Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, Fruit Puree & Lemonade

Riverside Palmer

Alta Mar Mexican Lager & Dreamy Eyes Tangerine Cream Ale

Wavebreak Citrus IPA

Irish Red Ale

Airlie Amber & Piping Plover Pilsner

Coconut Rum, Spiced Rum, Banana Liqueur, Bitters, Pineapple & Orange Juice, Grenadine

Rum on the River

Maker's Mark Whisky, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, Vegan Egg White, Red Wine Floater

New York Sour

Mezcal Tequila, Grapefruit Juice, Agave, Soda Water, Tajin Rim

Smoky Paloma

Elijah Craig, Peychauds Bitters, Amarena Cherry & Orange (Make it smoky for +$2)

Old Fashioned

Cucumber Vodka, St Germaine, Prosecco, Soda Water

Cucumber Spritz

Bulleit Rye, Honey-Citrus Simple Syrup, Fresh Lemon Juice, Orange Bitters

The Battleship

Hendrix Gin, Hibiscus Simple Syrup, Cointreau, Splash Lime Juice

Hendrix Hibiscus Martini

Absolut Mango Vodka, Cointreau, Orange Juice, Splash Grenadine

Mango Martini

Flying Machine Brewery, Wilmington, NC

Bills Brewing Company, Wilmington, NC

Bud Light, Mich Ultra, Miller Lite, Yuengling

Waterline Brewery, Downtown Wilmington, NC

Riverwalk Flight

Draft All draft beers are from breweries local to Southern NC.

Electric Squeeze Hazy IPA (16oz)

Blue Moon, Corona, Stella, Heineken 0.0, Bold Rock Hard Cider

Kolsch

Wrightsville Beach Brewery, NC

Puppydrum Pale Ale, Orange Krush Kolsch

Andouille sauce, creamy grits, spinach, and cherry tomatoes.

Shrimp & Grits (GF)

Place strawberries and raspberries in a blender or food processor. Add the granulated sugar and lemon juice.

Pulse until mostly smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If the puree is very thick, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches a pourable but still slightly thick consistency (about 1 tsp).

Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl using the back of a spoon to press solids; this yields a smooth puree. Discard seeds and solids. Chill until ready to use.

Build the Cocktail

Add 2 oz Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, 1 oz fresh lemon juice, 0.5 oz simple syrup, and 1 oz fruit puree to the shaker.

Shake vigorously for 10–15 seconds until the outside of the shaker is cold and well-chilled.

Fill a highball glass or Collins glass with fresh ice (about 3/4 full).

Strain the shaken mixture into the prepared glass over ice.

Top with 3 oz cold lemonade; stir gently once or twice to combine, preserving a light layered look if desired.

Garnish with a lemon wheel on the rim and a sprig of fresh mint tucked into the ice.

Serve immediately with a straw. Optionally, toss a few whole berries into the drink for visual appeal.

Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka

Fresh lemon juice

Simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water)

Fruit puree (see Fruit Puree section for recipe)

Cold lemonade

Ice (cubed)

Fresh strawberries, hulled (or mixed berries)

Fresh raspberries

Granulated sugar

Water (to adjust consistency)

Lemon wheel

Fresh mint sprig

Heat 4.5 gallons (17 L) of strike water to about 162°F (72°C). Add crushed pilsner malt, flaked maize, and Munich malt to the mash tun with rice hulls if used. Target mash temperature: 150°F (65.5°C). Hold for 60 minutes for good conversion and a clean, light body. Stir occasionally and check that the mash is uniform.

Mash

Raise mash temperature to 168°F (76°C) for mash out or direct vorlauf. Drain wort to the kettle. Sparge with ~2.0 gallons (7.5 L) of water at 168°F (76°C) until runnings reach about 1.010 SG or until you've collected ~6.5 gallons (24.6 L) of pre-boil wort.

