Shakemantle Ginger Ale

I like the idea of Ginger Beer, but I wouldn't want to brew a whole batch as I find them a bit too sweet after the first glass. This recipe is for a Wheat Beer, lightly hopped and flavoured with fresh grated ginger.

I decided to amend the recipe a little to make it a single hop beer (Fuggles all the way) as I'm entertaining the idea of taking it along to my first BrewShare at the Local Taphouse in May (the theme being single hop).

It's a simple recipe - possibly the simplest I've made so far as there are no specialty grains - just Wheat DME, Fuggles and grated ginger. I'm very interested to see how it turns out.

Fuggles.
I also find an IPA helps the process

Grated ginger

Gravity: ABV target 5.0%

Yield: 23 litres

Brew method: Extract 

Notes: This beer gets dry hopped with more fresh grated ginger, so I'm expecting it to a full fresh ginger aroma and taste.

The Two Metre Tall Company

The Two Metre Tall Company are the sort of people you want to be making beer. They use their own locally grown products from their 600 ha property in the Derwent Valley, supplemented with other locally produced products from around Tasmania. Priding themselves on naturally grown ingredients, they use their own malt, hops, apples and pears in the brewing of 4 ales and 2 ciders. We were fortunate enough to get hold of three of their ales; the Derwent Real Ale, the Forester Real Ale and the Huon Dark Apple Ale.

I haven't tasted such well brewed beers, made from quite obviously fresh ingredients, and with all the love that a homebrewer goes through in production of a beer in quite some time. These are beers worthy to be proud of, and each is bottle conditioned, adding natural variation and a softer carbonation to the enjoyment. If I had my way, this is how all commercial beer should be produced.

The Forester Ale instantly conjures that immortal line from the Simpson's; "there is a party in my mouth and everyone's invited".
I find it difficult to write a review that does this beer justice. It was so good, I was planning to cultivate yeast from the bottle so I could try to replicate it back home (Two Metre Tall Ales being unavailable in Sydney). It's 5.3% and is made as a true British Pale Ale with a dark amber body under an off-white head. The bottle conditioning means softer carbonation which to me makes this more drinkable than your average beer.
They use Australian sourced Pride of Ringwood and Hallertau hops with Vienna,  Pale, and Crystal malts. It's well balanced for a crisp finish chased by a slight smokiness. It's unassuming yet all the while boasting a lovely medium sweet malt body with enough hop flavour to keep a decent bitterness in the mouth. I really, really, loved this beer.

5/5 Coasters

The Huon Dark Apple Ale is definitely an ale, not a cider which may be disappointing those who where thinking they were getting the latter, but it definitely stands on it's own. Whilst I may not be a fan of fruit beers, I did enjoy this ale as a cleansing drink, but found it unremarkable in it's lack of body
It's sweet malt body is accentuated with  apples and that is about all you can taste. I'm not sure if this is the style but my palate kept asking for more; more punch, more apple, and more flavour.

I probably wouldn't bother with this again, but I would recommend it to cider lovers who have a hard time with beer as I think it might be a happy medium for those trying to escape the cloying sweetness of mass produced ciders.

3.5/5 Coasters

The Derwent Ale was as spectacular as the Forester. AS you can see, it's a much lighter bodied beer with a very generous white frothy head over a light golden straw body. A combination of wheat and barley malts makes for an excellent summer beer; light in body, very little bitterness, and a refreshing finish. It has no stand out flavours, but instead of this being disappointing, it manages to deliver a session beer with character and a great mouth feel. Whilst most of the flavours are attributable to the yeast; Stella, Williamette, Fuggles and Tettnanger hops are used to bitter and flavour. Once again, bottle conditioning ensure this a smooth and refreshing drink.

5/5 Coasters

Paulaner Heffe-Weissbier

This was a commissioned beer, and my first all-grain brewing attempt. I did many things wrong; I went for cheaper ingredients, forgot to sparge (the horror), diluted the wort afterwards as if it was an extract brew, and finally I am tasting it very early (barely 3 weeks in the bottle). The surprising thing is that I still have an enjoyable thirst-quenching drink, which to me is vindication of all-grain homebrewing; as long as you adhere to good sanitation practices, it's very hard to make an undrinkable beer.


Of course when it comes to homebrew can kits, it's a whole other story (that stuff is just nasty).


This is a classic wheat beer (as the name suggests) modeled after the Paulaner recipe. The total cost for ingredients came out at about 40 AUD, largely as there is only one hop variety used and I chose to go for a dried wheat beer yeast rather than a liquid one.

Method: All-grain

Specialty grains: German dark Munich malt.

Hops: German Hallertau Hersbrucker.

Additional: None.

Yeast: Wheat beer (dried)

Comments: I added finings to clear the beer in the primary fermenter and bottled with carbonation drops after a week and a half.

ABV: 4% (the recipe suggests 5.4%).

Yield: 19 litres

Tasting notes: I'm drinking this early so the flavours will mature in the next two to three weeks when it is primed for tasting. There is no hop aroma as the Hallertau is only used for bittering so what you get is the lovely wheat malt smell right out of the bottle. It pours with a lovely light straw colour and a white head made of large bubbles that quickly dissipates (they will refine a little more as it ages and as the carbonation improves in the bottle, so will head retention). The flavour is of a wheat beer that has decided it wants to see what life is like as a lager. You expect a little bit more body but it isn't there, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. My home brewing error has created a beer that will be perfect for the event it has been brewed for (an all day poker tournament with a German food theme). I like this beer. It's a hot day and this had turned out to be a very refreshing drop. Definitely a beer I will brew again, if only to see what it tastes like when you make it properly.

What I learnt: 

1. Sparging is an important step that should not be left out of all-grain brewing.

2. Read the bloody instructions you fool!