Inspired by Highlands Hollow ginger wheat beer, I was under special request to make something similar. Spoke with the bartender, and he had some idea about how it was made: 75% 2-row; 25% wheat; 3# fresh ginger in a 217G batch added during the last 5-10 minutes of the boil; wasn’t too sure on the hops, but, said they use mostly cascade. I ended up deviating quite a bit from the guidance and brewed the following:
Ingredients (5G batch)
- 5.5# 2-row malt (RAHR)
- 5.5# Malted white wheat
- 0.25# rice hulls
- 12gm Sterling hops (4.8) — 60 min. (nothing special about this, just wanted to use up a remnant)
- 6gm Cascades hops (7.0) — 60 min.
- 10gm Cascades — 10 minutes
- 2.5 oz fresh baby ginger, medium-finely shredded — 5 min.
- Ginger was asian-market fresh — none of the dried, brown skin you see in most grocery stores
- US-05 yeast
Batch #10 notes:
- Mash target 154˙F
- OG: 1.055.
- Pitched 8/30
Needed a good hot summer day beer and was recently reminded of the Allagash White. Should have followed this recipe more closely since the one I used was based on an extract recipe. The gravity is a bit low and the real deal has does uses a blend of malted and raw wheat.
Batch #8, brewed 6/20/10:
- 5.25 Gallon batch
- 5.5# Belgian Pilsner Malt
- 3.3# White wheat (raw)
- 0.5 oz Sterlings (7.0%) — 60 min
- 0.25 oz Czech Saaz (4.0%) — 10 min (should have been 60 min)
- 0.25 oz Czech Saaz (4.0%) — 1 min
- 0.25 oz Coriander
- 0.25 oz fresh orange zest
- 0.25 oz fresh shredded ginger
- White labs WLP400
- Mashed @152˙F in 3.0 G water. Sparged w/ 5.25 G
- Boiled for 90 minutes.
- OG: 1.043
Our first morning on the island was dominated by jet lag. Kids on regimented sleeping schedule suffer jet lag even worse than adults. Even though they went to bed at 10PM home time (2+ hours later than normal), that first morning they woke up promptly at their regular 7:30 time, which was 4:30 local time! With the pitch darkness, we managed to get them back in bed, but, by 5:30 the wee beasties had had enough and the stampede began.
Welcome to vacationing with small chil’ns. Next time, we’re going east so the ‘rents can sleep in.
Elise woke up happy to be on vacation
NIKON D200, ISO 640, ƒ/2.8, 1/250sec, 38mm focal L., map
A quick pancake breakfast and some fresh roasted Kuaia coffee and the whole family was smiles.
And, Valerie found happiness after breaky.
NIKON D200, ISO 200, ƒ/2.8, 1/50sec, 70mm focal L., map
The kids were still intrigued with the idea of toys in a back pack. After the novelty of the stairs wore off, the backpacks kept them nicely occupied.
Maia went straight for the ponies — and, Strawberry Shortcake, too.
NIKON D200, ISO 200, ƒ/2.8, 1/125sec, 70mm focal L., map
Elise strikes an easy breezy island pose
NIKON D200, ISO 200, ƒ/2.8, 1/400sec, 35mm focal L., map
The condo was fairly toddler proof. They kids just loved the stairs — it was like having a jungle gym in the house. But, some these coasters and some other small nick-nacks had to be moved out of reach.
And, Stella goes for trouble — the coasters proved irresistible.
NIKON D200, ISO 200, ƒ/2.8, 1/320sec, 24mm focal L., map
Green eggs and ham, Elise, I am!
NIKON D200, ISO 200, ƒ/2.8, 1/160sec, 29mm focal L., map
One morning, they were burning a cane field. Later, we learned that the fire helps draw the sugar into the cane, eliminating some of the moisture and most of the dead leaves.
Burning cane fields
NIKON D200, ISO 100, ƒ/2.8, 1/2500sec, 70mm focal L., map
There was something magical about drinking coffee and lounging on the lanai. The kids brought out toys and generally had relaxed mornings with us.
