So I was reading through Brandon O's Graff thread and I got inspired to make something similar but using a base of rhubarb (+water & sugar) instead of apple juice. I've made a few rhubarb wines in the past and they've turned out great so I figured why not try something like a graff with rhubarb?
Here's the recipe I threw together:
10lbs Chopped Frozen Rhubarb
3lbs Weyermann CaraRed
3lbs Table Sugar (Sucrose)
1lb American Crystal 120L
1lb Briess Bavarian Wheat DME
3oz Torrified Wheat
1oz Calcium Carbonate
1Tbsp Pectic Enzyme
1oz Cascade Hops
Wyeast Belgian Witbier (3944)
My proposed process will be to dump the frozen rhubarb into the fermentor add the calcium carbonate and pectic enzyme and then pour the table sugar over it and leave it to thaw and extract the juices from the rhubarb.
After about a day, when the Rhubarb is thawed I'll add 3 gallons of water and stir everything up to dissolve the sugars.
I'll brew up 2 gallons of wort with the DME and steeping the Carared, Crystal 120, and torrified wheat while the water gets up to boiling. I'll add the hops and boil for 15 minutes.
Cool the wort and add it to the Rhubarb must and pitch yeast.
Not sure yet but I'll probably filter out the rhubarb and press it after a week in the fermentor and then transfer to secondary depending on how the ferment goes.
I'm not necessarily sold on anything in the grain bill or the wheat DME. (I was going for a reddish color with the carared but that's not that important to me.)
I'm not going to change the hop variety (they're homegrown) but I could easily change the amount or the boil time.
Not sold on the yeast either.
Does anyone have any suggestions, thoughts, or comments for this recipe?
Thanks in advance.
Matt
Here's the recipe I threw together:
10lbs Chopped Frozen Rhubarb
3lbs Weyermann CaraRed
3lbs Table Sugar (Sucrose)
1lb American Crystal 120L
1lb Briess Bavarian Wheat DME
3oz Torrified Wheat
1oz Calcium Carbonate
1Tbsp Pectic Enzyme
1oz Cascade Hops
Wyeast Belgian Witbier (3944)
My proposed process will be to dump the frozen rhubarb into the fermentor add the calcium carbonate and pectic enzyme and then pour the table sugar over it and leave it to thaw and extract the juices from the rhubarb.
After about a day, when the Rhubarb is thawed I'll add 3 gallons of water and stir everything up to dissolve the sugars.
I'll brew up 2 gallons of wort with the DME and steeping the Carared, Crystal 120, and torrified wheat while the water gets up to boiling. I'll add the hops and boil for 15 minutes.
Cool the wort and add it to the Rhubarb must and pitch yeast.
Not sure yet but I'll probably filter out the rhubarb and press it after a week in the fermentor and then transfer to secondary depending on how the ferment goes.
I'm not necessarily sold on anything in the grain bill or the wheat DME. (I was going for a reddish color with the carared but that's not that important to me.)
I'm not going to change the hop variety (they're homegrown) but I could easily change the amount or the boil time.
Not sold on the yeast either.
Does anyone have any suggestions, thoughts, or comments for this recipe?
Thanks in advance.
Matt