[Q&A: Homebrewing]

@MSK:

Ummmm not my favorite.

I was hoping to get a lot of the fruity, sour, ruby red character from the grapefruit. Unfortunately, all I got was the dry mouthfeel of eating a grapefruit. No fruit, no sour, just a peppery, dry finish, which are not what I consider desirable traits in a quenching wheat beer. Plus, I had the Belgian, not Bavarian, strain of yeast, therefore I had less fruity character to begin with. Again, not what I was shooting for.

I'll save a few, but most likely the majority will be going down the drain so I can save the bottles.

Better luck next time.

[Spring Heat Spiced Wheat]

Another poor effort by AB to catch the craft beer trend.

One of the most vital sales points on a craft beer is where it's made/what's the brewery?

None of the AB seasonals (Spring Heat Spiced Wheat, Jack's Pumpkin, Bourbon Cask) have a brewery name on them. No one knows they're contract brewed by Michelob - I think it would have been better for them to at least put a brewery name on it, even if it said Michelob Small Batch or something...

[Beer Pops Illegal?]

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1170835

By MATTHEW BARAKAT

Associated Press Writer

McLEAN, Va. - It might be one of the great alcoholic innovations of the 21st century - the frozen beer pop, served by an Alexandria restaurateur and bar owner in a variety of sizes and flavors like "Raspbeer-y" and "fudgesicle."

But state regulators say the beer-sicles run afoul of rules governing the serving and pouring of beer.

The story of the frozen beer pop began last week at Rustico Restaurant, where executive chef Frank Morales began selling the frozen treats to customers looking for a more adult way to beat the heat.

After weeks of testing several hundred beer varieties to find flavors that taste good on a stick, Rustico finally settled on three flavors: "Raspbeer-y," made with a Belgian, fruit-style beer; "Plum," made from a Belgian Lambic brew; and the "Fudgesicle," made with a stout with bittersweet chocolate undertones. He plans to offer other flavors on a rotating basis.

The beer pops sell for $4 in the six-ounce size, shaped like a traditional Popsicle, and $6 for a larger "beer cone."

That's it? It's just beer, frozen? I'd love to make some of these. A hacker-pschorr and lemonade -sicle would be top notch! Obviously Lindeman's or Liefmans would work....

[Q&A: Homebrewing]

well, originally, my ingredients came with the Weihenstephan yeast, but I managed to kill that (woops.) So my local brew&grow store only had the Belgian wit yeast so I grabbed that.

No pith - skinned the yellow part off the pith with a potato peeler, but I included the flesh and juice of the fruit. Hopefully the grapefruit won't be too bitter or overpowering - I'm loosely going off of the Blood Orange Hefeweizen in Sam's Extreme Brewing book.

[Q&A: Homebrewing]

Hey guys, long time reader, first time poster.

- here's what I made up the other night....

Grapefruit Paradise Wheat

Preboil tea:

8 oz. Carapils for 20 mins

Boil:

6 lbs. Wheat liquid malt extract,

1 lb. of Light DME,

Boiled for 40 mins.

Added 1 oz. Tettnanger bittering hops for 25 mins

Steeped rind and fruit from 2 large ruby red grapefruits & 1.5 grams of Grains of Paradise .

Put peels & pulp in a grain bag and into primary fermenter (my one major concern - I didn't boil the bag w/ the fruit).

Pitched my belgian yeast strain @ put in my 74 degree room under the stairs.

This happened 5 days ago - i'm gonna take my two hydo readings and hopefully bottle tomorrow!