The 35s Make Beer

Danel, Jessica, and me

What started off as an idea in Jessica's kitchen a little over a year ago has now turned into an adventure obsession.  We are the 35s: three friends from high school, reconnected through social media, with a common need to try 35 new things the year that we are 35 years old.  So far, we have tried Zorbing (think human hamster ball down a steep ramp into a field by a freeway), successfully sewed an apron, and even survived a Zombie infested night run.  While I brew once a month, Danel and Jessica still hadn't embarked on that adventure, until the first Sunday in May.
With our warm weather right around the corner, I knew that it was about time to use those ten pounds of blackberries in my freezer that dear friends of mine picked last year.  Pairing those berries with a lucky score of fresh rhubarb, we decided to make an adaptation of my Blackberry Wheat.  Going off my recipe from two years ago, we made some minor adjustments to make it an extract wheat beer with the addition of fresh rhubarb. 

Blackberry Rhubarb Wheat

Yield: 10 Gallons

Grains

3lbs Crystal 40L
2lbs Wheat
3lbs Crystal 10L

Mash at 152 degrees for 30 minutes

Sparge to 11.5 gallons
Bring to a rolling boil
Add 14lbs dry wheat extract

Boil Schedule
60 min: 1.5oz of Halletauer
30 min: 3.5lbs of chopped rhubarb
15 min: .75oz of Halletauer
             5lbs blackberries
             2tsp Irish Moss
             2lbs of honey

Yeast
3 Wyeast American Ale 1056

Conditioning keg additions
5lbs of berries for 5-10 days

Gravities

Original: 1.072

Final (target): 1.016 

Helpful Hints
*  When using dried malt extract, be sure to add it quickly and start stirring briskly in order to disperse the clumps.  Unlike liquid malt, dried malt won't sink to the bottom of your boil and potentially burn. As always, be careful of hot wort splashes.
*  I used frozen blackberries but fresh ones would work just as well.  After putting them in the boil, the wort cooled down quite a bit.  I let the boil go for an extra 15 minutes in order to bring the wort back up to temperature.