From "Tips" to Brew

[beerspitnight]

Folks,
In light of the recent "Tips on Keeping the Mrs. Happy" I am thinking of a beer that I can brew for my Mrs. as a big "Thank You" for all that she puts up (me). She doesn't like most of the beer that we brew (most of it falls on the hoppy/bitter side), and as of late she has tended to drink champagne and/or Arbor Mist type drinks.
I am looking for suggestions on a clean, "fruity" and bubbly brew that hits around 4% to 5%. I have thought about doing up a wit, and that is possible, but I am not certain if she is going to enjoy that type of mouthfeel.
So suggestions away please!

 

[MalFet]

Belgians are often wife-friendly. Baring that, a nice hefeweizen or even a cream ale can be a good call.

Alternately, consider starting up with wine. The wine kits are ridiculously easy to make, and the results are surprisingly good.

 

[Revelator]

Last summer I brewed up a watermelon wheat beer that was really popular amongst my beer-finicky friends. It balanced the watermelon and beer very nicely, so that both flavours still remained prominent. I dont have my recipe book on hand at the moment (Im out of town) but if this sounds appealing to you, Ill definately write it out

Its a pretty simply brew if I can remember correctly...The grain bill was balanced between 2row, wheat malt, a few specialty malts and low alpha hops - In order to get the watermelon flavour to come through I had to rack it multiple times and cold crash it for a couple weeks, then add about 2L of pure watermelon juice - I let the owner of a local brewpub try it, and he's hoping to brew it up this coming summer

 

[beerspitnight]

I like the idea of a watermelon beer, so please send along the recipe when you get a chance!

Mal - what kind of Belgian do you have in mind?

 

[overdbus]

hard cider - applewine

 

[MalFet]

Mal - what kind of Belgian do you have in mind?

Golden strongs do well among the fairer sex, in my experience, as do saisons and (for some) abbey ales.

 

[Dawnhulio]

I have a Thai Lemongrass and Galanga (ginger) recipe that appears to be nice and light. Recipe doesn't appear to be anything near sweet on the flavor profile but would be full of interesting flavor and aroma. Calls for only 2 to 4 AU's of low-acid hops.

 

[beerspitnight]

hard cider - applewine

I wonder if I can get cider over here...or the correct type of yeast for a cider.
And the reason I am not going to do a wine is for the same reason - getting the ingredients can be tough.
I was thinking about a mead as I can find good honey over here without any issues, but I haven't ever had mead before and I have no idea what it even tastes like (although I am certain that we will make up a batch after the summer).
I will look into a Belgian Golden.
I do like the idea of a watermelon wheat. I brew with a buddy and it would be good to make up a brew that he can enjoy (without watermelon) and one that I can make into a watermelon.
Some great suggestions here! Keep them coming!

 

[beerspitnight]

I have a Thai Lemongrass and Galanga (ginger) recipe that appears to be nice and light. Recipe doesn't appear to be anything near sweet on the flavor profile but would be full of interesting flavor and aroma. Calls for only 2 to 4 AU's of low-acid hops.

What did the lemongrass and ginger grain bills look like?

 

[RitsiGators]

I wonder if I can get cider over here...or the correct type of yeast for a cider.

For Edwort's apfelwein all you need is one packet of red star yeast, apple juice (the stuff you find in a grocery store, just make sure there are not preservatives), and some corn sugar. It is really good, almost like a dry white wine with a light apple flavor, but be aware that it takes a few months before it starts tasting its best.

Here is the link for the Apfelwein

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/man-i-love-apfelwein-14860/

 

[gyst]

Marc0 has a Honey Basil Ale that my beer friends didn't really like, but non-beer people LOVED (though I like it, and I think its a nice summer beer). I used more basil than the recipe calls for, which might have been part of the problem - it kinda smelled like a pizzaria when you first poured it!

Partial Mash: http://www.tastybrew.com/newrcp/detail/507

All Grain:
Marco's Honey Basil Ale

9.00 lb 2-row
2.00 lb honey malt
0.61 lb wheat malt
0.60 lb dextrin
0.61 lb flaked barley

mash at 154 F for about 90 min (i hit 155)
sparge with 170 F and collect wort

bring to boil and:

add 1.00 oz Goldings (5%) for 90 min
add 1.00 oz Goldings at 30 min left
add 1.00 oz Goldings at 15 min left
add irish moss at 10 min left
add 2.00 oz fresh sweet basil at 5 min left

I put my chiller in at 15 min left or so, cooled to about 78 F and siphoned to my bucket and left basil in keggle, pitched into my bucket with US-05 (i've used WLP001 - california ale - and like it as well).

primary for 7 days, brewed my ipa and pitched that on the honey basil yeast cake.
secondary til empty keg.

