Recipe: Black Hops’ Cucumber & Mint Gose

As the weather turns to sunnier days ahead the legends at Black Hops have kindly dished us up the recipe for their epic Frontyards Cucumber & Mint Gose so you can try it out at home – with instructions for both all grain and extract brewing.

The addition of cucumber and mint makes it a perfect tipple for late Spring and the Summer months ahead, so give it a crack and let us know how you got on.

Black Hops’ co-founder and brewer Michael “Govs” McGovern had this to say about their sour creation: “Made in our front yard, to be enjoyed in yours, Frontyards is our modern interpretation of the classic German gose style. With a saltiness achieved through the use of actual sea water from the beach out the front of Black Hops at North Burleigh (AKA Frontyards), a lemon tartness of the gose style and a refreshing mix of cucumber and mint, Frontyards quickly became our ultimate sour smasher”.

We’d suggest, instead of using test strips, to invest in a good pH meter.

Frontyards all grain recipe (expected figures)

OG: 1.041
FG: 1.009
ABV: 4.2%
IBU: 10
Volume: 23 litres

Ingedients

2.5kg     US 2 row pale Malt
2kg        Wheat Malt
200g      Acidulated Malt
5g           Dr Rudi hop pellets
10g         Citra hop pellets
2tspn     Table salt
Lactobacillus plantarum capsules
Packet Safale US-05 yeast

Desired water profile

Ca² 80, Mg² 5, Na˖ 25, Cl- 75, SO4² 80, HCO3- 100

Method

1. Mash all malts at 65°C for 60 minutes.
2. Sparge and bring to a boil for 20 minutes.
3. Turn heat off and rapidly cool to 35 – 40°C then add Lactobacillus plantarum capsules to reach a pH of 3.5. This usually takes 36 to 48 hours. Be vigilant to eliminate oxygen, so blanket with CO2.
4. Once pH has been reached, commence boil. Once boiling, add 5g Dr Rudi hops and 2 tspn of table salt for another 20 minutes.
5. At flameout, add 10g Citra hop pellets and whirlpool for 10 minutes.
6. Cool to 18°C, transfer to your fermenter and pitch yeast.
7. Ferment at 18°C.
8. After seven days (or into secondary) add cucumber and mint juice.
9. When gravity stabilises, bottle or keg as usual

Frontyards extract with specialty grains recipe (expected figures)

OG: 1.041
FG: 1.009
ABV: 4.2%
IBU: 10
Volume: 23 litres

Ingredients

1.9kg     Pale Malt extract
1.5kg     Wheat Malt extract
200g      Acidulated Malt
5g           Dr Rudi hop pellets
10g         Citra hop pellets
2tspn     Table salt
Lactobacillus plantarum capsules
Packet Safale US-05 yeast

Method

1. Bring two litres of water to 70°C and using a muslin sack, steep Acidulated malt for 30 minutes.
2. Remove the grains and bring the wort to the boil, adding another five litres to make seven.
3. Add all malt extracts and stir.
4. Bring to a boil for 20 minutes.
5. Turn heat off and rapidly cool to 35 – 40°C then add Lactobacillus plantarum capsules to reach a pH of 3.5. This usually takes 36 to 48 hours. Be vigilant to eliminate oxygen, so blanket with CO2.
6. Once pH has been reached, commence boil. Once boiling, add 5g Dr Rudi hops and 2 tspn table salt for another 20 minutes.
7. At flameout, add 10g Citra hop pellets and whirlpool for 10 minutes.
8. Cool to 18°C, transfer to your fermenter and pitch yeast.
9. Ferment at 18°C.
10. After seven days (or into secondary) add cucumber and mint juice.
11. When gravity stabilises, bottle or keg as usual.

This recipe appeared in a past edition of Beer & Brewer magazine. To see it in print, or to access multiple recipes just like it in every edition, subscribe or access back issues here.