Brooklyn Brew Shop's Grapefruit Honey Ale - Tips and Advice

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I forgot that I had this photo, from late October. It's an iPod photo and I was still "practicing" as I was learning the camera, but you get the idea:

12074880_10206615019806250_3606919631899124140_n.jpg


The beer was slightly cloudier than it should have been, due to my carelessness when I opened it, but it was really, really good beer. I'll be making this again, and will report.
 
I'll be brewing this one again sometime this week - hopefully tonight.

I plan to do everything basically the same, except I will use Amarillo hops, which are known for their grapefruity-character. Brooklyn Brew Shop's BEER MAKING BOOK will be my guide, and I'll see what I come up with as far as a modified hops schedule goes.

More to come, etc. & c....

Ron
 
I used that as a jumping off point for my summer ale this year. I didn't roast the grapefruit, just added to the boil at 5 minutes.

I used Meridian hops.
 
Hey, Eric - how's it going? I'm brewing this one late (September instead of June!), but late is better than never, when it comes to beer, right? :mug:

I haven't used Meridian hops yet - will have to look into them ~ from what little I've read, they would really work well with this beer.

One other note: The recipe book specifies S04, so that's what I'm using, instead of BBS's generic yeast that comes with their mixes.
 
It looks like my photo above didn't work....trying again!

Warning: Bad iPod picture of a great beer ~

12074880_10206615019806250_3606919631899124140_n.jpg
 
Yeah, it's a nice site. I'm in the process of building my own brew area. If you remember, I'd normally brew at my buddies house, bring it home and oxygenate, temperature control and ferment...then keg, etc.

But with my own brew area...I'll be able to brew whenever the notion hits me...can't wait. I've got the kettles together, the stand together...largest thing right now is wiring the electric control panel. Then comes testing the system.


cheers
Dan
 
You'll be loving it, I bet. So many different things to try. If you like hefeweizens, consider that Edelweiss that I mentioned. I shared the last bottle of the batch with my dad last night, and it was simply outstanding.

The mash is almost finished - onward to the sparge and boil.....
 
Into the boil now. In a departure from the instructions, I am adding the zest of two grapefruits, rather than the peel of one. Also, instead of a mix of Columbus and Amarillo hops, I've decided to go with straight Amarillo. The hops schedule that I came up with is:

0.07 oz @ 60
0.10 oz @ 30
0.13 oz @ 1

This puts the IBUs at 26.57, which is a bit light for an American pale ale; however, when I add the grapefruit zest (with 5 minutes left in the boil), I am counting on it to push the bitterness up to around an equivalent of 30 IBUs, which is where I want it. Will it work? I don't know, but I'll find out.

At knock-out, I'll add the honey and Belgian candi sugar, then chill down below 70 degrees and pitch the S04.

More as it happens, etc. &c....
 
Alright - this second brew of Grapefruit Honey Ale is in the books.

The entire brew went very well, with no glitches or problems. The rest of the boil etc. went pretty much as described above, and I think I struck a good balance - time will tell!

Once again, the beer seems as though it is going to be a bit darker than I expect it to be. This same thing happened with the first brew, but everything turned out just fine. I am pretty sure it will be fine this time, too.

I do have the recipe for this beer, from BBS's BEER MAKING BOOK. If anyone wants to try it, please feel free to shoot a PM - it is written for 1 or 5 gallons, so it's open to all.

Ron
 
TasunkaWitko said:
Hey, Eric - how's it going? I'm brewing this one late (September instead of June!), but late is better than never, when it comes to beer, right? :mug:

I haven't used Meridian hops yet - will have to look into them ~ from what little I've read, they would really work well with this beer.

One other note: The recipe book specifies S04, so that's what I'm using, instead of BBS's generic yeast that comes with their mixes.
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I usually get a pound of Willamette hops that I use for most beers. The one I brew the most is Irish red, but also nut brown and amber. Willamette works for these.

I got some El Dorado and some Meridian to try with lighter beers, especially for summer. They are both fruity and almost like candy. I think Meridian smells a little like lemon candy, but not sweet or sour, just lemony. I probably won't get El Dorado again, but I will use Meridian.

This year, I used US-05 for the grapefruit summer ale and then used the slurry for a hoppier pale ale. I mostly use US-05 and then reuse the slurry so I get a couple of batches out of it easily.
 