Lounging with fantastic coffee
NIKON D200, ISO 100, ƒ/7.1, 1/160sec, 24mm focal L., map
Just didn’t get tired of the view
NIKON D200, ISO 100, ƒ/10.0, 1/160sec, 32mm focal L., map
Valerie picked up the camera and caught me catching wave. After watching it for the previous day and getting the bug to get ahold of a board, I had to get out give it a shot. However, it breaks over a very gnarly, very shallow shelf of reef and the good waves were few and far between. The wind howled off shore and made for continuous paddling to stay in position, not to mention a very efficient evaporative chiller effect.
After trying out 3 difference breaks and paddling around for over an hour, I gave up and went in to warm up after only 2 mediocre rides. To add insult, the south swell all but vanished for the rest of the trip.
I actually caught a wave — It was about knee deep over the reef — don’t fall!
NIKON D200, ISO 100, ƒ/14.0, 1/125sec, 52mm focal L., map
One evening while grilling some sausages, this rainbow formed over the bay in the evening light.
Rainbow sunset
NIKON D200, ISO 800, ƒ/4.0, 1/1500sec, 70mm focal L.
Valerie had done a bunch of searching to get us into a Luau that wasn’t going to break the bank with 3 kids in tow. We had it on good authority that the Old Lahina Luau was the best, most authentic. But, at $250 for the adults and 1 child, it was a bit steep; especially since there would be no seats for the twins. It just wasn’t the one for us.
Instead, we went for the Royal Lahina (Resort) Luau. We found a deal through Hawaii Activity World that offered “front-row” seating for $62/adult, and kids 5 and under are free. With an oceanside location, “free” open bar, and fire dancers, it sounded like a good find.
Luau time!
NIKON D200, ISO 200, ƒ/2.8, 1/1600sec, 29mm focal L. ~15mi from prev photomap
The tickets said to show up early since the seating selection was first-come, first served. What we didn’t realize was “check-in” meant standing in line before they started seating. We spent nearly a half hour corralling small, restless children. The twins made great pre-show entertainment for the crowd as they toddled around and carelessly attempted to find trouble wherever they could. The term “herding cats” comes to mind. Had we known we’d be standing around, we’d have put the toddlers in strollers.
They finally began to let people in and proceeded to take group photos and seating the guests. This is when we learned what “front-row” seating meant: there are 2 rows of ~24′ tables, one close to the stage, and one farther away. With our troop of kids, the host decided to seat us at the far end of the “front row”, even though we were near the beginning of the seating line and could have been seated next to the stage. I was miffed at first, but, in hindsight it worked out great since they brought out 2 highchairs and we put them at table’s end in the isle. Also, I think the fire dancers may have been too scary had we been next to the stage.
A mini Mai Tai for Mini Maia — relax, it’s guava juice.
NIKON D200, ISO 200, ƒ/2.8, 1/1000sec, 42mm focal L., map
Promptly after being seated, the beverages were flowing. Mai Tai’s for the adults and juice for the kids. After drinking 2 Mai Tais, I was certain that any booze content was purely accidental due to wild yeast fermenting the sugars in juice. Getting the beer would have been a better bet.
No duck on the menu tonight — Doesn’t seem to bother Stella.
NIKON D200, ISO 200, ƒ/2.8, 1/1250sec, 28mm focal L., map
They ceremoniously showed off a pig in a pit, but, the reality is that none of the patrons ate this particular pig since the food came out very shortly after this photo was taken.
The main course — but, not the pig we really ate.
NIKON D200, ISO 100, ƒ/2.8, 1/200sec, 55mm focal L., map
We decided to fork over the $15 for a carved out pineapple filled with (actual) boozy goodness. It was quite yummy and well worth the price since it came with free refills for the duration.
Forget about the “free” drinks — they didn’t forget to booze up the pineapple!
NIKON D200, ISO 100, ƒ/13.0, 1/15sec, 27mm focal L., map
They even had milk for the kiddos and we were able to refill their sippy cups.
