Special Ingredient: Hibiscus
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters) Brewhouse efficiency: 72% OG: 1.065 FG: 1.006–1.010 IBUS: 52 ABV: 6.2%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
8.7 lb (3.9 kg) Pilsner (2-row) 1.8 lb (816 g) Carahell 1.2 lb (544 g) flaked oats 9.5 oz (269 g) Vienna malt 3.8 oz (108 g) acidulated malt
HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
0.7 oz (20 g) Nugget [13% AA] at 60 minutes 1.4 oz (40 g) Azacca [15% AA] at 5 minutes 1.4 oz (40 g) Nugget [13% AA] at 5 minutes 1.75 oz (50 g) Azacca [15% AA] at whirlpool 1.75 oz (50 g) Nugget [13% AA] at whirlpool 3.35 oz (95 g) Vic Secret [15.5% AA] at dry hop 2.5 oz (71 g) Azacca [15% AA] at dry hop 2.5 oz (71 g) dried hibiscus flowers at dry hop
YEAST
Wyeast 1056 American Ale is a workhorse, and it’s pretty hard to miss with it. If you want esters but want to keep them tame, try Wyeast 1272 American Ale II.
DIRECTIONS
Mash in at 148°F (64°C), then raise the temperature to 153°F (67°C) and hold for 15 minutes. Then raise the temperature to 158°F (70°C) and hold for 30 minutes, then mash out at 168°F (76°C). Boil for 60 minutes, following the hops schedule. Chill the wort to 65°F (18°C). Aerate the wort and pitch the yeast. Start fermentation at 65°F (18°C) and let the temperature free rise to 68°F (20°C). Add the dry hops at the end of primary fermentation. After the gravity holds steady for 24 hours, cool 2°F (1°C) per hour until the temperature reaches 32°F (0°C). Rack from primary into a secondary vessel, then add the dried hibiscus flowers in a mesh bag and steep for 24 hours. Then rack again or remove the hibiscus. It’s important not to have too much contact time with the hibiscus or you will extract tannins.
BREWER’S NOTES Adjust the mash ph to 5.2 with lactic acid. For water chemistry, we target 50ppm calcium and150ppm chloride. The mash is where you can dial in the mouthfeel to your own liking. We keep ours fully attenuated, but I can picture using a high-temperature single-infusion mash and rolled oats to thicken the mouthfeel. The hibiscus really dries out the mouthfeel between the increase acidity and tannins.
We pitch our yeast at 16mil cells/ml above 95 percent viability and aerate to 10ppm at 65°F (18°C).