Cranberry Orange Honey Wheat Ale

by Christian Lavender

The holidays are just around the corner and our bees have been busy buzzing about gathering up ingredients for a special cranberry based homebrew. The honey wheat recipe is packed with orange and cranberry flavors that will sting the senses. The all-grain recipe below will make 5 gallons.

Cranberry Sting Recipe

5 gallons
All Grain

1.053~OG→1.013~FG→5.3%ABV

28 IBU

6.0°L SRM

Yeasts
1 smack pack
1010 - American Wheat Wyeast (Wheat)	1 pack

Fermentables
11.5 pounds
Wheat 38ppg, 2°L	5 pounds 43%
Vienna 35ppg, 4°L	4 pounds 35%
Rice (Hulls) 0ppg, 0°L	1 pound 9%
Wheat (Flaked) 36ppg, 2°L	1 pound 9%
Honey 30ppg, 20°L	8 ounces 4%

Hops
1.25 ounces
Glacier 5%, Pellet	1.25 ounces 100%

Miscellaneous
2.17 pounds
Honey Flavor	1 pound 47%
Organic Canned Whole Cranberry Sauce Flavor	1 pound 47%
Whirlfloc Fining	1 tab 3%
Orange Extract Flavor	0.5 ounces 1%
Pectic Enzyme Fining	0.25 ounces 1%

Single Infusion
1 hour, 7.52 gallons
Strike Target 152°F	4.31 gallons 163°F 1 hour
Sparge	3.21 gallons 170°F

Boil
1 hour, 5.78 gallons
Glacier hops 5%, Pellet	1.25 ounces 60 minutes (+0)
Honey Flavor	1 pound 25 minutes (+35)
Whirlfloc Fining	1 tab 15 minutes (+45)

Ferment
14 days @ (68 F)
Organic Canned Whole Cranberry Sauce Flavor	1 pound 7 days (+7 days)
Orange Extract Flavor	0.5 ounces 7 days (+7 days)
Pectic Enzyme Fining	0.25 ounces 7 days (+7 days)

Directions
Mash the grains at 152° F (67° C) for 60 minutes or until starch conversion is finished. Mash out at 170° F (77° C) and sparge. Collect 5.78 gallons (22 L) of runoff and bring everything to a rolling boil. Drop in your hops as directed in the recipe. After a 60 minute boil, chill the wort down to 67° F (19° C) and transfer to your primary fermenter. Pitch your yeast, whether it be a yeast starter, liquid or dry yeast and aerate well. Ferment at 68° F (20° C) for 7 days or until fermentation activity subsides, then rack to secondary and add cranberry, orange extract and pectic enzyme for 7 more days.