Here at Brewshop we have the honour of sending out loads of your beer recipes every week. From full sacks of malt, to many crushed grain bills, hops and yeast. In the process we get to see what's trending in the homebrew world and what people are putting on tap at home. For the past year or so it seems the general theme (and sound track) has come out of a dance rave… Lager, lager, lager.. Indeed, light lagers and hazy IPAs have been the go-to brews as they are easier to brew than ever before, they suit the warmer weather and they are crowd pleasers. We think part of the homebrewing experience is branching out and brewing things you can’t find easily in the stores or even discovering a new favourite style. There are plenty of Hazys out there to buy (from your local brewery please) and of course many, many pilsners and, sigh, green bottle lagers to quench that post lawn mowing thirst. Here are a few recipes that showcase some lesser known styles that you may want to put on tap. They still suit the preferred 4-6ish% abv easily drinkable mould of beers which aren’t too much of a shock to the system. But are a nice point of difference and will possibly spark a bit of discussion and appreciation with whomever you enjoy your beers with.
All recipes are 23 litre batches with a 72% typical efficiency suiting all-in-one units like the BrewZilla with ingredients we stock at Brewshop.
Altbier
Don’t let the name put you off, “alt” in German simply means “old” or traditional. These are the beers that Germans enjoyed before the light lager craze took over. They are essentially German ales from the old Rhineland area of Germany, centred around Düsseldorf. They are fuller bodied, malty but clean German ales that have a lot more character than your typical lager while still remaining highly drinkable. This recipe exemplifies the style nicely.
Vitals
Abv 5.5%, O.G 1.060, F.G 1.017, IBU 23, EBC 29.5
Malt
3.9kg Gladfield German Pilsner
950g Gladfield Munich
950g Gladfield Vienna
250g Caramunich II
100g Gladfield Light Chocolate
Hop schedule
29g Tettnang - 60 mins
23g Tettnang - 15 mins
(5g whirlfloc, 3g yeast nutrient @ 10 mins)
Yeast
First choice: WLP036 Düsseldorf Alt yeast (1pkt)
Or WLP003 German Ale II Yeast
Or WLP029 German Ale/ Kolsch Yeast
Notes
Mash for 60 mins @ 67 degC
Boil time is ideally 90 minutes, with first hop addition @ 60 mins, make sure water volume accounts for this.
Ferment @ 17degC for 12-14 days, lager for 2-4 weeks around 1degC
Carbonate to 2.5-2.7 volumes CO2
Australian Sparkling Ale
This recipe pays homage to an Australian classic sparkling ale showcasing all Aussie ingredients. It has a malty and bready malt backbone with medium body, decent bitterness and a slightly fruity hop aroma with noticeable yeast character with it’s sparkly-ness coming from high carbonation. This beer would suit bottle conditioning if you are up for it. This is a slightly modern take on this style using Galaxy hops, it's a perfect beer for hot weather with a nice malt backbone to chew through.
Vitals
Abv 5.3%, O.G 1.056, F.G 1.016, IBU 36, EBC 12.6
Malt
3.3kg Golden Promise malt
2.1kg Gladfield American ale malt
320g Gladfield Biscuit malt
Hop schedule
21g Galaxy - 60 mins
(5g whirlfloc, 3g yeast nutrient @ 10 mins)
Yeast
First choice: 1pkt WLP009 Australian Ale yeast
Or Safale S-04
Notes
Mash for 10 mins @ 50degC, raise to 69degC for 50 mins
Ferment @ 18degC raising to 20degC when at 80% attenuation
Package at 3 weeks, carbonate to 3.6 - 4 volumes CO2
British Golden Ale
The British golden ale is a refreshing, highly drinkable ale with that familiar slightly biscuity/bready/nutty malt flavour profile, but not as heavy as other UK offerings. It is hop forward (in a restrained English way) with earthy, floral and fruity hop aromas which is complemented by all the goodness that comes from British yeast strains. This example is on the hoppier side.
Vitals
Abv 4.5%, O.G 1.047, F.G 1.013, IBU 31, EBC 7.9
Malt
4.6kg Maris Otter malt
300g Weyermann Pale Wheat malt
Hop schedule
30g East Kent Goldings - 60 mins
30g Fuggle - 15 mins
(5g whirlfloc, 3g yeast nutrient @ 10 mins)
40g Fuggle - 0 mins
Immediately drop to 75-80degC and whirlpool for 15mins
Yeast
First choice: WLP005 British ale yeast
Or WLP002 English Ale or Lallemand Nottingham
Notes
Mash @ 69degC for 60 minutes
Ferment @19-20degC for 4-7 days or until final gravity is reached and rest for a further 2-3 days. Cold crash, package and age for 2 weeks, carbonate to 2.2 volumes.
Brut IPA
This style was set to be the next big thing but fell off the face of the earth with Hazy IPAs taking centre stage. If you're after a beer with all the hop presence of an IPA without the body (and carbs) then this is for you. Brut IPAs have a champagne like quality whilst still remaining hop-forward - a very hard beer to balance but this inhouse competition winning recipe manages to pull it off.