Mash out & sparge

Bring wort to a vigorous boil. Add 0.5 oz Saaz hops at 60 minutes for bittering. With 15 minutes remaining, add Irish moss or Whirlfloc. Add 0.5 oz Saaz hops with 5 minutes left for aroma and gentle hop flavor. Total boil time: 60 minutes.

Boil

Cool wort quickly to about 50°F (10°C) for lager yeast (or 60°F/15.5°C if using a clean ale yeast). Transfer to a sanitized fermenter leaving trub behind. Aerate thoroughly (oxygenate) and pitch the hydrated/started lager yeast or rehydrated dry yeast per manufacturer instructions. For a lager, maintain fermentation at 50°F (10°C) until primary activity subsides (7–10 days).

Chill & pitch yeast

After primary fermentation, gradually lower temperature to 34–38°F (1–3°C) over several days and lager (cold-condition) for 3–6 weeks to clarify and smooth flavors. If short on time, 2 weeks at ~40°F (4–5°C) will still improve the beer.

Lagering

When fermentation is complete and beer has cleared, prepare priming sugar (3.5 oz corn sugar dissolved in 1 cup boiling water, cooled) and gently mix into beer. Bottle or keg and carbonate. If bottling, allow bottles to carbonate at 65–70°F (18–21°C) for 10–14 days, then cold condition for an extra week if possible. Serve chilled with a lime wedge or salt rim if desired.

Packaging

Heat 4.5 gallons (17 L) of strike water to ~162°F (72°C). Add pale 2-row, flaked oats, white wheat malt, and honey/crystal malt to the mash tun. Target mash temperature: 152°F (66.5°C) to balance fermentability and creamy body. Hold for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Raise mash to ~168°F (76°C) for mash out. Drain wort to the kettle and sparge with ~2.0 gallons (7.5 L) of water at 168°F (76°C) until you collect ~6.5 gallons pre-boil wort or until runnings are around 1.010 SG.

Bring wort to a boil. Add 0.5 oz Hallertau/Cascade hops at the start of the 60 minute boil for light bittering. With 10 minutes remaining, add 0.5 oz hops for late hop flavor. With 5 minutes remaining, add 4 tablespoons of fresh tangerine zest. Add Irish moss or Whirlfloc if desired for clarity. Add lactose at flameout or in the last 5 minutes so it dissolves thoroughly — lactose is non-fermentable and will remain to provide creaminess.

Cool wort to yeast pitching temperature (65–68°F / 18–20°C). If using pectic enzyme to reduce fruit haze, add according to package instructions once wort is around 120°F (49°C) or as directed. Transfer to a sanitized fermenter, aerate well, and pitch the ale yeast.

Cool, pectic enzyme & yeast pitch

Allow primary fermentation to proceed at 66–68°F (19–20°C) for 5–7 days until vigorous activity slows. Prepare 16 oz (about 2 cups) fresh tangerine juice (strained to remove pulp and seeds) and an additional 4 tablespoons of fresh zest. Sanitize a small container or siphon line and add juice and the extra zest to fermenter for secondary fermentation. If concerned about microbial stability from fresh juice, pasteurize the juice by heating to 160°F (71°C) for a few minutes and cooling before adding, or use sanitized concentrate. If using pectic enzyme, ensure it has had time to act before bottling to minimize haze.

Primary fermentation with fruit addition

Allow fruit-conditioned beer to sit for 5–7 days at fermentation temperature, then cold crash to 40–45°F (4–7°C) for 3–7 days to help clarity and let solids drop out.

Secondary conditioning

Prepare priming sugar (3.5 oz corn sugar dissolved in 1 cup boiling water, cooled). Rack beer to bottling bucket leaving sediment behind, gently mix in priming solution, and bottle. Condition bottles at 65–70°F (18–21°C) 10–14 days, then cold condition for a few days. Serve chilled. Expect a creamy mouthfeel, bright tangerine aroma, and a smooth, slightly sweet finish.

