Indian Summer Ale

September was absolutely beautiful here in Wyoming as it is by far the best month of the year in this area. Daytime temps in the 60's or low 70's and nights in the mid 40's--it can't be beat, especially with all of the fall activities going on. I had a gorgeous day off during September and I decided I would brew. Without any thought of what to brew I settled on the idea to combine a blonde summer type of beer full of honey and flowers with a malty, fall-like, Marzen style beer.

The beer turned out to be very drinkable and they go down a little too fast. The honey, accentuated by the heather is noticeable. This is a not a standout beer but it did encapsulate the turning of summer into fall through beer styles nicely.

Indian Summer Ale Recipe:

Specifics:

5.25 gallon batch

OG: 1.044

TG: 1.011

SRM: 5.75

IBU: 28.4

Grain:
3 lbs. Maris Otter
2.5 lbs. Pils
1.0 lbs. White Wheat Malt
.5 lbs. Golden Naked
.5 lbs. Vienna
.25 lbs. Oat Malt
.25 lbs. Melanoidin

Hops:
.5 oz Northern Brewer at 60 min
.5 oz Northern Brewer at 20 min
.5 oz Czech Saaz at 20 min
.5 oz Czech Saaz at 5 min

Extras:
.25 lbs. Honey at 20 minutes
.25 lbs. Wheat DME at 20 minutes
2 oz Heather Tips at 5 minutes
2 oz Chamomile Flowers (dried from garden) at 5 minutes
1 oz Indian Coriander (crushed) at 5 minutes
1 g. Grains of Paradise (crushed) at 5 minutes

Yeast:
Safbrew T-58

Notes:
Single infusion mash at 156F. Drew nearly 7 gallons of pre-boil wort and boiled to 5.25 gallons. Cooled to 70F and pitched yeast. 20 days in pimary and 15 in secondary.