A Nuptial Brew

Long time, no post! Schedules haven't allowed us to brew much in the past few weeks, but we did recently deliver a case of beer we specially crafted for a friend's wedding. I can't take credit for the idea - it was all Chris. And I actually vetoed the plan at first, maintaining that newlyweds need housewares, not beer. Chris, the groom and the bride all thought otherwise, and the process began! 

Our task was a bit difficult. We first asked the bride and groom to look through the Beer Recipator (a daunting task, but one that the groom was excited about) and to provide some descriptors about the beers they typically like to drink. Here's what we got:

• Harvest amber (http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator?group=3&item=3819)
• Oak Aged Blueberry Blossom (http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator?group=2&item=8111)
• Strawberry Honey Ale (http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator?group=2&item=2946)
• Turtle Power IPA (http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator?group=2&item=9718)
• The Hopfather IPA (http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator?group=2&item=2319) 

As for words: amber/medium color (not too light or too dark), hoppy, some fruit hints or flavors

Turns out, the bride likes fruity beers while the groom prefers the heavily hopped variety. And as I'm sure many of you know, those two things don't usually go together in a brew. But we were determined to make something they both would like. After poring over recipes, we decided to make up one of our own—an IPA of sorts. Here's what was in it:

Fermentables
Light Malt Extract: 3.15 lb
British Two-Row Pale: 1 lb
British Munich: 1 lb
Crystal 60L: .25 lb

Hops
Zeus: .2 oz at 60 min
Chinook: .3 oz at 30 min
Citra: .3 oz at 15 min
Citra: .6 oz at 5 min
Amarillo: .35 oz at the end

So we cooked it up and then let it ferment for two weeks (wasn't a particularly powerful one), finally bottling on April 24. We ended up with quite a good beer, I'd say. Light and refreshing, hop-flavored yet a bit sweet thanks to the citra hops. The final ABV was 6.7%.

Chris wields the bottling wand

And labels were designed and applied. But being the highly intelligent beings we are, we forgot to take a picture of the final product. Rest assured, it was pretty. This is seriously craft brewing, people. And initial reviews are glowing: "I wanted to let you know that we both love the beer :)  Thanks again for such a great gift!!" 


Congratulations and love to you, Borjan and Leah!