I am homebrewing for our hotel room at lollapalooza this summer. It will be very hot out. What should I brew?!
Most of the things on my "to brew" list are heavy beers like belgain quadruples etc!. Its going to be hot and we are going to want a "lawnmower beer" (like Corona) but i still want to take this opportunity to make something special!. Does anyone have any special recipes they love that would fit this bill!?Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
I have two brews that come to mind, one is a Coopers Sparkling Ale clone that no longer resembles coopers sparkling ale, but makes a great beer, and the other suggestion would be a wheat beer, and not that weak crap you normally get that is less that 4%abv, I mean an Imperial wheat!.
The first one, the Not-So-Coopers clone is actually a really simple recipe!. I like to use however much base malt (2 row or dry malt extract) to make a basic 5%abv pale ale, then add/steep a pound of medium crystal malt, and a pound of brown sugar!. For hops, I'd go for Ahtanum!. It's still pretty low on the hop price list, and gives great aroma and flavor!. Just split it pretty evenly for bittering, flavoring and aroma!. (For coopers they use Pride of Ringwood across the board, but it adds an earthy flavor/aroma that can be mistaken for contamination if over done)!. Use any basic ale yeast, or to be closer to the original, use a fruity belgium yeast, I prefer Safale 58!.
As for a wheat beer, if you're extract brewing, use wheat extract!. It's usually in a 50/50 wheat/barley mix, so just use that, unless you can actually find pure wheat extract, then cut it in half with regular extract!. Or use all pure, doesn't matter!. If you're doing all grain, it is a good idea to have some rice hulls handy!. I made a wheat that was roughly 65% wheat malt and the rest 2 row, and lots of rice hulls!. I then hopped with Tettnanger hops or Crystal hops!. Due to the prices of hops thanks to the shortage, I'd recommend Crystal, or better yet, Polish Lublin hops!. The Lublins are cheap as sin, and are basically Czech Saaz!. Great aroma and flavors!. So anyways, make a wheat beer, at least 40-60% wheat, and aim for over 6-7%abv!. Use spicy nobel hops, and ferment with, once again my preferred, Safale 58!. Or whatever yeast you prefer!.
I've made both of those for parties where I had beer on tap, and it was always a huge hit!. I also always aim for over 6-7%abv, so you get more bang for your buck, but with those recipes, if made right, you'll never notice the alcohol until it's too late!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
The first one, the Not-So-Coopers clone is actually a really simple recipe!. I like to use however much base malt (2 row or dry malt extract) to make a basic 5%abv pale ale, then add/steep a pound of medium crystal malt, and a pound of brown sugar!. For hops, I'd go for Ahtanum!. It's still pretty low on the hop price list, and gives great aroma and flavor!. Just split it pretty evenly for bittering, flavoring and aroma!. (For coopers they use Pride of Ringwood across the board, but it adds an earthy flavor/aroma that can be mistaken for contamination if over done)!. Use any basic ale yeast, or to be closer to the original, use a fruity belgium yeast, I prefer Safale 58!.
As for a wheat beer, if you're extract brewing, use wheat extract!. It's usually in a 50/50 wheat/barley mix, so just use that, unless you can actually find pure wheat extract, then cut it in half with regular extract!. Or use all pure, doesn't matter!. If you're doing all grain, it is a good idea to have some rice hulls handy!. I made a wheat that was roughly 65% wheat malt and the rest 2 row, and lots of rice hulls!. I then hopped with Tettnanger hops or Crystal hops!. Due to the prices of hops thanks to the shortage, I'd recommend Crystal, or better yet, Polish Lublin hops!. The Lublins are cheap as sin, and are basically Czech Saaz!. Great aroma and flavors!. So anyways, make a wheat beer, at least 40-60% wheat, and aim for over 6-7%abv!. Use spicy nobel hops, and ferment with, once again my preferred, Safale 58!. Or whatever yeast you prefer!.
I've made both of those for parties where I had beer on tap, and it was always a huge hit!. I also always aim for over 6-7%abv, so you get more bang for your buck, but with those recipes, if made right, you'll never notice the alcohol until it's too late!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
I don't brew, so I really can't help too much, but I do know that a cheep "one day" wine recipe is always loved, but it won't be very alcoholic!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Lagers work well in the heat!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Wow I totally read the question wrong XD, let me look through my recipes real quick!.!.!.
Here's one for an ordinary bitter I made!. It's an ale but it's really light and refreshing so it will do what you want it to do as a beer without the hassle and care required for a lager!. I think this beer is one of my best and a year or so ago it got third place in a brewing contest so others apparently like it too!.
2!.50 lb Biscuit (Dingemans) (22!.5 SRM)
2!.50 lb Vienna Malt (3!.5 SRM)
1!.50 lb Caramunich I (Weyermann) (51!.0 SRM)
1!.00 lb Oats, Flaked (1!.0 SRM)
!.5oz Sorachi Ace 60 Minute
!.5oz Sorachi Ace 30 Minute
!.5oz Sorachi Ace 15 Minute
!.5oz Sorachi Ace Knock Out
Mashed at 154 for 60 minutes
I think I used White Labs English Ale yeast but I may have used my 'house strain' which is Wyeast California Ale yeast!. I also might have rounded up the half pounds to whole pounds on the grain because my current numbers claim a 3!.2% ABV beer and I'm pretty sure I ended up with a 4% ABV beer!. You could also replace the oats with either neutral sugars or 2 row floor malts to make for a more crisp beer, the oats make it a bit more foody in the mouthfeel!.
The Sorachi Ace hops are Japanese and may be hard to find!. They're lemony though which I think is pretty critical to the refreshing quality of the beer!. A more traditional hop would be something like Fuggles or East Kent Goldings but if you're looking to retain the citrus quality I would replace them with something like Cascades or Ahtanums in a lower quantity since the citrus qualities in these hops is a bit more aggressive!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Here's one for an ordinary bitter I made!. It's an ale but it's really light and refreshing so it will do what you want it to do as a beer without the hassle and care required for a lager!. I think this beer is one of my best and a year or so ago it got third place in a brewing contest so others apparently like it too!.
2!.50 lb Biscuit (Dingemans) (22!.5 SRM)
2!.50 lb Vienna Malt (3!.5 SRM)
1!.50 lb Caramunich I (Weyermann) (51!.0 SRM)
1!.00 lb Oats, Flaked (1!.0 SRM)
!.5oz Sorachi Ace 60 Minute
!.5oz Sorachi Ace 30 Minute
!.5oz Sorachi Ace 15 Minute
!.5oz Sorachi Ace Knock Out
Mashed at 154 for 60 minutes
I think I used White Labs English Ale yeast but I may have used my 'house strain' which is Wyeast California Ale yeast!. I also might have rounded up the half pounds to whole pounds on the grain because my current numbers claim a 3!.2% ABV beer and I'm pretty sure I ended up with a 4% ABV beer!. You could also replace the oats with either neutral sugars or 2 row floor malts to make for a more crisp beer, the oats make it a bit more foody in the mouthfeel!.
The Sorachi Ace hops are Japanese and may be hard to find!. They're lemony though which I think is pretty critical to the refreshing quality of the beer!. A more traditional hop would be something like Fuggles or East Kent Goldings but if you're looking to retain the citrus quality I would replace them with something like Cascades or Ahtanums in a lower quantity since the citrus qualities in these hops is a bit more aggressive!.Www@FoodAQ@Com