Unfortunately, the food was rather rather disappointing. The Kalua Pig was flavorful, but dry. The Lomi Lomi Salmon was mostly tomato and not enough salmon. They served plain white dinner rolls instead of Poi bread, or something more authentic. There was sufficient variety that I didn’t go hungry after trying most of it, but, I didn’t go back for seconds of anything.
The array of beverages
NIKON D200, ISO 100, ƒ/5.0, 1/180sec, 24mm focal L., map
The program starts with a brief intro to what hula is, and they invite anyone interested up on stage to learn.
Let’s all learn the hula
NIKON D200, ISO 100, ƒ/5.0, 1/50sec, 52mm focal L., map
And, remember, if you are bringing your small children — it’s best to schedule a luau for an evening well after the kids have had time to adjust to the timezone. We went on the first full day on the island, and the kids were very much still on mainland time. This was after 9 PM at home and the over-tired grumpies were kicking into high gear.
Jet lag + late night = cranky, tired kiddos
NIKON D200, ISO 100, ƒ/3.2, 1/400sec, 38mm focal L., map
Around 7:00 the main event got started. The Royal Lahina Luau is all about the origin and variations of the Luau dance, starting with the Tahitian traditions.
The show gets started
NIKON D200, ISO 800, ƒ/3.2, 1/60sec, 70mm focal L., map
They have 2 stages. 3 year-old Maia was very much impressed by the “Ocean Stage”.
Sundown over the “Ocean Stage”
NIKON D200, ISO 800, ƒ/2.8, 1/160sec, 70mm focal L., map
Twilight over the “Ocean Stage”
NIKON D200, ISO 800, ƒ/2.8, 1/5sec, 70mm focal L., map
After variations of Polynesian themes, they brought us across the Pacific to the Hollywood idealization of Luau.
Hollywood hula — One of the many themes they progressed through.
NIKON D200, ISO 800, ƒ/2.8, 1/90sec, 70mm focal L., map
The fire dance drew the crowd in with few exceptions.
The fire dance finale
NIKON D200, ISO 800, ƒ/3.2, 1/45sec, 70mm focal L., map
It was quite the impressive display to be able twirl the fire “knife” with such skill. On a couple of occasions, he was burned to some degree or another on his leg as he itched it between maneuvers when he had a free hand; tattoos don’t make for good fire protection.
Going down, down, down, into a burning ring of fire
NIKON D200, ISO 800, ƒ/7.1, 1/6sec, 70mm focal L., map
NIKON D200, ISO 800, ƒ/5.0, 1/160sec, 70mm focal L., map
The grand finale had many dancers twirling fire on all the stages.
NIKON D200, ISO 800, ƒ/2.8, 1/15sec, 70mm focal L., map
3 year-old Maia was practicing the hula for the rest of the trip and talked about the show on numerous occasions. The food was the lowlight of the evening, but, given the relative pricing compared to other luaus, it wasn’t entirely out of line. We all walked away with smiles after the show, so, the entertainment made up for any negatives earlier in the program.
Our first Hawaii vacation started with a 7:30 AM flight out, non-stop from SJC to OGG, Kahalui, Maui on Alaska Airlines, oddly enough. We were fortunate enough to have a flight that was maybe 60% full and the gate agent was an angel and blocked out 2 empty seats for the twins so that we had 5 seats all together.
Settling in for departure — All smiles at T+0 in the plane.
DMC-ZS3, ISO 400, ƒ/3.3, 1/8sec, 4.1 mm focal L., map
Almost all smiles — Elise is awfully groggy and still running a small fever.
DMC-ZS3, ISO 800, ƒ/3.3, 1/15sec, 4.1 mm focal L., map
Maia had a panic attack as we walked outside to the air-stair. She completely freaked out, went limp, and fearfully screamed in terror. Mind you, Valerie and I have our arms completely full as we attempted to gate-check the strollers and wrangle the twins plus a few carry-ons; neither of us were ready to deal with a 30-pound sack of Maia. I finally just hoisted her over my shoulder and she screamed at the top of her lungs until we got seated.
