Harpoon Ginger Wheat

[MikeRLynch]

Not sure if you guys have tried this yet, but I'm in love with this beer. I want to cook with it, pair it with sushi, roll around in it...

Only problem is, it's a limited release, part of the 100 Barrel series. I'm going to need a lot more of this beer in the future.

Oh, and by the way, did I mention swmbo loves this? And she HATES beer. I must have more

Anyway, the real question: how have people used ginger in beers? Whole roots, chopped up, pureed? In the boil, in primary, secondary? Are there extracts, how much per batch, etc. Just looking for general techniques on how to approach this. Thanks guys!

 

[chuggs]

That must have just been released. I was up in Boston last month flying out of Logan. My hotel was less than a 2 mile walk from the Harpoon Brewery. I took a stroll over a few times to get a Growler of super fresh Harpoon! I was even able to stay for a "Tasting" one evening! Wow...they make some fantastic brews. I think I had a bit of everything they had on tap. They didn't have the Ginger Wheat bottled at that time...or on tap. I bought some of their Glacier Harvest '09 Wet Hopped Ale that was part of the 100 bbl. collection. I had a growler full of a blend of the Harpoon Apple Cider + Winter Warmer, which they refer to as "Apple Pie". I really enjoyed the Leviathan Imperial IPA... Like I say...I didn't sample a single beer where I didn't say to myself --- "wow, these guys nailed it with this one..." Every beer was not only a good representation of the "style" they were making...it was also very top notch!! I hope to get back up there again soon.

Hope you get a chance to go to their brewery sometime. Very interesting story about the guys that founded Harpoon. And they have some darned motivated employees, I'll tell ya. It's a very small brewhouse...but they work it to the hilt!

 

[Synovia]

Join the "Friends of Harpoon" club, and shoot them an email. I'm pretty sure the guy who designed that beer is a homebrewer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he'd give you the recipe.

Most of the 100-barrel series seems to be from homebrewers who work for harpoon, but not as brewers. IIRC, the guy who is the Harpoon contact out here, the Catamount Maple Wheat and a couple others were his recipes.

 

[MikeRLynch]

I didn't realize that the people designing these beers weren't the brewers. I thought their operation was much larger, and these guys were simply the brewing "staff". I'll certainly shoot them an email to see if they'll give me a few pointers. Thanks!

 

[Synovia]

On some of them it might be, but a bunch of them were designed by people who definitely aren't brew staff.

 

[tagz]

This is a fantastic beer. If anyone tracks down the recipe, please post what you find.