Minnesota Wild Rice Amber

Classification: pale ale, extract, wild rice

Source: Steve Yelvington, (steve@thelake.mn.org) r.c.b., 6/16/92

Rapid fermentation. The color is a nice gold, not too light, not too deep. It tastes good, not green at all. I'll try not to drink it all before it has a chance to age. :-) The wild rice isn't noticeable. I might be tempted to double or triple the rice next time and perhaps use an enzyme supplement rather than rely on the enzymes from the barley malt. I also might try using a medium crystal or caramel malt and maybe a little more of the Chinook hops, which have a wonderful flavor.

Ingredients:

3.1 pounds, Superbrau light unhopped malt extract syrup
2 pounds, Gold dry malt extract (spray malt)
1/2 pound, 2-row malted barley
1/2 pound, Special roast barley
1/2 pound, Wild rice
1/2 ounce, Chinook hop pellets, alpha 13.6 (boiling)
1/2 ounce, Willamette hop pellets, alpha 5 (aromatic)
1 pack, Windsor ale yeast (Canadian)

Procedure:

I put all the grains into a saucepan with enough hot water to cover, and kept it hot (not boiling) while stirring periodically for about an hour. The malted barley was supposed to supply enough enzymes to convert the wild rice's starches into sugars. I don't know how well it worked, but the resulting wort was amber and sweet.

I sparged it into a brewpot by dumping the grains into a colander and running a bit of hot water through. I did recirculate once, but it was a clumsy process and I wouldn't swear that I did a thorough job of either extracting or filtering.

I added the extracts and the boiling hops (the latter in a bag), and boiled it for a little over half an hour, then added the aromatic hops while I prepared the fermenter. This was the first time I used a hop bag. I don't know if it cuts down on the extraction from the pellets or not. I do know that it cut down on the mess in the fermenter.

I poured the hot wort into the fermenter, added three or four gallons of very cold water and pitched the yeast.