Summer Herbal Ale

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Recluse

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
299
Reaction score
7
Location
NJ USA
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Safale-S05
Yeast Starter
No
Batch Size (Gallons)
2.5
Original Gravity
1.05
Final Gravity
1.010
Boiling Time (Minutes)
30
IBU
25
Color
SRM 6
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21 71-75 deg F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
7 72-75 deg F
Tasting Notes
Tasted before it was fully carbed. I liked it..a little astringent from the herbs.
2.6 lb Golden Light DME
3.2 oz Honey
0.25 lb Crystal 40 (steeped)
0.5 oz Cascade pellet (5.4% AA) 30 min
0.25 oz Amarillo pellet (7.5% AA) 15 min
0.25 oz Amarillo pellet (7.5% AA) 5 min
0.25 oz Dried Elderflower (10 min)
0.2 oz Dried Lemon Balm (10 min)
1/4 Whirlfloc tablet (15 min)

Made a mistake in the recipe DB. IBU was more like 21 than 25 by calculation, but tasted a bit hoppier.

Steeped the crystal from start of heating and removed at 160 deg F, sparged with ~ 32 oz 160 deg water.

1 package Safale S-05 rehydrated in hot water and cooled to ~80 deg F before pitching.

OG= 1.05
FG = 1.01

Did a full boil but didn't quite make up all the volume. OG after boil was closer to 1.06, and I added some bottled water to bring the volume up to hit closer to 1.05.

Primed with 2.5 oz Dextrose

Wanted this to be a light Summer Ale, but the S-05 took it down a bit lower. Shooting for just shy of 5% ABV, ended up about 5.25%

Didn't clear in Primary, but did clear nicely in secondary. Looks like a bit of haze in the bottles, but poured pretty clear. Tasted after 7 days, so it wasn't completely carbonated, but had a light fizz to it.

I was shooting for a crisp summer ale with some elder flower and citrus. Pretty much got what I wanted except for some astringency, maybe from the lemon balm. Most of the citrus seemed to come from the Amarillo hops, with the lemon balm bringing only a bit of bitterness. Would leave it out next time. Probably should have left the honey out too, so it wouldn't dry out so much.

Only made a small batch in case it was terrible, but I think it is good, if a bit different. Have to see how it is received by others.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top