This is Nuckin' Futs!

Warm weather is approaching. Thus, the time to brew a tasty summer treat is upon us.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, i had big beer plans with the brother-in-law, Aaron - after many emails, texts, and conceptual recipes, we found the anecdote for what is surely a winning brew. A Coconut Wheat Beer. 

bottling day: cleanliness may be next to godliness - but with brewing, they are synonymous.

We found a nice Oberon-replica recipe - using the same hops (Saaz) as Bell's brewery uses for their popular summer seasonal, and other similarly-flavored ingredients - and teamed up back in Ohio at the in-law's place for a warm spring morning brew... in honor of National Homebrew Day.


This brew was also crafted in anticipation of our annual beach vacation in June, where beer-crushing in the sand commences early and often, daily.

from left: your starting line up (notice how my beard looks prepubescent in comparison) Andrew, yours truly, Aaron 

note: DO NOT feed dogs hops. seriously - it will kill them. Piper here just wanted a new profile pic for her FB

So, I won't walk you through the whole how-to, but I will lay out the basics, starting with the grain bill & ingredients. 

Mash: 

5 lbs Briess 2-row Pale malt (or 3 lbs light DME)

5 lbs Briess White Wheat malt (or 3 lbs wheat DME)

.5 lbs Briess crystal 20L ( or .25 lb Crystal 20L if using the DME)

Temp: 

153 degrees Fahrenheit 

not quite there yet...

Hops:

.5 oz GR Hallertau 4.5AA 60 min 

(i think we used Saaz also, not Hallertau...?)

.75 oz Czech Saaz 3.2AA 30 min

.5 oz Czech Saaz 3.2AA 15 min

Yeast:

Wyeast 1272 American Ale II or Wyeast 1010 American Wheat...

we opted for the 1450 - while not common for whear beer, it is known to accentuate fruit & added flavors (like coconut, we hope)

And now, the most critical step in the process...

Secondary:

1 oz Czech Saaz 3.2AA dry hop 

2 lbs toasted coconut

For an ultimate Alc. by Vol of 5.67%

   

toasted coconut added for secondary fermenting... looks marvelous!

Like I mentioned before, cleanliness is the most critical aspect of brewing. So when recycling old beer bottles for your new brew (this is common practice - it is economical, ecological, and easy) you need to first sanitize, then sterilize the bottles.
One sterilizing trick I have learned from my brewing partner: put the bottles in the oven at 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit with foil over the top. Then, they will be sterilized and ready for bottling.

Back in April-ish, i brewed up my new classic Epic Fale Amber Ale - yes, I am working on a logo for my soon-to-be flagship brew - and went through some silly issues. Well, it is all part of the process, and you have to learn to roll with the punches.

someone (not me) broke the bottling spigot. shucks.

Luckily for the guilty party, he also built his own mash tun which we used for mashing our grain.

here it is being used for its intended purpose

Although frowned upon in the brewing community, we use this unit for bottling as well. Shit happens.




So what kind of other shit happens now that this liquid gold is all bottled up?

delicious coconut remnants...

We could indulge in the oatmeal-like coconut remnants. But we tossed those out (not to mention they would probably taste pretty nasty).


No. Now, we wait.
And while we wait, we will think of some clever names for this brew - because hey, if you can get people to drink Big Hurt Beer from branding alone, we could do great business if this Coco-wheat turns out decent.

that's two dollars i would like to have back. just stick to RBIs, Frank.

I wouldn't say Nuckin' Futs is a great name, but it gives me an excuse to link to this movie and it gives us a starting point.


Throw me some ideas if you have any - and if you are lucky, you will get to try one of these!


-tb2