TasunkaWitko said:
Into the boil now. In a departure from the instructions, I am adding the zest of two grapefruits, rather than the peel of one. Also, instead of a mix of Columbus and Amarillo hops, I've decided to go with straight Amarillo. The hops schedule that I came up with is:

0.07 oz @ 60
0.10 oz @ 30
0.13 oz @ 1

This puts the IBUs at 26.57, which is a bit light for an American pale ale; however, when I add the grapefruit zest (with 5 minutes left in the boil), I am counting on it to push the bitterness up to around an equivalent of 30 IBUs, which is where I want it. Will it work? I don't know, but I'll find out.

At knock-out, I'll add the honey and Belgian candi sugar, then chill down below 70 degrees and pitch the S04.

More as it happens, etc. &c....
Click to expand...

You get a different kind of bitterness from the peel if you use it whole. I think it's a sharp bitterness that comes at the end. The zest will give you fruity grapefruit (but maybe not identifiable as grapefruit). I have zested oranges, and they didn't seem to have the same bitterness that you would with the whole peel. (This last one, I peeled the grapefruit, tore it up into chunks, then cut the grapefruit up into sections. I added it all in a mesh bag to make it easy to remove all the pulp and peel.)

My brother kept calling this a shandy, but I had him drink a Traveler's Grapefruit Shandy to show he difference. The BBS version is a pale ale. Mine was more of a blonde ale.

One other thing, grapefruit supposedly messes with some cholesterol medicines, so you might want to tell people before they drink it. I don't think there's much grapefruit in this, but it's fair to warn people.
 
It sounds like the Meridian would be a good one to get acquainted with. I've been a big fan of the English and Noble hops, but with so many choices out there, it would be good to try as many as I can.

When I was zesting the grapefruits last night, most of the strips did have a bit of white in them; not much, but enough to be noticeable. I tried a piece, and there was a good amount of bitterness there, just as you describe, at the end. I think it will make things interesting. These grapefruits were big and juicy, and the zest was really fragrant. I dried the strips in the oven, as described in the recipe book, but I am not sure what difference that would make in the end.

I looked in on my Grapefruit Honey Ale this morning, and it looks like we're getting some good fermentation already. My understanding is that this is the norm with S-04. Before pitching the yeast, I ran the wort through a medium mesh in my funnel, then the fine mesh, so I caught a lot of the hop and hot break material. I'm hoping that this will allow me to squeeze just a bit more beer into the bottles.

I've got three beers going right now (Afternoon Wheat with Apricot, Bullberry Red Ale and this Grapefruit Honey Ale). My next brew will be a Strawberry Rhubarb Strong Ale, which will conclude my "summer" beers and allow me to start brewing my fall and winter beers.
 
TasunkaWitko said:
It sounds like the Meridian would be a good one to get acquainted with. I've been a big fan of the English and Noble hops, but with so many choices out there, it would be good to try as many as I can.

When I was zesting the grapefruits last night, most of the strips did have a bit of white in them; not much, but enough to be noticeable. I tried a piece, and there was a good amount of bitterness there, just as you describe, at the end. I think it will make things interesting. These grapefruits were big and juicy, and the zest was really fragrant. I dried the strips in the oven, as described in the recipe book, but I am not sure what difference that would make in the end.

I looked in on my Grapefruit Honey Ale this morning, and it looks like we're getting some good fermentation already. My understanding is that this is the norm with S-04. Before pitching the yeast, I ran the wort through a medium mesh in my funnel, then the fine mesh, so I caught a lot of the hop and hot break material. I'm hoping that this will allow me to squeeze just a bit more beer into the bottles.

I've got three beers going right now (Afternoon Wheat with Apricot, Bullberry Red Ale and this Grapefruit Honey Ale). My next brew will be a Strawberry Rhubarb Strong Ale, which will conclude my "summer" beers and allow me to start brewing my fall and winter beers.
Click to expand...

It's funny because the first time I did this one, I followed their instructions to roast/dry the peel in the oven. On this forum, people are all, "Why would you do that?!?" I think someone contacted the BBS people (they are very good at responding), and I think they suggested NOT roasting.

I have since done some orange peel in saisons and Belgian styles without roasting. So this year, I decided to just throw it in. My guess is that it doesn't make a difference either way!
 
If/when you're ready to get hops for new recipes, check Farmhouse Brewing. They have good prices on 4oz packs.
 
ericbw said:
If/when you're ready to get hops for new recipes, check Farmhouse Brewing. They have good prices on 4oz packs.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a good idea, Eric - I will check them out ~

I bet there's a 1-800 number on the kit you could call for clarification if you can't decide which way though.
Click to expand...

