#WeAreGroot
Brewed: 6/5/2016 Kegged: 6/23/2016
One of my favorite of the recent Marvel Movies is Guardians of the Galaxy. One of my favorite characters in the movie is Groot. This is by far the best role I've seen played by Vin Diesel. Certainly the most entertaining.
As Rocket says ... "Well he don't know talkin' good like me and you, so his vocabulistics is limited to "I" and "am" and "Groot," exclusively in that order."
At the end, in a very powerful scene, he sacrifices himself to save his friends and surprises us all with a new line "We Are Groot".
Great acting.
Great movie.
If you have not seen the movie ... go out and see it.
Anyway ... at some point I thought I would like to name a beer "We Are Groot". Better yet, #WeAreGroot.
And I thought that a beer named after the hero of this movie should have a little extra vegetative twist to it. Maybe a root.
As you probably know, unlike the standard potato, the part of the sweet potato that is eaten is the tuberous root.
Root rhymes with Groot.
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#WeAreGroot uses 5 pounds of sweet potatoes, which research / calculations leads me to believe provides about the same amount of sugar as a pound of standard 2-row barley.
Just for another twist, I threw in some rye as well. Other than the sweet potatoes and rye, the beer is a pretty standard blond ale.
For hops I put in Crystal and Cluster. No real reason other than I like those hops. Bitterness is pretty balanced. It may be a bit hoppier than the style calls for, but that is what I felt like making.
We'll see how it turns out.
For more about this beer see Sheppy's Blog: #WeAreGroot
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| #WeAreGroot --- Batch 1 |
| Style | Pre-Prohibition Lager | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 7.76 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 75.00 | Boil Time | 90 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.049 SG | Estimated FG | 1.012 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 24.9 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 4.9 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.508 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 5.4 SRM |
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| Measured OG: | 1.048 | Measured FG: | 1.010 | ||||
| ADF: | 79 | Measured ABV: | 5 |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.00 g | Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins) | Water Agent | 1 | - |
| 5 lbs | Sweet Potato (4.0 SRM) | Adjunct | 2 | 35.7 % |
| 8 lbs | Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 3 | 57.1 % |
| 1 lbs | Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) | Grain | 4 | 7.1 % |
| 0.500 oz | Crystal [3.20 %] - First Wort 90.0 min | Hop | 5 | 6.9 IBUs |
| 0.250 oz | Cluster [7.80 %] - First Wort 90.0 min | Hop | 6 | 8.4 IBUs |
| 1.00 Items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) | Fining | 7 | - |
| 0.750 oz | Cluster [7.80 %] - Boil 15.0 min | Hop | 8 | 6.1 IBUs |
| 1.00 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) | Other | 9 | - |
| 1.000 oz | Crystal [3.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min | Hop | 10 | 2.5 IBUs |
| 0.500 oz | Crystal [3.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 11 | 1.0 IBUs |
| 1.0 pkg | Mexican Lager (White Labs #WLP940) [35.49 ml] | Yeast | 12 | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mash In | Add 17.50 qt of water at 163.7 F | 152.0 F | 60 min |
Batch sparge with 2 steps
(1.18gal, 3.88gal) of 168.0 F water
6g gypsum in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=72,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=149,Cl=23,HCO3=104
Mash grains with 11 guarts of water at 164F.
While mash is going on, boil pealed potatoes with 6 quarts of water until soft enough to whip. Whip potatoes and add to the mash. Stir in and let rest another 45 minutes.
Sparge as directed above.
Pitch as close to 50 F as possible. Keep temp below 55 for 2 days, then let it warm up to lower 60's for a few days and then room temp (but lower than 72)
Ferment about 2 weeks total.
Force carbonate to 2.5 volumes. Condition to taste.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | 155 ish most of the time | |||||
| Pre-boil OG | 1.044 (1.040 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (7.76 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
Brewing Notes
6/5/2016 Brew day today. Had to suck on the tube to get the wort to start moving into the kettle. Once it started going, it was slow, but didn't have to make other efforts to get it out. Other than that, everything went smoothly.
6/7/2016 Day 2 of fermentation starts today. Not really seeing much yet. Won't panic yet.
6/8/2016 Progressing. Put in a blow-off tube just in case. Not sure it will be needed, but it is better to have it in there and not need it than to not have it in there and need it.
6/12/2016 Moved to secondary so that I could use the big fermentor for Hail Storm. 1.012. Flavor is pretty hop-forward with a nice floral note. Body pretty thin. Very hazy. Tastes good.
6/12/2016 Collected the yeast for a future brew.
6/14/2016 Clearing up some. Sort of a strange pale orange color. Pretty cool. 😎
6/23/2016 Kegged today. 1.010. 5%abv. Pale orange-yellow color. Fairly hoppy. Carbing now.
6/25/2016 In keggerator. Had a couple tonight. Needs carbonation. Not very clear. But, tastes very good. Nice summer lager.
6/26/2016 Had a few. Rye flavor very nice. Love the crystal hops. Nice beer. 🍺
7/5/2016 Had a couple on the 4th. Still not as clear as you would expect in a light lager, but I'm fine with that. Not sure if the Sweet Potato is the excuse for that or if I just need to let sit longer. Like the flavor a whole lot, so I'm not goign to wait any more before drinking.
6/5/2016 Brew day today. Had to suck on the tube to get the wort to start moving into the kettle. Once it started going, it was slow, but didn't have to make other efforts to get it out. Other than that, everything went smoothly.
6/7/2016 Day 2 of fermentation starts today. Not really seeing much yet. Won't panic yet.
6/8/2016 Progressing. Put in a blow-off tube just in case. Not sure it will be needed, but it is better to have it in there and not need it than to not have it in there and need it.
6/12/2016 Moved to secondary so that I could use the big fermentor for Hail Storm. 1.012. Flavor is pretty hop-forward with a nice floral note. Body pretty thin. Very hazy. Tastes good.
6/12/2016 Collected the yeast for a future brew.
6/14/2016 Clearing up some. Sort of a strange pale orange color. Pretty cool. 😎
6/23/2016 Kegged today. 1.010. 5%abv. Pale orange-yellow color. Fairly hoppy. Carbing now.
6/25/2016 In keggerator. Had a couple tonight. Needs carbonation. Not very clear. But, tastes very good. Nice summer lager.
6/26/2016 Had a few. Rye flavor very nice. Love the crystal hops. Nice beer. 🍺
7/5/2016 Had a couple on the 4th. Still not as clear as you would expect in a light lager, but I'm fine with that. Not sure if the Sweet Potato is the excuse for that or if I just need to let sit longer. Like the flavor a whole lot, so I'm not goign to wait any more before drinking.