Monteith's Summer Ale help

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

So I've been brewing Christmas presents for my brothers and brothers-in-law. I've asked each of them what their favorite brew is. One brother-in-law said he fell in love with Monteith's Summer Ale when he was in New Zealand last year. I've found two somewhat clone-ish recipes but they don't seem to be quite right and I'd like to do better.

Here is what my research has found so far.

"Made with lightly kilned malts, ginger and rata honey."

"A refreshingly spiced, bright gold beer with a real flavoursome zest. First we chose four different malts to give a smooth heart, then we carefully brought the beer through the brewhouse and spiced it gently with a single hop variety. With the addition of traditional spices and the finishing touch of a little rata honey"

Tasting notes from various sites indicate a strong ginger note and there is always a mention of the "rata" honey, whatever that is. Several tasters also detected orange peel and a citrusy light hop flavor. A few sites allude to local NZ hops. I'm thinking Riwaka, which is listed as having citrus and grapefruit notes. Of course, I can't find it on the US so I'll have to order it from NZ.

So here's what I have so far.

4 lb UK 2-row malt
2 lb German Wheat malt
1 lb Torrified Wheat
12 oz Crystal 20

.5 oz Riwaka - 45 min
.5 oz Riwaka - 10 min
2 oz Ginger root - 10 min
1 lb Honey - 10 min
1 oz Sweet Orange Peel - 5 min

Mash 60 min at 148F

Wyeast 1056

OG 1.048
FG 1.008
6 SRM
13 IBU
5.2% ABV

Not sure what 4 malts would give a "smooth heart". Seems like a summer ale would have wheat but I'm not sure. Maybe sub pils for the wheat? Just used a generic yeast. Any other suggestions?

So waddya think?

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Anyone? Bueller?

 

[ong]

You can get rata honey from Amazon, fwiw. I wouldn't add it during the boil, though, or you'll lose any aroma contribution. Maybe even in secondary? Live dangerous!

It seems to me like a half lb of honey malt might go well here, helping bring out some of the honey flavor and adding sweetness.

Not much hops in your recipe -- is the original pretty low as well?

 

[ong]

Btw, I'd do the ginger in secondary, too. Grate some fresh ginger root, add some hot (160-ish) water, squeeze through cloth to get a nice extract with no fiber.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Thanks, ong. I should have thought of Amazon. You can get anything there. Hadn't thought of honey malt, either. Not sure if that might interfere with the citrus notes.

As for the hops, their website seems to indicate that it is <20 IBU. I may try a small hop stand and/or dry hop to bring a little aroma out without the bitterness. Having never actually tasted this beer, I am at a decided disadvantage. I was figuring on tweaking the flavor with some ginger in secondary but I hadn't considered the ginger "tea" you describe. Sounds like a good way to do it.

 

[ong]

Thanks, ong. I should have thought of Amazon. You can get anything there. Hadn't thought of honey malt, either. Not sure if that might interfere with the citrus notes.

As for the hops, their website seems to indicate that it is <20 IBU. I may try a small hop stand and/or dry hop to bring a little aroma out without the bitterness. Having never actually tasted this beer, I am at a decided disadvantage. I was figuring on tweaking the flavor with some ginger in secondary but I hadn't considered the ginger "tea" you describe. Sounds like a good way to do it.

Yeah, when I've made ginger beer (the non-alcoholic kind), I've gotten good results by grating fresh ginger root into a mesh bag in a bowl, pouring "mash temperature" water over it, and letting it steep. Boiling keeps some of the ginger hotness but loses a lot of the aromatics.

Good luck!

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

OK, so here's an update in case anyone is remotely interested. I tweaked the recipe some more and brewed this in November. Here's the final recipe:

4 lb US 2-row
2.5 lb German Wheat
12 oz Vienna
8 oz C20

Mash 30 min at 131F
45 min at 148F

75 min boil
.5 oz Motueka - 30 min
4 oz Fresh grated ginger - 30 min
.5 oz Motueka - 10 min
1 oz Fresh grated ginger - 10 min
1 lb Rata Honey - 10 min
2 oz Sweet Orange Peel - 5 min

Wyeast 1010 American Wheat

OG 1.048
FG 1.009
5 SRM
15 IBU
5.1% ABV

I decided not to do ginger in the secondary since I was afraid it would be too much. I had read that adding it earlier in the boil would help to mellow any bite and that seems to be true. It really just has some aroma and a hint of ginger. I may even add some to secondary if I brew this again.

I gave it to my brother-in-law for Xmas and he loves it. Says it is very close to Monteith's. Having never tasted Monteith's, I can't really comment on that but I do actually like it. It is light and refreshing and the ginger is not overpowering. I may try this one next summer.

Meanwhile, my brother-in-law is now going to start brewing. His wife asked me for a recommendation and got him a brewing setup for Xmas. I'm going to their house this weekend to help him with his first brew. Mwa-ha-ha (evil laugh) - another one comes over to the Dark Side.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Interesting development ... This brew has become a house regular on my summer brew list. However, I may have to sue Sam Adams I just bought their seasonal variety pack (mainly to get their Old Fezziwig) and it includes their new Ginger Beer. It is a very close match to my recipe above (now called Kiwi Krush) minus the citrus notes. Who knew that SA trolled HBT!

 

[flipster]

The last Summer Ale I had was about 3.5yrs ago ... and really I miss it - definitely my favourite beer in NZ.
I tried to recreate the flavour in a few brews, but the result was too far off for my taste. I really don't know, why I didn't find this recipe earlier.

