So, the second crop of Rhubarb come in late summer and I brewed this last month.
I decided to make a small 2 gallon test batch with the ingredients I had on hand. I did a Brew-in-a-Bag batch just for simplicity. I had my first mostly-carbonated beer tonight, and it was not too bad. The tartness of the rhubarb really came through at the rhubarb-to-wort ratio I used (1.5 lb:2 gal). It almost had a Belgian-ish taste about it, and it was NOT from the yeast. The honey malt was a little too much for me - slightly cloying for my palette and didn't provide the "sweetness" in balance. I'd definitely back off on that element next time closer to 2-3%.
I changed my mind regarding the hopping from the recipe posted above - I like the citrus-y taste of raw rhubarb, and was hoping that would be accentuated by a Centennial addition at 20 minutes (only addition). In this version of the beer, I'm not sure the hopping matters much since the other two elements I mentioned above are more prominent. Overall, this was a decent start on a beer that I will try again. More wheat malt, less honey malt, and perhaps slightly smaller proportion of rhubarb (3 lb per 6 gal?) next time.
Recipe:
Type: All Grain
Date: 9/4/2011
Batch Size: 2.00 gal
Boil Size: 2.41 gal
Boil Time: 90 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 % (BIAB)
Ingredients
2 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 41.58 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 31.19 %
1 lbs White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 20.79 %
5.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 6.44 %
0.50 oz Centennial [9.20 %] (20 min) Hops 17.3 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale
1.5 lbs chopped, par-boiled and frozen rhubarb
OG: 1.052 SG
FG: 1.011 SG
Bitterness: 17.3 IBU
Est Color: 6.5 SRM
Fermented at 65 degrees for first 4 days, slowly raised to 70 degrees for days 5-8. Racked beer onto thawed rhubarb on Day 8. Bottled on Day 18. Carbonated to 3.0 volumes.