Vitals
Abv 6.4%, O.G 1.050, F.G 1.001 (approx), IBU 23, EBC 6.7
Malt
2.05kg Gladfield American Ale malt
2.05kg Gladfield Pilsner malt
1.03kg Flaked Maize
260g Gladfield Wheat malt
Hops
25g Mosaic - 60 mins
25g Nectaron - 10 mins
(5g whirlfloc, 3g yeast nutrient @ 10 mins)
25g Simcoe - 0 mins
25g Nelson Sauvin - Dry hop 3 days
25g Mosaic - Dry hop 3 days
25g Nectaron - Dry hop 3 days
Yeast
1 pkt Lallemand Nottingham
1 vial White Labs Ultra-Ferm
Notes
Mash 60 mins @ 65 degC
Add Ultra-ferm when pitching yeast
Ferment at 18 degC raising to 20 degC after dry hop, crash cool when gravity is static around the 1.000 - 1.002 range. Carbonate to 2.8-3.2 volumes.
Grisette
If you haven’t heard of this style then you are not alone, we hadn’t either. It is similar to a Saison but a touch lighter, sometimes at table beer strength. Traditionally a beer brewed with barley and wheat for the working class. We stumbled across a recipe using all NZ hops which turned out to be a fantastic drop although very unique with quite substantial late hop additions, eventually being sent out to our Serial Brewer subscribers.
Brewfather recipe available here: https://share.brewfather.app/2E6P0KtP0nqFxW
Vitals
Abv 4.1%, O.G 1.036, F.G 1.005, IBU 14, EBC 5.3
Malt
1.71kg Torrified Wheat
1.43kg Gladfield Light Lager malt
530g Gladfield Chit malt
410g Flaked Barley
200g Oat or Rice hulls
Hops
Boil for 60 mins
(5g whirlfloc, 3g yeast nutrient @ 10 mins)
100g Motueka Whirlpool @ 80degC for 27 mins
138g Nelson Sauvin Dry Hop - 3 days
Yeast
First Choice: WLP550 Belgian Ale - 1 pkt
Or Lallemand Abbaye Dry yeast - 1 pkt
Notes
Mash @ 64degC for 60 mins
All hops are post boil. Oxygenate and ferment @ 20 degC until 80% attenuation is reached, then free rise to 22 degC until F.G is reached, rest for a further 2 days then crash cool. Package and carbonate to about 3 volumes CO2.
New Zealand Blonde Ale
If you are looking for a refreshing, easy drinking beer that looks like a lager but has a decent hop hit of New Zealand hops and the body of an ale to balance, this beer is just that. This was a recipe from our Serial Brewer subscription which like many of the beers was a nice point of difference to everything else out there.
We have just released this beer as a recipe pack which should make it a bit easier for you, you can order it here.
Brewfather recipe is available here: https://share.brewfather.app/5LM12rxYRFqHYY
New Zealand Draught
Ok here’s one that’ll make your uncle happy. If ya didn’t know…NZ Draughts are essentially amber to brown lagers that are easy to drink and contain a caramelly sweetness and a medium body. Malt is definitely the major player with relatively low hop bitterness and aroma. Although not the most appreciated style in the homebrewing scene it does have its place in our brewing history. We have a couple of takes on the style below that hopefully take it beyond “dad’s beer” or “brown fizzy water” and towards a rich malty familiar drop best consumed heavily between 5 and 6pm.
NZ Draught No.1
Vitals
Abv 4.1% , O.G: 1.040, F.G: 1.009, IBU: 15, EBC: 22
Malt
3.2kg Gladfield Ale malt
200g Gladfield Gladiator malt
200g Flaked Barley
90g Weyermann Carafa II
Hops
9g Pacific Jade - 60 mins
(5g whirlfloc, 3g yeast nutrient @ 10 mins)
Yeast
Lallemand Novalager
Notes
Mash @ 69 degC for 60 minutes, sparge 75 deg water
Ferment @ 14 deg for 5 days raising to 18 deg for D rest
Once stable crash cool, package and carbonate to desired volume.
NZ Draught No. 2
Vitals
Abv 4.3% , O.G: 1.041, F.G: 1.008, IBU: 16, EBC: 19
Malt
3kg Malteurop - NZ Pale malt
500g Caramunich II
200g Gladfield Aurora malt
200g Gladfield Vienna malt
80g table sugar (added during boil)
Hops
18g Wakatu - 60 mins
(5g whirlfloc, 3g yeast nutrient @ 10 mins)
Yeast
1 pkt Saflager 34/70
Or Diamond Lager yeast
Notes
Mash @ 69 degC for 60 minutes, sparge 75 deg water
Ferment @ 12 degC for 5-7 days raising 0.5 deg every 12 hours to 18 degC for Diacetyl rest
Alternatively pressure brew @ 12 PSI, 20-23 degC
Once finished and stable, crash cool and ideally lager for 3 weeks
Package and carbonate to desired volume.