Pilsner (2-row) malt

Flaked maize (corn) or maize grits

Munich malt (10L)

Rice hulls (optional, if using mash tun with small gaps)

Light dried malt extract (DME) — for extract or batch-sparge adjustment

Saaz hops (or Tettnang) — bittering

Saaz hops (or Tettnang) — aroma/late

Irish moss or Whirlfloc (optional, for clarity)

Liquid lager yeast (e.g., Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager) or dry lager yeast (e.g., Saflager W-34/70)

Water — for mash, sparge, and boil (adjust for equipment)

Priming sugar (corn sugar) for bottling

Salt (to taste / optional for serving)

Pale 2-row malt

Flaked oats

White wheat malt

Honey malt or light crystal 10L

Tangerine zest (fresh) — for late boil/aroma

Tangerine juice — for secondary (adjust to taste)

Hallertau or Cascade hops — bittering

Hallertau or Cascade hops — late/flavor

Lactose (milk sugar) — to add creamy mouthfeel

English ale yeast (e.g., Wyeast 1968 London ESB or Safale S-04)

Pectic enzyme (optional, to reduce haze from fruit)

Heat approximately 3.5 gallons (13.2 L) of brewing water to about 165°F (74°C) to achieve a mash-in temperature around 152°F (67°C) when adding grains. Adjust water chemistry for a moderate sulfate:chloride ratio (around 1.5:1) to favor hop brightness while keeping a soft malt backbone.

Heat Strike Water

Add the crushed Pale 2-row, Pilsner, Vienna, Flaked Oats, and Wheat malts to the mash tun. Stir thoroughly to avoid dough balls. Target mash temperature 152°F (67°C). Hold for 60 minutes for balanced fermentability and body. Maintain gentle recirculation or stirring for even temperature.

Mash In

Raise mash to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes to reduce wort viscosity and help lautering.

Mash Out

Sparge with enough water at 168°F (76°C) to collect approximately 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) of pre-boil wort. Aim for a pre-boil gravity around 1.050–1.055 depending on efficiency. If using DME to top up, add light DME during the boil start as needed.

Sparge

Bring wort to a vigorous boil. Total boil time: 60 minutes. Add no bittering hops at 60 minutes to keep bitterness moderate and let the citrus/dry-hop aroma shine. Add the 1.0 oz Citra at 10 minutes left in the boil for flavor/aroma contribution and to allow some hop oils to isomerize. Also add the 0.5 tbs crushed coriander seeds and the Whirlfloc/Irish Moss (or tablet) at 10 minutes.

Boil - Start

At flameout (end of boil) steep the grapefruit, orange, and lime zests in a sanitized stainless steel hop bag in the hot wort for 10 minutes. Add 1.0 oz Mosaic and 1.0 oz Nelson Sauvin (boil hop additions were 1 oz Mosaic and 1 oz Nelson at 2 minutes? — instead: for clarity add Mosaic and Nelson at 5 minutes if you want more volatile aroma). If you prefer the zest brighter, add them at flameout only. After 10 minutes, remove the zest bag (optional: squeeze to recover oils) and whirlpool.

Boil - Final Flavor Additions

Stir to create a whirlpool and let the wort rest at 170–180°F (77–82°C) for 15–20 minutes to allow trub/hop matter to settle while retaining hop aroma. If you want extra late-hop aroma, add a small whirlpool addition now (no more than 0.5 oz total of a preferred hop).

Whirlpool

Chill wort quickly to yeast pitching temperature (66–68°F / 19–20°C). Siphon or rack the chilled wort into a sanitized fermenter, leaving as much trub behind as possible.

Chill

Aerate the wort well (shake or oxygenate to ~8–10 ppm O2). Rehydrate or pitch the California ale yeast as per manufacturer instructions. Target fermentation temperature 66–68°F (19–20°C).

