Gritty McDuff's Vacationland

[hopkincr]

I was hoping for a little bit of help trying to emulate Portland, ME's Gritty McDuff's Vacationland Summer ale. I, unfortunately, will not be making my usual trip to ME this summer so was hoping to at least get a close brew instead. From the Gritty's Website:
"We use generous portions of pale malt with just a touch of wheat malt to give VSA unique flavor that?s richer than most summer brews."
Starting Gravity: 1049
Finish: 1012
Hops: (22 I.B.U.s) Cascade Leaf, Cascade, Saaz

Using Brewer's Friend I came up with this:
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable PPG °L Bill %
5.95 lb American - Pale 2-Row 37 1.8 89.5%
0.7 lb American - White Wheat 40 2.8 10.5%
6.65 lb Total
Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
0.35 oz Cascade Leaf/Whole 7 Boil 60 min 14.61
0.18 oz Cascade Pellet 7 Boil 30 min 6.35
0.18 oz Saaz Pellet 3.5 Boil 15 min 2.05
Yeast
American Wheat 1010

This calculates out to OG 1.050 and 23.02 IBU's. I guess my only question is what is a "touch of wheat malt", and should I use a regular ale yeast? Don't know if anyone else has tried to brew this beer before, but I'll report back once I have. Thanks for reading and any comments are welcomed.

 

[sptaylor70]

My assumption would be that a "touch of wheat malt" would be more like 5%, but that doesn't mean that 10% is too much. In Mom's Malt Barley Blog, Vacationland is described as "Mild bronze with hidden orange". Jason Alstroem at Beer Advocate describes it as a highly wheaty best bitters. So I played with your recipe on Brewer's Friend and came up with: 5 lbs. pale, 1 lb. Munich 20L or 1 lb. pale toasted, 2.5 lbs. white wheat, 8 oz. C20L. Assuming 75% brewhouse efficiency for a five-gallon batch, I get OG 1050, FG 1012, SRM 7 (closer to bronze, and more like the photos that I can find online, best as I can tell). I guess that you'd mash at about 152 degF, since it has a medium mouthfeel.

You might experiment with the yeast, too. Wyeast 1010 is pretty neutral, but there are those who swear by Wyeast 2565 Koelsch for wheat beers. Wyeast 3944 Celis Witbier would give you additional flavor.

I look forward to reading about your result.

 

[hopkincr]

Many thanks. Although the percentages are correct, I should have stated my recipe was for a 3.5 gallon batch - my normal brew size. I've had Vacationland many times and I wouldn't describe it as wheaty, but I am really bad at describing flavors, other good, great, and awesome. I'll play around a bit more and then give it a shot.


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[QuercusMax]

I've never had Vacationland, but this is a recipe I made recently that came out pretty darn tasty that seems along the same lines - it's a little bit more complicated, but is very tasty. It's got a little Munich and Honey malt to give a little more malt flavor, but it's really light and refreshing, with a solid bitterness and nice hop flavor/aroma. It's not hugely wheat-y, but it's got enough so you can know you're drinking a wheat beer.

"Down Unda Wheat Palesner"
6lb Durst Pils
2lb Avangard Wheat Malt
1lb Avangard Light Munich
.5 lb Honey malt
3oz Acid Malt (pH adjustment)

.7oz Sylva 7% @60
2oz Sylva 7% @10
1oz Sylva 7% @0

US-05 Yeast

1.046 OG, 35 IBU, 5.55 SRM. FG 1.009.

Sylva is a Saaz derivative, so I'd swap out the late sylva for Saaz and early sylva with Magnum or Saaz. This came out a little more bitter than I intended (I missed my gravity by a few points, I was shooting for 1.052), so more like 25 IBU would probably be a better balance.

 

[hopkincr]

Looks good. I'm in the mood for several summer brews so I'll give this one a shot as well.


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