Honey Ginger Wheat

Brewer:	justio		Email:	jhizzle_14@yahoo.com
Beer:	Honey Ginger Wheat		Style:	American Wheat
Type:	All grain		Size:	10 gallons
Color:	4 HCU (~4 SRM)		Bitterness:	19 IBU
OG:	1.058		FG:	1.013
Alcohol:	5.8% v/v (4.6% w/w)
Water:	Irish Hills Michigan softened well water
Grain:	9 lb. American 2-row 9 lb. Wheat malt 1 lb. American crystal 10L
Mash:	70% efficiency
	Mash at 154° for at least 1 hour. Sparge w/ 180° water for at least 1 hour, collecting 12 gallons of wort.
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.048	12 gallons
	2 lb. Honey 3 oz. Fresh Grated Ginger
	Add 3 oz of fresh grated ginger(peels included) in the last 10 min of boil(w/ 1 oz of cascade hops at the same time). Add 2 lbs of honey, as well as another 1 oz of cascade hops, at flame out.
Hops:	1 oz. Tettnanger (4.5% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Hallertauer (4.25% AA, 45 min.) 1 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 10 min.) 1 oz. Cascade (aroma)
Yeast:	Fermented in 2 different 5 gallon fermentation pales. Used safale us-05 dry yeast in one fermentation pale for a nice, dry finish, typical of American Wheats now a days. Quite tasty. Used WLP 320 in a 1 quart starter in the other fermenter. Some banana clove notes present, but not overpowering. Though still a strong American Wheat, this yeast brought a little of the funkiness found in European Hefe's, which was nice too. Given the tastiness of both yeasts performance on this brew, I can't really recommend one over the other. I'd happily use both yeasts for similar, or even identical brews again! Oh yeah, and I just used the Safale us-05 on my IIPA w/ an og of 1.090 and it fermented down to 1.013! An awesome, delicious ale indeed! Obviously a multi-purpose yeast, which defies the critics when it comes to dry yeasts!!
Carbonation:	3/4 cup of corn sugar boiled in 2 cups of water, brought to 70° and put directly in bottling bucket. This is for a 5 gallon bottling bucket.. so for a 10 gal batch it's 1 1/2 cups of sugar in 4 cups of water, divided evenly into each bottling bucket.
Tasting:	Rather described the differences of the 2 different yeast flavors thoroughly in the "yeast" category above. I think honey and ginger is one of the most magical flavor combos ever! Putting the ginger late in the boil adds some of the sharpness/spiciness qualities of the ginger, without bringing out too much of that spicy bite.. but also bringing out the aromatic qualities of the ginger. The sugars of the honey gets dried out by the yeast(both yeasts definitely fermented the honey sugars out almost completely), but that subtle honey flavor left behind, w/ the combo of the ginger is AWESOME! Brew this beer people! You will not be disappointed!!

Recipe posted 03/17/11.