Pitch Yeast

Allow primary fermentation to proceed for 4–6 days or until vigorous fermentation subsides. Expect a drop in gravity. Monitor temperatures and keep in range to preserve clean ester profile.

Primary Fermentation

After active fermentation slows (usually day 4–5), raise temperature to 68–70°F (20–21°C) for 24–48 hours for a mild diacetyl rest, then cool back down to 66–68°F (19–20°C).

Secondary / Diacetyl Rest

At 3–4 days after the end of active fermentation (or once gravity is near final expected FG), add dry hop blend: 1.5 oz Citra, 1.0 oz Mosaic, 0.5 oz Nelson Sauvin directly to the fermenter in a sanitized mesh bag or loose if you plan to cold crash and rack. Leave hops for 3–4 days for maximum juicy aroma without excessive grassy character.

Dry Hop Addition

If you want a brighter fresh citrus top-note, add an additional small amount of lightly zest (no pith) — e.g., 0.5 orange zest — in a sanitized hop bag during dry hop. Leave for last 24–48 hours only.

Citrus Zest (optional second addition)

After dry hopping, cold crash the fermenter to ~36–40°F (2–4°C) for 24–48 hours to encourage hop/trub to settle. Rack or transfer the clear beer to a bottling bucket or keg, leaving sediment behind.

Cold Crash & Clarify

If bottling, dissolve 3.5 oz (100 g) corn sugar in 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water, cool, add to sanitized bottling bucket, and rack beer onto it. Bottle and cap. Condition at room temperature for 10–14 days, then chill and sample.

Prime & Bottle

If kegging, transfer to keg, carbonate to ~2.5–2.7 volumes CO2 (typical for an IPA), either force carbonate or set for natural carbonation if using a keg with CO2 supply. Chill before serving.

Kegging

Wavebreak Citrus IPA is best consumed fresh within 4–8 weeks to enjoy the bright citrus and hop aromas. Store cold and out of sunlight. Expect an original gravity around 1.060, final gravity ~1.012–1.014, giving ~6.0–6.5% ABV depending on efficiency and fermentability.

Drink Window & Notes

Pale Malt (2-row)

Pilsner Malt

Vienna Malt

Flaked Oats

Wheat Malt

Light Dry Malt Extract (for possible late boil top-up)

Citra (pellets)

Mosaic (pellets)

Nelson Sauvin (pellets)

Dry Hop Blend: Citra

Dry Hop Blend: Mosaic

Dry Hop Blend: Nelson Sauvin

Fresh Grapefruit Zest (white pith removed)

Fresh Orange Zest (navel, thin strips)

Lime Zest

Coriander Seeds (lightly crushed)

Cellulose or Whirlfloc (optional clarifier)

California Ale Yeast (WLP001/WY1056 or similar clean American)

Water (brewing treated, adjusted to moderate sulfate/chloride ratio)

Irish Moss (optional; for clarity)

Corn Sugar (dextrose) for bottling

Sanitizer (no-rinse)

Heat about 4.0 gallons of your brew water to 165°F (74°C) to account for mash thermal loss and to reach a target mash temperature of 152°F (67°C). If using a grain bag or measured mash tun, adjust water-to-grain ratio to about 1.25 - 1.5 qts per lb.

Heat strike water

Add the crushed Maris Otter, Munich, Crystal 40L, Crystal 80L, roasted barley, and flaked barley to the mash tun. Stir while adding to avoid dough balls. Target mash temperature: 152°F (67°C). Hold for 60 minutes. Maintain temperature within ±2°F (±1°C).

Mash in

Perform a single infusion mash at 152°F for 60 minutes to achieve a balanced fermentable profile: good body with moderate attenuation. Optional: perform a 10-minute mashout at 168°F (76°C) to stop enzymatic activity and improve lautering.

Mash rest

Recirculate first runnings until clear, then sparge with enough water at 168°F (76°C) to collect ~6.5 - 6.75 gallons of wort in the boil kettle (account for boil-off).