We were amongst the last to board and the piercing stares from people seated around us were truly priceless as they contemplated the horror or 6 more hours of the same.
Maia’s excited and ready for lift off
DMC-ZS3, ISO 800, ƒ/3.3, 1/30sec, 4.1 mm focal L., map
But, Maia settled down soon after we were seated and we had a conversation about the scary noises and she was relieved that it wouldn’t be so loud inside the plane. Soon after, she was distracted by toys and she repeatedly asked if we were flying yet.
The ponies got lots of exercise — They were running and jumping and getting their hair combed for hours.
DMC-ZS3, ISO 400, ƒ/3.3, 1/8sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~494mi from prev photomap
Sleepy Elise
DMC-ZS3, ISO 400, ƒ/3.3, 1/8sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~624mi from prev photo, map
Naturally, the night before we leave, the twins came down with 100+ ˙F fevers. They were still pulling a moderate fever for the plane ride, but, fortunately, they had no other symptoms. They weren’t really eating and had very little energy — turns out feverish, sleepy toddlers make great travelers. With all that snuggling and sleeping, they hardly got board at all.
Feverish babies make good travel babies — At T+5.5hours in the plane, this is about how it looked for much of the time.
DMC-ZS3, ISO 800, ƒ/3.3, 1/10sec, 4.1 mm focal L. ~786mi from prev photo, map
After landing, we were greeted with a misty rain that fell so lightly it looked more like snow swirling in the breeze. We loaded the rental car up with a week’s worth of supplies from Costco, and then made our way to the condo in Maalaea. One look out the lanai (balcony) and the lengthy flight was a distant memory…
We made it! — Ohh, darn. We really have to stare at this for a whole week?
NIKON D200, ISO 160, ƒ/2.8, 1/200sec, 24mm focal L. ~474mi from prev photomap
Actual surf? — Just outside my lanai? This could really be paradise.
NIKON D200, ISO 640, ƒ/2.8, 1/50sec, 70mm focal L., map
The kids ran around for a bit and then they were off to bed — it’d been a very long day for them from 5 AM till almost 10 PM. Valerie and I enjoyed a beer (or maybe 3) just watching the surf gently roll onto the sandy beach. Paradise was ours.
Relaxing after the kids are in bed.
NIKON D200, ISO 640, ƒ/2.8, 1/4sec, 29mm focal L., map
Tried out this recipe.
Ingredients actually used:
- 8lb 8oz American Two-row
- 8 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt – 80L
- 8 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt – 60L
- 8 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt – 40L
- 4 oz Melanoidin Malt (german)
- 2 oz Carafa II special (german)
- 1 oz Roasted Barley (british)
- 60 mins 1 oz Palisades pellet 8.0
- 20 mins 0.5oz Sterling leaf 7.0
- 10 mins 0.5oz Willamette leaf 4.5
- Safeale US-05 yeast
- Dry hop 7 days .5oz Cascade leaf 8.7
How batch #5 went down:
- subbed .5oz Target for the Willamettes
- Mashed with 3.5G water @ ~152˙F temp for 60 minutes.
- Brought up to 175˙ for sparge
- Sparged with 3.5G
- Yielded 5.75G before boil at ~1.050. Which makes 76% brewhouse efficiency.
- SG: 1.053 Pitched evening 4/2
- $21 worth of ingredients
How it went down for batch #7:
How it went down for batch #9:
- Batch size: 10 G — first time scaling up
- Mashed at ~156˙F initially, and then let it cool to 152.
- Collected 11.7G wort at 1.045 – only 70% efficient.
- OG: 1.056. Pitched on 8/16
- Omitted the roasted barley for this batch. Subbed Amarillo and Cascades for the Pallisade hops. Only have 1/2 of the needed Sterling, so subbed more Cascades to make up for that.
- Spent 1 week in primary, 1 week in secondary w/ dry hops.
- FG: 1.012 making it a little light at 4.5% ABV.
- Still not as red as I’d like it to be. Flavor is notably more floral/citrus due to the added Cascades.
