I gave this recipe a try, though I modified it in that I did only a 3 gallon batch, utilizing 2lb of DME and 0.5lb of dissolved piloncillo sugar to achieve an OG of 1.036; I enjoy lighter ABV beers so I wanted something in the 4% range and this finished out at 4.2%. My hops were Strata and Idaho Gem, 2oz of each. I used S-04 to ferment.



When I bottled this, the room temperature wort had a definite cider-like aroma and taste that wasn't very pleasant, to the point where I considered dumping it. I continued anyway and after a week in the bottle the cider character is gone, thankfully. The body is a bit thin and the head retention is fairly poor, though this is likely a product of the reduced DME. The hop character is pretty good, definite fruit and dank character for me, but the aroma and flavor is not as profound as I'd hoped for. Overall, the version I made is okay, but it needs improvement.



Moving forward for another try, I would either ramp up the OG to around 1.050 or, if keeping the OG in the lower end, I would use a higher ratio of DME to sugar, say 2.5lb of DME to 0.25lb of sugar. My inclination is to cold steep some sort of crystal malt, like a Carawheat, and replace the sugar with that liquid, but that then defeats the purpose of the 10 minute "brewing" that really intrigued me about this. Thanks for the great idea.