h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

June 24, 2005

Light Honey Wheat Ale

Ingredients
4 lb Alexander’s Wheat Malt Extract
2 lb Munton’s Extra Light Dry Malt Extract
2 lb Wildflower Honey
1-½ oz Crystal Hops (boiling)
¾ oz Crystal Hops (flavor)
¾ oz Crystal Hops (aroma)
1 gm Paradise Seeds
2 oz Lemon Zest
½ tsp Irish Moss
Belgian Wit Yeast

Boiling Times
60 minutes
- Malt Extracts
- Honey
- Boiling Hops
15 minutes
- Flavor Hops
- Irish Moss
10 minutes
- Paradise Seeds
5 minutes
- Lemon Zest
2 minutes
- Aroma Hops

This batch was brewed solely for Folk Fest 2005. It is one of the two batches provided by me for this event, the other being the Honey Ginger (Batch XII). I take pride in that this recipe is completely made up by me. So, I hope that it turns out well.

Specific gravity - 1.042

Another new realm I'll be exploring is kegging. Very new to me, but I've been reading as much as I can. I'm sure that it will be a learning experience, so it's time to roll the dice.

More later.

Cheers!

July 1, 2005

Transfer to secondary

Specific gravity - 1.009

The beer tasted great! For being in such an immature state, I was thoroughly pleased with it's taste so far. But...it smelled like earwax, or something equally as bad.

I can't tell if the scent is from the krausen or the actual beer. And if it is the beer, I'm not sure what it's coming from. The hops, seeds, the lemon, or something introduced. In any event, I sincerely hope the smell dimishes severly. It would ruin an otherwise excellent tasting beer.

Will be letting this sit it out for a while in the secondary. I hope that it clarifies similarly to the ginger.

Cheers!

July 24, 2005

Kegging date.

All went well. The beer still tasted good, but the negative smell is still there just not so powerful. Hops, seeds, I don't know. I hope it continues to diminish.

Specific gravity - 1.006

This is the second of the two Folk Fest beers in the keg. All that's left is going there and drinking them. Looking forward to it. But there is a little pressure, a lot of people will be tasting them.

Cheers!

July 31, 2005

I pulled on the release valve and...nothing happened. There was no pressure, meaning that the keg has a leak. It will have to be re-primed or force carbonated. But first, I'll have to find the leak and fix it.

Jeers!

August 7, 2005

I cracked a bottle after two weeks carbonating. Very pleased with the result. I was so worried that it was going to smell bad and taste just okay. But that wasn't the case.

I really do need to clear up my issue with the keg, though. Otherwise the batch will be flat for the Fest, which would be a shame.

August 17, 2005

I tried to replace the popper valve to no avail. I can't seem to remove the valve housing. Anyway, it looks like the valve isn't leaking.

So I removed all shelves and drawers from my refrigerator so that I could fit the keg. This is a big pain in the ass, but I'm sure that it will be worth it in the end. I let it sit overnight to get cold. In the morning, I attached the in-line to the CO2 tank, and let her rip at 25psi.

I hope that this thing carbonates well enough. We'll just have to wait and see.

Cheers!

An Objective Observer's Review of the Folk Fest Summer Ale.....


What a delite! This brew was light bodied, full flavored, aromatic with a lemon wheat quality unlike any I have experienced thus far. A true summer ale with a refreshing sensation with no heavy beer feeling in the bottom of one's stomach after a night of homebrew indulgence.

Light, zesty, a complete delight with a sweet, but not to sweet taste.

This my freind was a true success!! On a 1-5 scale for light summer ale's, this most certainly grabs the 5 spot heartily.

and keep it up!

Much appreciated!!!