Got crazy with the cheese whiz and decided to try my hand at all-grain brewing. Found this recipe and thought I’d give it a try. Due to availability, this is what I ended up with:
- 7# RAHR 2-row malt
- 0.75# CaraFoam
- 0.5# Crustal 15L
- 0.5# German Vienna
- 1 package Safeale US-05
- 1 oz Centennial hops @8.3% (scheduled half each at 55 and 35 minutes of boil)
- 1 oz Cascade Hops @8.7% (scheduled half at 20 and 5 minutes of boil)
- ~$20 worth of ingredients
How it happened (brew batch #4):
- Mashed with 4 G of water. This is 1.5 to cover the false bottom and 2.5 to wet the grain. This was a mistake and should have used about 3 – 3.5 G
- Mashed with Mashed at 150-152˚F for 60 minutes and then brought up to 170˚F.
- Sparged with ~2.25 G hot liquor. Needed more sparge volume and less mash volume.
- Yielded 5.0 G of wort after sparge.
- IG preboil: 1.041, which yields about 64% efficiency. Not shabby for the first all-grain attempt — but leaves some room for improvement (damn my perfectionist tendencies)
- Added .5 G of water during the boil to help maintain volume.
- Racked to keg on 3/5 — 9 days in primary. Put on CO2. Probably should have let it settle in secondary.
- FG: 1.008 — 4.3% ABV
- After 2 weeks in the keg, it’s turned nearly clear, losing almost all of the chill haze. Taste is moderately hopped, with a refreshing hop aftertaste that is not bitter. Ohh so very drinkable. Very happy.
Batch #6:
- modified ingedients: 7.5# of 2-row, and 0.8# carafoam (instead of 0.75 cara-pils). Subbed 0.5 oz of Amarillo for the 20 minute cascades (due to insufficient cascades). Rest same.
- made modification to false bottom to reduce the below space to only 1 gallon.
- Mashed with 3.25 gallon water
- Strike: 164˙F. Maintained 152-154˙F mash for 1h, 5m.
- Overshot mash-out and brought it upto 185˙F. Ooops.
- Sparged with 4.25G
- Pre-boil yield: 6.0 G at 1.042, which makes a brew house efficiency of 75.4%. Hot damn!
-
- Post-boil 5+ gallon at 1.047
Newcaslte Nut Brown Ale is made from a blend of two different beers. Working from this recipe as my guide, I’m attempting to do a single-batch replication using extract.
- 4# light dry malt extract
- 0.6# corn sugar
- 0.5# Carapils malt
- 0.5# Crystal malt 15L
- 0.5# Crystal malt 60L
- 0.33# Belgium Special B 180L
- 0.25# Chocolate malt 350L
- 0.5oz Target hops 11% boil for full hour. (possible subs: Nugget, Fuggle, Willamette, Admiral)
- .25oz East Kent Golding 5% — last 15 minutes. (possible subs: Fuggle, Progress, First Gold)
- Safeale S-04 yeast
- Batch size: 5.5 Gallons
Batch #3 Notes:
- Mini-mashed for 1 hour at 155-157˚F in a grain bag. Brought up to 170˚F and then rinsed with 170˚F water.
- Broke the siphon out of the kettle through the chiller. Had to restart.
- Pitched late on 2/3/2010
- Held primary @69-71˚F. Finished bubbling after ~3 days Racked 2/10
- Bottled 26 bottles worth on 2/20. Other half went into a keg.
- ~$25 worth of ingredients
- OG: 1.045 (calculated after measuring prior to dilution — might be rough)
- FG: 1.010 — 4.6% ABV. The real stuff is 4.7%, so, just about nailed that.
Second batch of beer finished up — a Belgian Trappist Dubbel (double).