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil. Watch for boil-overs as hops or krausen forms.

Bring to boil

At the start of the 60-minute boil, add 0.6 oz East Kent Goldings or Fuggle (bittering). Boil for the full 60 minutes.

Bittering hop addition (60 min)

With 10-15 minutes remaining in the boil, add 1 tsp Irish moss or Whirlfloc to assist wort clarification.

Irish moss (10-15 min)

Add 0.5 oz East Kent Goldings or Fuggle with 10 minutes remaining for flavor and light aroma. Do not add late additions that would impart strong hop character—Irish Red is malt-forward and subtly hopped.

Flavor/aroma hop addition (10 min)

After 60 minutes, shut off the heat and prepare to chill wort immediately to minimize DMS.

End of boil

Cool the wort as quickly as possible to yeast pitching temperature using an immersion, plate, or counterflow wort chiller. Target pitch temperature: 66–68°F (19–20°C). If using a sanitizer-safe thermometer, verify temperature before transferring.

Transfer the chilled wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving behind the majority of trub. Top up with water to reach a total batch volume of 5.0 gallons if needed, accounting for losses, and check Original Gravity (OG). Expected OG: ~1.050–1.054.

Aerate the wort well (shake, splash, or use pure oxygen to ~8–10 ppm O2). Rehydrate or prepare the yeast according to the manufacturer's instructions and pitch when wort is at 66–68°F (19–20°C).

Pitch yeast

Allow fermentation at 66–68°F (19–20°C) for 5–7 days vigorous activity, then let finish for another 5–7 days. Target final gravity (FG): ~1.012–1.014 for a balanced, slightly malty finish.

Primary fermentation

After primary fermentation, optionally transfer (rack) to a secondary/conditioning vessel for 1–2 weeks at slightly cooler temps (60–65°F / 15–18°C) to clear and mellow flavors. This step is optional; many brewers leave beer on yeast until packaging.

Optional conditioning

Dissolve 3.3 oz (94 g) priming sugar (corn sugar/dextrose) in 8 oz boiling water, cool to room temperature, and sanitize the bottle or bottling equipment. This amount is for 5 gallons to achieve ~2.2–2.4 volumes CO2 (typical for Irish Red).

Prepare priming sugar

Add the cooled priming solution to the sanitized bottling bucket, rack beer gently on top to minimize oxygen pickup, then bottle and cap. If kegging, carbonate to ~2.2–2.4 volumes CO2. Store bottles at 68°F (20°C) for 2 weeks, then condition at cooler temps for another week if desired.

Bottle or keg

Verify final gravity to ensure fermentation is complete and consistent between samples. Expected FG: ~1.012–1.014. The beer should be reddish-copper in color, malt-forward with toasty/cracker malt character, light caramel, a touch of roast, and low to moderate hop presence.

Final gravity and tasting

Sanitize and clean all equipment used (mash tun, kettle, chillers, fermenter, spoons). Proper cleaning and sanitation prevents infections in future brews.

Riverside Palmer

Alta Mar Mexican Lager & Dreamy Eyes Tangerine Cream Ale

Wavebreak Citrus Ipa

Irish Red Ale

Airlie Amber & Piping Plover Pilsner

Rum On The River

New York Sour

Smoky Paloma

Old Fashioned

Cucumber Spritz

The Battleship

Hendrix Hibiscus Martini

Mango Martini

Flying Machine Brewery, Wilmington, Nc

Bills Brewing Company, Wilmington, Nc

Bud Light, Mich Ultra, Miller Lite, Yuengling

Waterline Brewery, Downtown Wilmington, Nc

Riverwalk Flight

Electric Squeeze Hazy Ipa (16oz)

Blue Moon, Corona, Stella, Heineken 0.0, Bold Rock Hard Cider

Kolsch

Wrightsville Beach Brewery, Nc

Puppydrum Pale Ale, Orange Krush Kolsch

Shrimp & Grits (gf)