Cerveceria Singular & Cerveceria Pinoza’s Ida Y Vuelta clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.044  FG = 1.008
IBU = 20  SRM = 3  ABV = 4.8%

This is Cerveceria Singular’s most award-winning beer, winning many gold medals at regional competitions in the categories of “Paraguayan Beer” and “Spiced & Herb.” The recipe was created in collaboration with Cerveceria Pinoza and both brew the recipe using their own house yeast. “Ida” means “to go” and “vuelta” means “to return.” The taps at both breweries are labeled Ida Y Vuelta, but generally at Singular it is ordered as Ida while at Pinoza it goes by Vuelta.

Ingredients

7.2 lbs. (3.3 kg) Pilsner malt
7 oz. (200 g) wheat malt
1.4 lbs. (0.6 kg) cassava flour
4 AAU Centennial or Amarillo® hops (60 min.) (0.4 oz./11 g at 10% alpha acids)
0.6 oz. (17 g) Centennial or Amarillo® hops (5 min.)
0.3 oz. (9 g) orange peel
0.3 oz. (9 g) lemongrass
SafAle US-05, White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale)
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by step

Mash all of the grains at 149–151 °F (65–66 °C) for 60 minutes. Mash out at 168 °F (76 °C), sparge grains with enough water to collect 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) in the kettle. Boil for 75–90 minutes to avoid potential off-flavors from the Pilsner malt, like Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS).

Obtain a bitterness of 15–17 IBUs in the first hop addition at 60 minutes remaining in the boil, and the final hop addition should contribute the other 3-5 remaining IBUs late in the boil. Depending on the variety of hops used, this will usually be half a gram or one gram per liter (0.67 oz. in 5 gallons) added with 5 or 10 minutes remaining in the boil.

I usually use Centennial or Amarillo® hops depending on availability, but a noble hop variety like Saaz will also work. Remember that the flavor protagonists are the herbs.

After turning off the flame, add the orange peel and lemongrass and stir to create a whirlpool. Allow to sit for 20 minutes and then cool and transfer to the fermenter. 

We usually use SafAle US-05 yeast, but any flavor-neutral yeast strain will function well.

If you’re lacking enough of the herbal and refreshing notes of the lemongrass, create a tincture with just enough vodka to cover the lemongrass. Leave it overnight, no more because it will oxidize, and add with a dropper to your preferred taste when the beer is ready to be packaged.