Extract Berliner Weisse

I was in Philly and at Nodding Head tasted one of the most unique, best beer I've ever had in the Berliner Weisse. I'd like to take an attempt at making this. Its my first go at a beer; done mead and plenty of cider. I want to keep this small because I'll bottle and hate doing it. Also, I only have a 3Ga carboy. I entered a 2.75Ga batch size into Beersmith, assuming that I have to leave headspace.

This is partly a stab in the dark modifying some all grain recipes I've read here. I'd appreciate any and all pointers/corrections/tips/abuse.

1lb Extra Light Dry Extract
1lb Dry Wheat extract

I'm only going to boil for 15 minutes. BeerSmith suggests that I need 5oz of Tettnanger pellets to get an IBU of 5.4. This seems like a lot to me, no?

These all seem to hit Beersmith's BW targets, except colour which I don't care about. The est OG is 1.032.

I'll pitch Wyeast Lacto for 48h before pitching Wyeast German ale on top.

Am I way out to lunch here, or does this seem reasonable? How long can I expect before this is drinkable? It has to be gone by end of September since I"m likely moving by then.

smh said:

1lb Extra Light Dry Extract
1lb Dry Wheat extract

I'm only going to boil for 15 minutes. BeerSmith suggests that I need 5oz of Tettnanger pellets to get an IBU of 5.4. This seems like a lot to me, no?

These all seem to hit Beersmith's BW targets, except colour which I don't care about. The est OG is 1.032.

I'll pitch Wyeast Lacto for 48h before pitching Wyeast German ale on top.

Am I way out to lunch here, or does this seem reasonable? How long can I expect before this is drinkable? It has to be gone by end of September since I"m likely moving by then.

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These types of beers would benefit from having Pilsner extract instead of pale, and maybe 2 lbs. Pilsner extract and 1 lb. of Wheat extract. As for the hops, you should probably boil for at least 60 mins, but you could add the hops in with 15 mins left. That amount seems about right because of the low alpha acid percentage in Tettnang. Also, I would pitch a Berliner Weiss blend from White Labs or Wyeast, or pitch both the cultures at the same time.

Good luck!

Thanks. I've seen that in general this style has 50% wheat in the all grain recipes. Does that translate to 50% in extract too?

I can certainly use pilsner extract, seems thats more common.

I think I'll stick with the 15 min boil, there's a few no boil recipes out there so I don't think I'll go 60.

smh said:

Thanks. I've seen that in general this style has 50% wheat in the all grain recipes. Does that translate to 50% in extract too?

I can certainly use pilsner extract, seems thats more common.

I think I'll stick with the 15 min boil, there's a few no boil recipes out there so I don't think I'll go 60.

Click to expand...

The 50/50 Pilsner/Wheat should be fine. I would just want a little more of each in there to get a higher alcohol concentration, but I forgot you are doing 3 gallons. This beer will take a little while to get the right flavors. Probably close to a year. I hope you have more patience than me....

Cheers!