Hi, nrryes - I've been in contact with Erica and Stephen of Brooklyn Brew Shop about this and a few other subjects. One thing I can say is that they and their staff are outstanding when it comes to responding to customer inquiries. With a quick email, I can ask about and discuss ideas, get answers to questions and such. Both Eric and I have contacted them on this particular issue, and it looks like it can go either way, from what we can see. I can say that drying out the grapefruit the way I did this time was pretty cool - whether or not it actually contributed anything to the finished beer remains to be seen. I am guessing (and this is just a guess only) that it tones down the bitterness from the peel a bit, as the caramelisation of the sugars in the peel from the heat will balance things out. As far as whether one should use the whole peel or just the zest, it seems to be a matter of personal choice and/or experimentation.

I looked in on the beer this morning and it is fermenting away very nicely - nothing explosive, but active and steady. We're off to a good start with this one, and I am eager to see how it turns out.

Ron
 
I checked on my beer this morning, and it's looking great. Fermentation is still active, but it has slowed down a bit, right on schedule. We are going to be out of town for a few days, so I will replace the blow-off tube with an air-lock before we go.

More later -

Ron
 
ocrahca said:
As weird as it seems, put the whole peel in. It gives you a snap of bitterness in the after taste that is unique.
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Glad someone else noticed it like I do. That's exactly how I describe it: a whack of bitterness at the very end. It's even funny when some people taste it, because there's about a 1 second delay where it's like, "that's pretty good," followed by, "wow now I taste it!"

It's different than hop bitterness or roasted malts.
 
ericbw said:
Glad someone else noticed it like I do. That's exactly how I describe it: a whack of bitterness at the very end. It's even funny when some people taste it, because there's about a 1 second delay where it's like, "that's pretty good," followed by, "wow now I taste it!"

It's different than hop bitterness or roasted malts.
Click to expand...


FYI - that was exactly as you'd described it. Your original post was re-posted by a spambot
 
I took a peek when we got home yesterday, and things seem to be moving along quite well with this beer, especially in the sence that we're getting some great, citrusy aromas coming out of the fermenter.

Time will tell, but it looks like success to me ~~

On another note, it looks like the SpamBots are latched onto this thread. Too bad, because I was hoping it would be a good reference for new brewers. :(
 
Well, I don't know how it happened, but my wife accidentally knocked over the fermenter sitting on the floor of our closet. I lost about a third of it, which means the best I can hope for with this batch is a 6-pack.

We're well past the 2 weeks that I should have needed for the ferment, so I put it in the refrigerator to cold-crash and will bottle it as soon as possible. My big worry now is oxidation. The sediment got stirred up pretty badly, so I'm hoping it will clear up quickly. My guess is that I really can't wait any longer than a couple of days.

Too bad, because this batch was going very well! :(
 
TasunkaWitko said:
Well, I don't know how it happened, but my wife accidentally knocked over the fermenter sitting on the floor of our closet. I lost about a third of it, which means the best I can hope for with this batch is a 6-pack.

We're well past the 2 weeks that I should have needed for the ferment, so I put it in the refrigerator to cold-crash and will bottle it as soon as possible. My big worry now is oxidation. The sediment got stirred up pretty badly, so I'm hoping it will clear up quickly. My guess is that I really can't wait any longer than a couple of days.

Too bad, because this batch was going very well! :(
Click to expand...


Ugh!! Cold crashing will help clear faster. And in any case, it will clear in the bottle.

How do you prime - batch or in each bottle?
 
Hi, Eric - I prime in batches normally - about 1.5 tablespoons of honey (or maple syrup, or whatever) per gallon.

But, since we don't know where we are with this batch (it looks like about a third of the gallon was spilled, but impossible to know for sure), I was thinking of trying those carbonation tablets that my son got for me.
 
Last edited:
Brew United is another good calculator you can use. it's the one I use- just make sure you enter the correct temp, the highest temp your beer got too during fermentation.
Also, you can also use gelatin to clear your beer- it normally takes 24-48 hrs to work, sometimes less. I usually bottle 36 hrs after after gelatin.
 
Thanks, guys - we'll see how it goes.

I took a quick look at it this morning and it looks like it cleared up pretty well over-night. Not perfect, but a lot more clear (clearer?) than I expected it to be, so maybe it didn't get disturbed as much as I thought. In fact, it's pretty darn close to how it was before the dreaded spill. Sitting in the refrigerator all day long should get it where I need to be; but if not, I won't complain, given the circumstances. I've bottled beers that were a lot cloudier than this one is now.

I'll most likely just take the easy way out and use the carbonation tabs. I am 90% sure that the beer was fully fermented after over 3 weeks, but just in case, I'll go for a light-to-medium carbonation.
 
I used to swirl up my one gallon jugs from time to time. Not the day before bottling, but during fermentation. Should be fine.
 
