Wedding Ale

Wedding Ale is actually a beer that I brewed back in the Fall to give out as groomsman gifts and to age for special occasions and anniversaries.  The fact that it was part of the groomsman gifts is largely why I overlooked doing a post for this beer (didn’t want to ruin any surprises).  However, I felt this beer merited a post since its one of the more interesting beers that I’ve brewed in awhile.

I bottled Wedding Ale up in 22oz bottles, did a decent label, and dipped the tops of the bottles in red wax for a nice presentation.

Wedding Ale is actually based off of Charlie Papazian’s recipe Cherries in the Snow (from The Complete Joy of Homebrewing), just boosted a little and slightly oak-aged.  The boil was just like any other beer, except I added about ten pounds of tart cherries (in a mesh bag for less mess) at flameout.  Adding the cherries in the end of the boil, brings the temperature of the wort down to around 170F to kill off any baddies that might be in the cherries, without destroying the delicate flavors and aromas from the cherries.  After steeping the cherries and cooling the wort, I added the cherries into the primary fermenter with the wort.  I then racked the wort into the secondary with 4oz of American oak chips for three weeks. 

According to Papazian, this recipe should hold up very well to age, which will work great for drinking this brew on anniversaries with my beautiful wife!  My main departures from Papazian’s recipe is to boost the gravity a bit, oak age the beer to cut the tartness a little, and use canned tart cherries (tart cherries were out of season already by the time I brewed the beer).  The important thing to consider is to use canned cherries that are packed in water only, not pie filling, if you are considering doing this recipe without using fresh cherries. 

So far, I have cracked a few bottles of this open around the holidays and for taste testing purposes.  The cherries left a very refreshing tart flavor and aroma, as well as a beautiful red tint to the beer.  The oak left a balancing, but not overpowering, oak flavor.  I am very happy with how the beer came out so far and I hope the flavors come together even more as it ages. 

I am planning to try this recipe again with fresh tart cherries when they are in season again and am planning to leave out the oak the second time around to do something closer to Papazian’s recipe.  It should be interesting to see the difference between the two versions.  Here is the recipe that I brewed.  Enjoy!

Wedding Ale

Batch size: 5.2 gal

Boil volume: 3.0 gal

OG: 1.063

FG: 1.016

Bitterness (IBU): 18.5

Color (SRM): 5.7

ABV: 6.2%

[Grains]

NB Gold LME    9.150lb    Extract    100.0%

[Hops]

Santiam 1.50oz 6.0% AA Pellet @ 60 min, 17.3 IBU

Santiam 0.50oz 6.0% AA Pellet @ 5 min, 1.1 IBU

[Yeast/Other]

American Ale yeast    1.0 unit(s), Yeast

Irish Moss    1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min

Tart Cherries    10.0 unit(s), Other 1 unit = 1lb, steeped at end of boil and put in fermenter for 5 days

Song of the Day: “Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts” by Less Than Jake

Beer of the Day: Boxcar Brewing Company’s IPA