Ingredients:
- 6 lbs Coopers Dry Malt Extract (DME)
- 0.5 lb corn sugar
- 1.5 lb (16 Fl Oz) Belgian Dark Candi Syrup — D2
- 1 lb Munich malted grain (1.4L)
- 0.5 lb Belgian aromatic malted grain (20L)
- 0.5 lb Belgian caramunich malted grain (50L)
- 0.5 lb Belgian special B (130L)
- 6 AAU Amarillo Hops
- White Labs Abbey ale yeast WL530 — 3 vials, or a large starter
Method:
- Put 6 gallons of water in the brew kettle
- Put the grains in the kettle inside of a grain bag.
- Heat to 155˚F and steep for 60 minutes.
- Remove grain bag and drain. Rinse with hot water but do not squeeze the bag.
- Add DME and bring to boil
- Add hops and boil for 60 minutes
- Add candi syrup and corn sugar and then boil for 5 minutes
- Cool as quickly as possible.
- Add yeast and aerate thoroughly
- For best result, cool to 65˚F and let the temp rise slowly to 70˚F during fermentation.
Batch Notes
Batch #2:
- Pitched the evening of 1/17/2010
- Brewed in 5G pot.
- Pitched at 73˚F. First use of wort chiller — took about 1 hour to cool to 73˚F w/ top-up water. Needs more work.
- FU#1: Pre-heated the water. Added grain when it was 120˚F
- Volume in fermentor: 5.25G
- Very slow to finish fermentation. Bubbled ~2 months. Racked to secondary and racked to keg with air-lock after that.
- IG: 1.073; FG: 1.017; ABV: 7.4%
- Nose: plummy, spicey, hint of nutmeg.
- Flavor profile: tons of toasty caramel, slightly sweet and nutty. Finish is clean, doesn’t linger excessively, which is problematic as it leaves you wanting another sip — far to easy too drink. Brings back fond memories of honeymooning in Brugge.
NIKON D200, ISO 250, ƒ/2.8, 1/45sec, 38mm focal L.
Made my first attempt at brewing beer last night thanks to Valerie’s thoughtful Christmas gift of a brewing starter kit. I now have a bucket of malty goodness that’s burping CO2 at me.
She included a ready-to-brew kit for a German style hefeweizen. From what little bit I know of brewing, it’s about as simple as it gets and make a good first batch (hopefully!).
Ingredients:
- 6# wheat malt extract syrup
- 1# wheat malt
- 1# 2 row malt
- 1 oz Tettnanger pellet hops
- 1 pkg wheat ale yeast
- 1 cup sugar (for priming)
- ~6 G water
Method:
- Heat 2 qts water to 159˚F then add malted wheat and 2 row. Let steep for 30 minutes
- Bring 2 G water to boil in brew kettle.
- Drain grain brew into kettle, squeezing out as much from grain as practical.
- Remove heat from kettle and add malt syrup. Stir well to dissolve.
- Return to heat and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add hops and boil for 60 minutes
- Remove heat. Remove hops.
- Gently pour 3 G of chilled water into wort. Chill wort as quickly as possible to below 75˚F.
- Let stand 30-60 minutes to settle the trub.
- Siphon into fermenter, leaving trub in the kettle.
- Add sufficient water to bring final volume upto 5.25 G.
- Rehydrate yeast with 1/2 cup water at 90˚F for 15 minutes and then add to fermenter.
- Initial SG: 1.055
- Ferment for 7-12 days at 62-72˚F.
- Final SG: 1.015
- Dissolve 1 cup sugar in 1 cup boiling water and add to beer to prime for bottling.
- Bottle age 2-3 weeks at 65-75˚F.
Notes from Batch #1:
- Pitched 1/4/10 @ 1:00AM
- Bottled 1/13 at 10:00 PM
- 1.0 oz Tettnag Hops, 4.7% alpha acid by package
- 11.5 gm Safbrew WB-06 yeast
- Didn’t have chilled 3G of water (still warm from boiling)
- Initial SG: 1.040
- Added about 6 cups of water to get to 5.25 G — this was a mistake as I should have taken an gravity reading first.
- Final SG: 1.010
- 3.9% alcohol (by vol)
- Tasting results: The nose is very much like a German weissbier should be. A healthy yeasty finish. Not bad for the first brew. Also, the noggin tells me this is stronger than 3.9% ABV.
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