all bottled within the month, and the most recent ones I bought from the other store were only a week and a half old. Now I have a bunch of flavorless Big Wave to drink...
 
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