Posted: February 9th, 2009 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Craft Brew, Events & Tastings, Experiments, Homebrew, Styles, Wheat | 6 Comments »
Inspired by Caldera’s ginger ale at the 2008 Oregon Brewers Festival, I thought that a wheat beer brewed with ginger would be a swell idea. I emailed Caldera’s brewer about their recipe, and he replied that they added ginger chips at flame off or hopback. Since I use neither a hopback or propane burners, I consulted a couple of other recipes and decided that 5oz of ginger in the final 20 minutes of boil should suffice.
The wort is chilling in the kitchen sink at this moment, and I’m hoping that I added enough ginger. The recipe was simple enough that if I need to increase the ginger for next time it’s no big deal – it’s only 6.6lbs of bulk light/wheat malt, 3/4oz of hops, a vial of liquid yeast, plus however much ginger I want to use. The ingredients cost roughly $30, so that’s a $3.60 6-pack. Nice!
I based it on “Lovebite Weisbier” in the Joy of Homebrewing. I’ll pitch the hefeweizen yeast before I go to bed, and we’ll see what the fermentation fairy brings in the morning!
Posted: November 14th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, Wheat | No Comments »
It’s a rare clear, dry, sunny day in November here in Portland, which means I had to go out for lunch to sit in the sun. With the rumor that Green Dragon is going to be bought out by Rogue Brewing, and considering that Green Dragon is 4 blocks from my office and has sunny outdoor seating, I had to head there for lunch. Which of course means beer!
Their rotating tap list can be overwhelming, but a gorgeous warm day like this calls for something crisp and light so I chose Moylan’s Hefeweizen. For a hefe, this is a very clear and golden ale. No wheaty haze at all. I was also surprised on my first taste at how sweet – but not sugary – this beer is. It’s the sweet of hay drying in the summer sun, not the sweet of caramel or candy. It’s medium-bodied and well matched to a sunny but not hot day.
While a delicious beer, I’m not sure it qualifies as a hefeweizen. The lack of haze or citrus flavor left it tasting more like a cross between a cream ale and a kolsch. Not that I’m complaining! It just wasn’t a hefeweizen at all.
Now I wish I could go back for another and sit in the sun some more, but work calls…
Posted: June 9th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, What's that in your fridge?, Wheat | No Comments »
Oh, it's a little trouble!I hadn’t seen
Troublette at New Seasons before, so when I spotted it this evening I had to give it a try. After a fairly heavy, sweet beer at the Lucky Lab, a lighter wheat beer sounded pretty good. At only 5.5 % alcohol, Troublette fit the bill!
This is a nice golden-colored beer of medium clarity. Decent head retention, fine but substantial carbonation, and a tart wheaty aroma present themselves on first pour. I let it warm up a bit before drinking, since it was too tart when fresh from the fridge. As it warms, the wheat flavors start to come out on top of the tartness. But the bright flavor is refreshing, complex, and a welcome change from sweet, malty beers.
I appreciate that it’s delicately hopped, just enough to keep it from being sweet but not so much that there’s any bitterness. This is one well-balanced beer! I wish it came in larger bottles. It’s more like a wit beer than a wheat ale, so if you’re looking for a hefeweizen you can find cheaper, local beers. But for an alternative to Celis White, this is good! Not full of orange and coriander, but still tasty and more complex than your basic hefeweizen.
Still, $3.11 for 11.2oz is a little steep. This will be a specialty beer in my house!