nikro000 Uncategorized

It’s been three years since I cloned and brewed a small batch (2.5 gal) of Kona’s Lemon Grass Luau. Well, 4th of July is coming up and we are expecting many guests, so I decided to scale up the recipe and brew it again.

Planning

The malts, hops, and sugar I just scaled up to a 6 gallon batch in Beersmith:

The amount ginger however, I did not dare to simply more than double. Ginger can easily overwhelm a beer, so I decided on 1.5 oz for 15 min at the end of the boil.

Water

The Arrowhead Mountain Spring water, again, was diluted with 20% of distilled water.

Yeast

I don’t trust my local brewstore with their yeast anymore. Sometimes their yeast is very old, sometimes their young yeast does not take off. I wanted to use American Ale yeast like last time, but I could not find a package that I could trust. So I settled for WLP002 English Ale yeast. It will be beer.

Lemongrass

The titular lemongrass will be added, as soon as primary fermentation is over. I will double the lemongrass from three to six stalks.

Brewing

Mashing and Boiling

I mixed the grains with 4 gal of 157F water and held the temperature at 151F for 60 minutes.

I sparged with 170F water and collected 7 gal.

When it came to boiling the wort, I added the sugar at the beginning this time.

The 0.75 oz of Willamette went in as soon as the wort started boiling, followed by the first addition of Northern Brewer after 30 minutes.

15 minutes before the end, I cubed the ginger (small cubes) and added it via hop sock, together with yeast nutrients.

The final Northern Brewer hop addition was added at flame out.

Cooling, Settling, Oxygenation, Pitching

The wort cooled in an icebath down to 68F.

I splashed it into a settling tank keeping most of the hot/cold break in the pot.

After settling for 30 minutes, to oxygenate the wort, I dribbled it into my fermenter, that was already sitting in its Brewjacket Fermenting Sleeve.

After that, all that was left was pitching the WLP002 English Ale yeast, attach the head unit and dial in the temperature.

I will ferment this wort at 67F.

Update Brewday +1

Within 24 hrs the WLP002 has taken off very nicely. A thick layer of kraeusen is crowning my developing Lemongrass Luau. My brewjacket is doing its thing very nicely as well, after I had repaired the unit.

Update Brewday +7

Kraeusen has died down, primary fermentation is definitely over. I raise the temperature of the beer to 70F, and now it is time to add the lemongrass. I bought six stalks at the supermarket, and they seem to be a bit wilted. The taste is ok though.

I peel off the outer leaves, until I reach the fresh core. Then I cut the six stalks into fingerlong pieces and dived them in two, since I will pack them into two disposable hop socks.

Next comes the cleaning. I wash them in a mild vinegar solution and soak them for 30 seconds in a weak SanStar solution. And then they take a swim in the beer, where they will remain for roughly two weeks.