Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Refreshing tart lightly soured golden ale. Soft fruit flavors and aroma from a combination of Huell Melon and Nelson Sauvin hops.

Mill/crack the grains to an appropriate crush. Heat 16 L of strike water to about 74°C to achieve a target mash temperature of 65°C when grains are added (account for equipment losses).

Mill and Heat

Add the crushed grains to the strike water, stir to eliminate dry pockets and stabilize temperature. Hold the mash at 65°C for 60 minutes to produce a light, slightly dry golden base that accentuates hop aroma and allows tartness to show.

Mash In

Raise the mash temperature to 75°C (mash out) for 10 minutes to improve runoff and stop enzymatic activity.

Mash Out

Sparge with enough water at ~76–78°C to collect approximately 25 L of wort (pre-boil volume).

Sparge

Bring the wort to a vigorous boil and maintain for 60 minutes.

Boil

This recipe is designed to be low-bitterness and focus on late-hop aroma. Do not add any hops for long boil bittering additions.

Bittering Hops (none)

At 5 minutes before flameout, add 25 g Huell Melon and 25 g Nelson Sauvin directly to the kettle. After flameout, stir and allow the wort to rest (whirlpool) at ~80°C for 15–20 minutes to extract volatile hop aromas and fruit character without adding excessive bitterness. Chill quickly after whirlpool to pitching temperature (approx. 20–22°C).

Late Hop/Whirlpool

Use an immersion chiller, plate chiller or equivalent to chill the wort to 20–22°C as rapidly as possible to minimize DMS and contamination risk.

Cool Wort

After cooling the wort to ~40°C, transfer to a sanitized vessel for souring OR hold in the kettle if you can maintain temperature. Oxygenate slightly if using a Lacto strain that prefers low oxygen—some Lacto likes oxygen-free conditions; follow your culture instructions. Add a small pinch of yeast nutrient if desired.

Prepare for Souring

Pitch the Lactobacillus plantarum culture into the wort and maintain the temperature at 38–45°C (ideal 40°C) for 24–48 hours. Monitor pH: target pH is 3.3–3.6 for a refreshing tartness. Stop souring when you reach your desired tartness (commonly pH 3.4–3.5 for a light, refreshing tart).

Inoculate with Lactobacillus

Once desired pH is reached, bring the soured wort to a rolling boil for 10–15 minutes to kill bacteria and stabilize the wort. This also helps coagulate proteins and strip some residual lawny character while preserving acidity.

Boil After Souring

Chill the boiled soured wort quickly to fermentation temperature (18–20°C) to prepare for yeast pitching. Transfer to a sanitized fermenter.

Cool to Fermentation Temp

Aerate the cooled soured wort moderately (target ~8–10 ppm dissolved oxygen) and pitch the ale yeast (US-05 or another clean, neutral ale strain). If using a dry pack, rehydrate per manufacturer instructions for best performance.

Pitch Yeast

Ferment at 18–20°C for 5–7 days until primary fermentation slows (specific gravity drops near target FG). This will produce a clean attenuation and allow hop-derived fruit characters to remain prominent.

Ferment

Allow an additional 3–5 days at the same temperature for the yeast to clean up fermentation byproducts and for flocculation.

Condition and Flocculation

Once active fermentation subsides (typically after 5–7 days), transfer beer to a secondary vessel or leave in primary if desired, minimizing oxygen pickup.

Prepare for Dry Hop

Add 30 g Huell Melon and 30 g Nelson Sauvin directly to the fermenter. Rest the dry hops for 48–72 hours at 16–18°C to capture bright fruit and melon aromatics while avoiding excessive grassy or vegetal notes.

Dry Hop

After dry hopping, cold crash to 2–4°C for 24–48 hours to improve clarity and help hop particles and yeast settle.

Cold Crash (optional)

Sanitize bottles/keg and associated equipment. If bottling, dissolve 110 g priming sugar in 250 ml boiling water, cool and add to bottling bucket. If kegging, chill and force carbonate to desired level (2.4–2.8 vols CO2 for a light golden ale).

Prepare for Packaging

Rack the beer gently onto the priming solution (if bottling) or transfer to keg. Avoid splashing to reduce oxygen pickup. If bottling, cap and store at 20–22°C for 10–14 days to carbonate. If kegging, carbonate at 2.4–2.8 volumes and condition for 3–7 days at serving temperature.

Transfer and Carbonate

Chill to 3–8°C and serve in a tulip or shaker glass to showcase aroma. Expect a refreshing tartness, soft fruit-hop character (melon, white grape/citrus from Nelson Sauvin) and a crisp, dry finish.

Serve

Pale Ale Malt (2-row)

Pilsner Malt

Wheat Malt

Munich Malt (light)

Acidulated Malt (to help mash pH and tartness)

Huell Melon (pellets)

Nelson Sauvin (pellets)

Huell Melon (dry hop)

Nelson Sauvin (dry hop)

Safale US-05 ale yeast (or clean neutral ale yeast)

Lactobacillus plantarum (wheat-friendly souring culture) or pure Lacto starter

Yeast nutrient (optional)

Brew water (treated to moderate sulfate/chloride balance)

Calcium sulfate (gypsum) (adjust water profile)

Calcium chloride (adjust water profile)

Priming sugar (for bottling) or carbonation gas for kegging

G4 TART GOLDEN ALE

Make G4 TART GOLDEN ALE Recipe in just 20h . Refreshing tart lightly soured golden ale. Soft fruit flavors and aroma from a combination of Huell Melon and Nelson Sauvin hops.

G4 TART GOLDEN ALE

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

You might also like