Watermelon Sour

[SourHopHead]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

WYeast 1272

Yeast Starter

Yes

Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter

Wyeast 3278

Batch Size (Gallons)

5

Original Gravity

12.5

Final Gravity

4.0

Boiling Time (Minutes)

90

IBU

8.8

Color

3.8

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

7 days @ 65

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

13.5 Months @ 70ish

Tasting Notes

Watermelon aroma and flavor. More tart than sour. Refreshing and very drinkable.

My second sour ale and took a silver at the 2011 NM State Fair.

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
0.50 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 5.00 %
4.50 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 45.00 %
3.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 35.00 %
1.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 10.00 %
0.50 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 5.00 %
14.17 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 11.7 IBU
4.00 oz Watermelon Puree
65.00 oz Watermelon Puree
1 Pkgs Belgian Lambic Blend (Wyeast Labs #3278) Yeast-Ale
1 Pkgs GF All American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1272) [Starter 125 ml] Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 12.613 Plato
Est Final Gravity: 3.279
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.00 %
Bitterness: 11.7 IBU
Est Color: 4.3 SRM


Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
Sparge Water: 6.19 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F


Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Mash In Add 3.10 gal of water at 162.6 F 151.0 F


Notes

Primary 1 week @ 65. Add lambic blend to 4oz puree and mix well before pitching. Room temp 12 months. Cold crash and add 40oz watermelon puree (6/2/2011) for 2 weeks. Shake ocasionally and allow to settle. Racked off of puree to keg 7/27/2011.

 

[user 84304]

That looks just awesome. Adding it to my list. Cheers!

 

[womencantsail]

This is something I'd love to do. How much watermelon flavor did you get out of it?

 

[SourHopHead]

This is something I'd love to do. How much watermelon flavor did you get out of it?

It was stronger about 2 weeks after adding the purée. We let it sit a month longer hoping for a little more sourness and the watermelon faded some. I wanted to use a seeded watermelon but in April pretty hard to come by. Had some last night and it is still there. Most people cannot identify it as watermelon unless you mention it.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[mcarb]

Do you do anything to the watermelon besides puree it? Pasteurize? Freeze?

 

[SourHopHead]

Do you do anything to the watermelon besides puree it? Pasteurize? Freeze?

No. Bugs pretty much took over so not going to hurt anything.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[mcarb]

Awesome, thanks. Gonna try a similar recipe with prickly pears.

 

[wells11]

Could you please clarify these couple of things, I've done a few AG brews and was confused how this is written out.

Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
Sparge Water: 6.19 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F


Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Mash In Add 3.10 gal of water at 162.6 F 151.0 F

Also how did you cold crash and for how long?

The last question is did you do anything to the puree before using it? Boil, freeze?? And can I substitute other fruits?



__________________

 

[SourHopHead]

Could you please clarify these couple of things, I've done a few AG brews and was confused how this is written out.

Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
Sparge Water: 6.19 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F


Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Mash In Add 3.10 gal of water at 162.6 F 151.0 F

Also how did you cold crash and for how long?

The last question is did you do anything to the puree before using it? Boil, freeze?? And can I substitute other fruits?



__________________

I just cut and pasted out of beersmith.

I mashed at 151 for 75 min with 3.10 gal of water. Strike temp was 162.6 for my system.

Sparged with 6.19 gal at 168 degrees.

I had it sitting in the closet after adding the puree straight out of the blender for 2 weeks then tossed it in the kegerator for a few days at about 40 degrees. I will fix that part. Thanks. You can use any other fruits i'm sure.