I bottled this beer last night, after cold-crashing in the refrigerator for a couple of days in order to clear it and pack the sediment down as tightly as possible. As expected, I only had enough for 6 bottles, rather than the usual 9 or sometimes even 10. Considering the fact that it got dumped, I'll take what I get and not complain.

Thanks to the cold-crashing, the beer was very nice and clear. As I siphoned down to the bottom, I picked up a very small amount of sediment, but much less than usual, and I am pretty sure that after carbonation and conditioning, this beer will be a joy to look at. I had enough left over for a small sample and was quite impressed with what I had wrought; the aroma and flavour were both grapefruity without being cloying and there was a well-balanced bitterness - from the Amarillo hops and grapefruit zest - that complimented the beer really nicely. With this variety of beer, the aroma is what I really enjoy; the grapefruit, malts, hops and honey all seem to contribute to something really special. I am expecting this to be a really good beer after it has some conditioning time in the bottle.

Since I didn't know exactly - or even really approximately - how much beer I had to bottle, there wasn't really any way to know exactly how much priming sugar to add for carbonation. Because of this, I used the carbonation tablets that my son had bought for me, which work on a "per bottle" rather than "batch" basis:

81T%2BOGwCzdL._SL1500_.jpg


I've never used these before, but they are pure dextrose, which is commonly used by homebrewers (and the brewing industry) for carbonating beer. I normally use honey, maple syrup or sometimes agave nectar, depending on what I am brewing, but the truth is that when it comes to carbonation, the sugar that is used matters very little, as long as there is a proper amount of it. Each type of sugar requires its own amount, but luckily for me, these tablets have a handy reference, right on the front.

After over 3 weeks, fermentation should have been finished, but I've had slow fermentations before. Normally, I'd go for a medium carbonation for this type of beer; however, considering the fact that I wasn't absolutely, 100% sure that fermentation had completed, I chose to use 3 tablets per bottle, for a "low" carbonation. This way, If for some reason the beer wasn't completely finished fermenting, I've got some wiggle room before bottles start exploding - which they probably won't anyway, but it never hurts to err on the side of caution.

Now, my 6-pack of Grapefruit Honey Ale is sitting in our closet at 70 degrees, which is a great temperature for allowing carbonation to take place. After 2 weeks, possibly 3, I'll put the beer in the refrigerator for a week before sampling. I really think it's going to be good, in spite of the problems that I've had with it.

More as it happens, etc. & c....

Ron
 
I recently sampled my second batch of this, and it was very, very good, better than the first time! I definitely made a couple of good decisions when I used Amarillo hops along with S04 yeast.

Flavour was dead-on wonderful, the aroma was even better; rich, malty and citrusy. The bitterness was a little more than I expected, but it worked very well here, providing great balance.

This remains a favourite, and I am loving it.
 
I drank the last of this second batch on New Year's Day, and was truly impressed with how it ended up:

Grapefruit%20Honey%20Ale%20-%201JAN17.jpg


The photo doesn't do it much justice, on many levels; I really need a better cell phone, or I need to start dragging my "good camera" around when I drink beer. The beer was very clear - I wouldn't say that it was "brilliant," but I could easily see through the other side of the glass.

The head was fine - no complaints there - better than the picture (I have to take about 5 photos for each one that is even close to being good enough to post). The aroma was really nice with prominent-but-not-overwhelming grapefruit notes. The malts and hops reached a really, really nice balance, which was surprising considering that the beer was a little more bitter than I usually prefer. The grapefruit added a bit of a unique bitterness, but also contributed a fresh, sunny ambience to the beer that really rounded it out. The overall impression was quite smooth, possibly due in part to the honey.

When I make this again in the future, I'll definitely make it the same way that I made it for the second batch. The little tweaks that I employed really seemed, in my opinion, to make a great beer even better.
 
Hey - good to see you, and thanks for the kind words!

It's worth a try, and I have the recipe (for 1 or 5 gallons), so if you ever want to give it a go, just let me know.
 
Ron, if you have the strawberry rhubarb recipe I'd love to look at that one...I can see making that one next strawberry and rhubarb season!

thanks
 
I'm brewing this one today from the kit, interesting reading all the tip here, thanks! This will be my fist brew after an extended break of 2 years. I bought the entire one gal kit at a total wine store for $18, quite the deal! Can't wait to try one in a few weeks ;)
 
Hi, medbrewer, and thanks for the kind words! This has been great both times I've made it, but the second time was out of the park, I in my opinion.

Good luck and the brew, and please do post on the experience!

Ron
 

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