Grapefruit Honey Ale

PREP Peel from 1 scrubbed and dried grapefruit

60-MINUTE MASH AT 152 ° F

2 quarts water, plus 1 gallon for sparging
1.35 pounds English Pale malt
0.1 pound Victory malt
0.1 pound Caramel 10 malt
0.1 pound Caramel 20 malt
0.15 pound torrified wheat

60-MINUTE BOIL
0.1 ounce Columbus hops
0.2 ounce Amarillo hops, divided into halves
0.2 pound clear Belgian Candi Sugar
¼ cup honey

FERMENT ½ packet English ale yeast, such as Safale S-04 (see note)
3 tablespoons honey, for bottling

Note: Hops, like other crops, experience shortages depending on the growing season. Amarillo stocks can vary from year to year.
So if you have a hard time finding them, try Centennial or Cascade for a citrus-filled hop character.

PREP: Preheat the oven to 250 ° F.
Place the pieces of grapefruit peel directly on a baking sheet and bake on the lower rack until they are dry, 15 to 20 minutes,
or until the peel begins to brown.

MASH: In a medium stockpot, heat the 2 quarts water over high heat to 160 ° F. Add all the malts and torrified wheat and stir gently.
The temperature should reduce to 150 ° F within 1 minute.
Turn off the heat.
Steep the grains for 60 minutes between 144 ° F and 152 ° F.
Every 10 minutes, stir and take the temperature. If the grains get too cold, turn on the heat to high while stirring until
the temperature rises to that range, then turn off the heat.
With 10 minutes left, in a second medium stockpot heat the 1 gallon water to 170 ° F.
After the grains have steeped for 60 minutes, raise the heat of the grains-and-water mixture to high and stir until the
temperature reaches 170 ° F.
Turn off the heat.

SPARGE: Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pot, and pour the grains into the strainer, reserving the liquid.
Pour the 1 gallon of 170 ° F water over the grains. Recirculate the collected liquid through the grain once.

BOIL: Return the pot with the liquid to the stove on high heat and bring to a boil. When it starts to foam, reduce the heat to
a slow rolling boil and add the Columbus hops.
Add half of the Amarillo hops after 30 minutes, the grapefruit peel after 55 minutes, and the remaining Amarillo hops after 59 minutes.
Prepare an ice bath by stopping the sink and filling it with 5 inches of water and ice. At the 60-minute mark, turn off the heat,
add the Belgian Candi Sugar and ¼ cup honey, and stir to dissolve.
Place the pot in the ice bath in the sink and cool to 70 ° F, about 30 minutes.

FERMENT: Using a sanitized funnel and strainer, pour the liquid into a sanitized fermenter.
Add any water needed to fill the jug to the 1-gallon mark. Add the yeast, sanitize your hands, cover the mouth of the jug with one hand,
and shake to distribute evenly.
Attach a sanitized stopper and tubing to the fermenter and insert the other end of the tubing into a small bowl of sanitizing solution.
The solution will begin to bubble as the yeast activates, pushing gas through the tube.
Wait 2 to 3 days until the bubbling has slowed, then replace the tubing system with an airlock.
Wait 11 more days, then bottle, using the 3 tablespoons honey.

Variations:
1 ½ tablespoons of fresh grated ginger. Add it at 55 minutes into the boil.
Agave nectar will work as a substitution for honey.