I do remember the beer as follows:
- a light, not that sparkly, very refreshing blonde ale
- not too sweet, but definitely not dry
- a light citrus-ish taste and smell, as well as a slightly aftertaste of that
- a hint of ginger flavour, with a minimum of hotness (definitely not like having your tastebuds smashed out by a root of ginger wrapped round a gold brick.)
I do remember one of the bottle labels definitely mentioning Motueka hops, but couldn't find proof of that it in my notes or pictures. But that's why I always have a decent amount of that hops in my freezer.

So far I tried adding peeled and grained ginger (2g/l ~.25oz/gal(US) ) t-10min (that was was okayish, but spicier than the original) and the same amount dry-gingering (a hint of nothing). I assume your output is about 7 gal wort, rughly estimaded by the amount of malt used?

I've now already some brews in my pipeline - but your recipe inspires me to return to the drawing board for this.

first thoughs, just what popped into my mind:
75-80% pale ale low colour, 10-15% light wheat, 5% caramel amber, 5% sour
motueka hops to get to ~20 IBU, and somewhat for dry hopping (instead of orange peels, although I might try that at some point)
honey syrup (istead of shugar syrup) to carbonize up to 5g/l CO2 in bottles
...and of course ginger at some point... I think I'm going to split the next brews to do more reasearch about the amount..
and some kind of "neutral" yeast like M44 WestCoast or maybe a M12 Kveik

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

The last Summer Ale I had was about 3.5yrs ago ... and really I miss it - definitely my favourite beer in NZ.
I tried to recreate the flavour in a few brews, but the result was too far off for my taste. I really don't know, why I didn't find this recipe earlier.

I do remember the beer as follows:
- a light, not that sparkly, very refreshing blonde ale
- not too sweet, but definitely not dry
- a light citrus-ish taste and smell, as well as a slightly aftertaste of that
- a hint of ginger flavour, with a minimum of hotness (definitely not like having your tastebuds smashed out by a root of ginger wrapped round a gold brick.)
I do remember one of the bottle labels definitely mentioning Motueka hops, but couldn't find proof of that it in my notes or pictures. But that's why I always have a decent amount of that hops in my freezer.

So far I tried adding peeled and grained ginger (2g/l ~.25oz/gal(US) ) t-10min (that was was okayish, but spicier than the original) and the same amount dry-gingering (a hint of nothing). I assume your output is about 7 gal wort, rughly estimaded by the amount of malt used?

I've now already some brews in my pipeline - but your recipe inspires me to return to the drawing board for this.

first thoughs, just what popped into my mind:
75-80% pale ale low colour, 10-15% light wheat, 5% caramel amber, 5% sour
motueka hops to get to ~20 IBU, and somewhat for dry hopping (instead of orange peels, although I might try that at some point)
honey syrup (istead of shugar syrup) to carbonize up to 5g/l CO2 in bottles
...and of course ginger at some point... I think I'm going to split the next brews to do more reasearch about the amount..
and some kind of "neutral" yeast like M44 WestCoast or maybe a M12 Kveik

Wow, this is a blast from the past! Good to hear someone else is giving this a shot. It has become part of my stock summer brew schedule every year. I've brewed it probably 10 times and I've tweaked it a little. Here's my recipe now for a 5 gal batch:

4 lbs US pale malt
2 lbs 8 oz German wheat
12 oz Vienna
8 oz Crystal 20
2 oz Acid malt (or as needed)

75 min boil with:
1 oz Riwaka hops - 30 min
6 oz (yes, really) fresh grated ginger - 30 min
1.5 oz Riwaka hops - 10 min
1 lb Honey - 10 min
1.5 oz fresh grated ginger - 10 min
2 oz Sweet orange peel - 5 min

I've tried Voss Kveik yeast, but I prefer Wyeast 1010. I've used Motueka and Riwaka hops and slightly prefer the Riwaka. I can even now get it in the US.

I still do a 2-step infusion mash for 30 min at 140F and 30 min at 148. Not sure if it makes any difference, but it works so I don't mess with it.

You're probably thinking 7.5 oz of grated ginger is a lot, but it isn't too strong. Most of it boils off and ferments away. It gives it just the right amount of bite. If you like it more subtle, you can try a little less. I grate it and put it in a hop bag in the boil. I don't do any dry hop in the fermenter.

Here's the numbers:
OG 1.049
24 IBU
4.4 SRM
5.2 - 5.7% ABV

It comes out crisp, a little citrusy, and with just a little bite. I'll be curious to hear about your results. Good luck.

 

[flipster]

Amazing!
Thanks for the update to your recipe and for sharing your experience.
The gears in my head are already turning how to experiment with the amount of ginger again, this will be my next steps ... I see myself in front of more than one wort boiler to split batches

I'll keep you posted, but it may take a while.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Amazing!
Thanks for the update to your recipe and for sharing your experience.
The gears in my head are already turning how to experiment with the amount of ginger again, this will be my next steps ... I see myself in front of more than one wort boiler to split batches

I'll keep you posted, but it may take a while.

I look forward to hearing how it comes out.

 

[broot]

This sounds interesting, just did a copy/ paste on the recipe and think I will give it a try soon.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

This sounds interesting, just did a copy/ paste on the recipe and think I will give it a try soon.

Let me know how it comes out.