Lemongrass & Asian Rice Ale

[rodwha]

We got some of this in our co-op deal. Looks as though it's time to step up to the plate and try making an Asian rice ale. Initially I wanted to try using Thai chilis and lemongrass was brought up as an excellent idea for character.

But I live in a small town that does not carry Thai chilis in any of the 4 grocery stores! We did get dried Chili De Arbol peppers. I'm not familiar with these and am not certain if they'd be very hot or flavorful and Asian-like.

The base recipe I had worked up for a 5.5 gal partial mash/partial boil is:

6.25 lbs 2-row
2 lbs rice DME (FO)
1/2 lb carapils/carafoam
1/4 lb sugar
0.4 oz Motueka @ 70/21 mins
0.2 oz Motueka @ 7 mins
US-05

1.049/1.010
5.2% ABV
15 IBU's
2 SRM

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[unionrdr]

There are places online that sell chilis, seeds to grow them, dried, ground, etc. As I currently understand it from my thread on ghost chili IIPA, boil for heat, secondary for more flavor. I'm still working on the recipe in BS2. Try to match hops to the flavors you get from eating them raw first. Like citrusy hops with ghost chilis.

 

[rodwha]

I dropped the volume to 4.5 gals. I found Thai chilis at Whole Foods and grabbed a big handful.

From what little I found an ounce of lemongrass ought to be good, but some stated it seemed mild at bottling so I'm unsure what the finished product was like. I weighed one at 1.7 ounces. That's with the base which I'd cut off. I'll take the lightest of the 3 and try it.

I've been told that I'll need to smash it up and then cut it into smaller pieces. I'll then use 1/2 at 14 mins and the other 1/2 as a whirlpool or "dry spice" addition.

For the Thai chilis I'm still uncertain how many to use or how to use them but am thinking I'll use all of them raw and sliced into tiny pieces and used with the lemongrass additions.

Unless things change, and they very well may, my recipe was changed to 4.5 gals and is:

5 lbs 2-row
1 lb rice DME
3/4 lb light DME
1/4 lb flaked barley
0.3 oz Motueka @ 70/7 mins
0.4 oz Motueka @ 21 mins
US-05

1.047/1.010
5.0% ABV
17 IBU's
2 SRM

 

[unionrdr]

When using lemongrass, you can use the blunt side of a chef knife to bruise it to bring out the oils before chopping them up. Just the way you would if cooking with them.

 

[rodwha]

Would I be smacking it or pressing the side of the blade? I had figured I'd be using my meat tenderizer, but no point if the knife will do the work.

 

[unionrdr]

Just smack it with the dull side of the blade all up & down the length of it. Just bruise it well, don't destroy it.

 

[Keiff]

Might consider adding some golonga (or a hint of regular ginger) in there... it would be like a Tom Yum Ale! I use this stuff to make the soup. It already has golonga, lemon grass and other constituents that make it classic Thai.

Might wanna make a vodka tincture out of it to add when bottling... Just a thought.

 

[rodwha]

Keiff: Mind going into more detail about using golonga and lemongrass? What exactly would you do?

I'm also at a loss for how many Thai chilis I'd like to use. I'm guessing the heat of 6-10 Thai chilis might be about equivalent to one large jalapeño.

 

[unionrdr]

The latest issue of BYO I got has an article where they asked pro brewers that do chili beers that very question. Might be online?

 

[nutty_gnome]

Would suggest sorachi ace hops if you haven't already bought the motueka. They are a great asian hop with interesting characteristics as have been documented elsewhere on this forum.

 

[bembel]

I use Lemongrass and Ginger in both my beers and ciders and tend to add them ( fresh, chopped in a food processor ) at a few minutes before flame out, then I strain the goop into a muslin bag, I freeze the bag and put it in a ziplock and if I need to add more flavor I will add the thawed bag back into the secondary.

 

[rodwha]

I have not bought any ingredients other than some Thai chilis (2 handfuls that may not be enough, especially after I ate 5 with our Asian dinner the other night) and the lemongrass.

Looking I see those hops are available at MoreBeer. Game on! Thanks!

 

[Keiff]

They aren't Thai chilis if 6-7 equal a jalapeno... That ratio should be inverse... At least more consistent...

 

[rodwha]

I'm trying to imagine just how many Thai chilis it would take to get the heat that jalapeños give me. My next batch of jalapeño blonde will be using 8 large jalapeños for 5.5 gals I seriously doubt Thai chilis would be enough, nor do I think 3 times the peppers would. But I have no idea how many it would take to work in that volume.

Maybe it'll end up being so hot that only one or 2 would be nice.