Hoppy Brewing

Well, this is batch number 10. It’s hard to believe it’s only been that many. So in my quest for a light yet flavorful honey lager, I’ve changed names from SB² to Nightengale Honey Ale. I think that the name needed to reflect the presence of honey, and a reference to a visionary leader, Florence Nightengale, to truly shine.

Here’s the recipe:

Date: Mar 27

5 lbs 2-row Malt
1 lb Crystal-10 Malt
1/2 lb Honey Malt
3 1/2 lbs Clover Honey

2 oz. Cascade Plug hops @ 60 min
1/2 oz. dried sweet orange peel @ 15 min
1 tsp Irish Moss @ 15 min

San Fran Lager Yeast (Steam Beer Yeast) (Wyeast liquid yeast)

I did a single step mash because I did this batch after work and didn’t have a bunch of time to get it done: 75 min at 155°. I sparged with 175 degree water (5 gallons). I boiled in the keggle for 60 minutes, adding the hops and orange in there, and then cooled it and pitched the yeast at 70 degrees.

It was a real pain draining the keg after boiling – I forgot to put in the copper mesh strainer on the inside, and so the drain got plugged by hops and I had to just dump the liquid out the top, which made a wonderful mess. I won’t forget that again. But at least this time I did end up with 6 gallons after my boil, a little more than I needed, which was perfect.

The OG was 1045, which is exactly what SB² was – I’m excited to give it a month and see how it tastes!