 

[Rivenin]

another one is blood orange wheat. look it up on here, was one of the best beers i made

 

[Dawnhulio]

What did the lemongrass and ginger grain bills look like?

Fermentis S-04
1 lb. Carafoam, Carapils, or other dextrin malt
8 lbs. Alexander's Sun Country Wheat or other LME
2 to 4 AU's low alpha-acid bittering hops - any variety (no aroma hops in this recipe)
6 stalks fresh lemongrass, chopped, white part only
2 oz. ginger, chopped
1tsp. Irish moss
1tsp. yeast nutrient

Lemongrass can be found at most Asian markets. It's a recipe a friend shared that I myself have yet to attempt, his brew was awesome. Very refreshing. If you're interested in the recipe pm me and I can either post to my profile or share via e-mail. This brew is in my list of must tries for the year.

 

[Revelator]

Sorry for the wait on the Watermelon Wheat...here is the recipe

Batch Size: 19L

Amount Item Type
2270.00 gm Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain
2270.00 gm Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain
620.00 gm Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain
454.00 gm Crystal 40L Grain
65.00 gm Chocolate Malt (Optional)
28.30 gm Mt. Hood [6.00%] (60 min) Hops
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 oz Watermelon Extract (Kegging) Misc
1500.00 ml Pure Watermelon Juice Misc
1 Pkgs German Ale (Wyeast Labs #1007) or Im sure 1056 would work just fine

Mash-In: Stabilize at 65-66C for 1 hr or until conversion is complete

Fermentation Profile:
a) Pitch yeast culture from starter - Ferment at approx 18-20C
b) Primary for approx 2 weeks
c) Rack to a secondary and cold-crash - Hold temps at around 2C for 2 weeks
d) Rack beer onto filtered (through cheesecloth), unpastuerized watermelon juice...Let ferment at 18-20C for an additional week
e) Keg and add 1 oz watermelon extract (optional)

In my experience, if you follow this process...the tertiary fermentation shouldnt produce much, if any visible activity...If it does by chance, cold crash it soon after

Ive tried to do this recipe without the cold-crash, but you end up with a sour tasting beer...its drinkable, but the flavours dont balance well

 

[beerspitnight]

Sorry for the wait on the Watermelon Wheat...here is the recipe

Batch Size: 19L

Amount Item Type
2270.00 gm Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain
2270.00 gm Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain
620.00 gm Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain
454.00 gm Crystal 40L Grain
65.00 gm Chocolate Malt (Optional)
28.30 gm Mt. Hood [6.00%] (60 min) Hops
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 oz Watermelon Extract (Kegging) Misc
1500.00 ml Pure Watermelon Juice Misc
1 Pkgs German Ale (Wyeast Labs #1007) or Im sure 1056 would work just fine

Mash-In: Stabilize at 65-66C for 1 hr or until conversion is complete

Fermentation Profile:
a) Pitch yeast culture from starter - Ferment at approx 18-20C
b) Primary for approx 2 weeks
c) Rack to a secondary and cold-crash - Hold temps at around 2C for 2 weeks
d) Rack beer onto filtered (through cheesecloth), unpastuerized watermelon juice...Let ferment at 18-20C for an additional week
e) Keg and add 1 oz watermelon extract (optional)

In my experience, if you follow this process...the tertiary fermentation shouldnt produce much, if any visible activity...If it does by chance, cold crash it soon after

Ive tried to do this recipe without the cold-crash, but you end up with a sour tasting beer...its drinkable, but the flavours dont balance well

Thanks so much! I will have to modify the hops and the yeast for this one, as I don't have access to liquid yeast. I will have to go with US-05, S-04, T-58, or WB-06. For hops, I will have to use Quingdao flower (around 6%) or Saaz.
We'll probably end up doing a 10 gallon batch, and keeping 8 or 9 gallons as a regular wheat beer while racking a gallon or two onto the watermelon. Then we'll keg the "regular" wheat and bottle the watermelon wheat. I can't see my wife drinking 5 gallons of beer in a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks again for the all of the Tips!

 

[beerspitnight]

Fermentis S-04
1 lb. Carafoam, Carapils, or other dextrin malt
8 lbs. Alexander's Sun Country Wheat or other LME
2 to 4 AU's low alpha-acid bittering hops - any variety (no aroma hops in this recipe)
6 stalks fresh lemongrass, chopped, white part only
2 oz. ginger, chopped
1tsp. Irish moss
1tsp. yeast nutrient

Lemongrass can be found at most Asian markets. It's a recipe a friend shared that I myself have yet to attempt, his brew was awesome. Very refreshing. If you're interested in the recipe pm me and I can either post to my profile or share via e-mail. This brew is in my list of must tries for the year.

Thanks, Dawn. Once you brew this, please let me know how it turns out!