Harvest Ale Bottling

Kathy and I bottled the cranberry wheat beer (our take on an east coast fall harvest beer) on 11/15/16. Pitched WLP590 in primary and then added 48oz cranberries in secondary (5 gal volume). Measured FG was 1.004, 93% attenuation.

No visible signs of contamination, and no signs of lactobacillus or pediococcus were present in tasting. However, such a low FG may indicate the presence of brettanomyces. We had no DME on hand, but in the future, we plan to culture a small amount of the beer with DME to test for presence of brett. 

Tasting notes: strong cranberry fruit with only mild tartness, definitive wheat notes but no other malt flavors, esters present on the nose but less-so on the palate, medium bodied, and a long, lingering finish.

Other notes: Gravity reading from the holiday stout is 1.024. Would like to see a better attenuation, with a FG in the 1.016-1.019 range. Should be fine given another week or two.

Harvest Ale

Recipe Specifics
Batch Size (Gal): 5
Total Grain (Lbs): 10.25
OG: 1.060
IBU (estimated): 19
Brewhouse Efficiency: 87%
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain
#5  U.S. 2-Row (48.8%)
#4.25 Pale Wheat Malt (41.5%)
#1 Rice Hulls (9.7%)

Hops
1 oz. Hallertau (Pellet, 3.2% AA) @ 60 min
0.5 oz. Hallertau (Pellet, 3.2% AA) @ 15 min
0.5 oz. Saaz (Pellet, 2.8% AA), @ 15 min
0.5 oz. Hallertau (Pellet, 3.2% AA) @ 1 min

Extras
#3 fresh cranberries (blended, two weeks in secondary)

Yeast
White Labs WLP590 French Saison 

Water Profile
Profile: Carroll County, MD

Mash Schedule
Sacch I - 75 min @ 150F