Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Big and Bold Rhubarb Wheat

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TheWeeb

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
1,122
Reaction score
143
Location
Denver
Recipe Type
Partial Mash
Yeast
Wyeast 3333
Yeast Starter
none
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
none
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.074
Final Gravity
1.018
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
14
Color
8 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21 Days @ 70
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
None
Additional Fermentation
None
Tasting Notes
First batch, in primary, will edit when finished
8 oz Flaked Wheat
1.5 lbs Wheat malt
1.5 lbs European Pilsner malt
4 lbs Wheat DME
1 lb Golden Light DME
1 lb Amber DME
1 oz Hallertau pellet @45 min
2 tsp Yeast Nutrient @15 min
1 tsp Irish Moss @10 min
2 drops of olive oil at flameout
Wyeast 3333 German Wheat
1 lb fresh rhubarb, chopped and sanitized (see notes) in primary
Estimated ABV: 7.5%

The idea for this brew came out of a barstool session at Renegade Brewing here in Denver. The idea was to create a "tart" wheat, perhaps even something that would resemble a sour beer which is the rage these days, yet with the yeasty clove and banana esters typical of the style. The addition of amber malt extract gives it a copper color and bit of a sweet malt backbone to balance the tart.

Either steep the grains for 30 min or do a partial mash @154 for an hour (this is what I did) in 3 gallons of good water. As you bring it to a boil, add the DME and dissolve (this limits the possibility of boil over). Single hop addition; I used a yeast nutrient and have begun to experiment with olive oil to aid in yeast growth and added two drops at flameout. Cool to 70 degrees, aerate and pitch the yeast. A blowoff tube is suggested. I showed very active fermentation within six hours of pitching.

The rhubarb was chopped and then microwaved to the boiling point to kill any possible nasties. It was placed in a muslin sack and dropped into the primary (bucket in this case). I used Wyeast 3333 because of its high flocculation and alcohol tolerance (up to 10%). I am shooting for a copper krystal weizen with the wonderful rhubarb tartness.

I just brewed this yesterday and will post updates including tasting notes in a few weeks.
:mug:

rhubarb.jpg
 
Bottled 12-5 and the sample was absolutely fantastic! Full review with pictures once conditioned
 
posted this pic on the "post a picture of your pint" thread. It is coming along nicely, carbonation is still very superficial and disperses quickly. It needs another week in the bottle, should be right by Christmas day.

Color a pleasing copper, but needs more time to clear, as the expectation was that of a Krystal vs. Hefe. The nose is nice banana, clove, sweet rhubarb (like rhubarb pie), and a bit of bubblegum esters. Mouthfeel needs time, as the carbonation is still low and it feels flat on the tongue. The taste up front is that of a sweet Bavarian hefe (I am thinking a Franziskaner) full of banana/fruit with some added amber malty flavor. There is not as much bread/yeast flavor as I expected. The rhubarb flavor is sweet at first and really comes through at the finish with a nice tart note.

I really hope this one carbs up to the expected level for the style, where one can drink it down and it continues to produce a creamy head all the way to the bottom of the glass.

Right now, if I had to adjust the recipe, I would back off of the amber malt and add more rhubarb, as I was hoping for more tart and less sweet. This could be a bit of a premature assessment, however, as the beer does need more time to condition.

I will be putting this in front of a few friends this weekend and will share their thoughts.

rhub1.jpg
 
Thanks for the update. It sounds VERY interesting and has me thinking about making one. Unfortunately, it looks like I don't have access to rhubarb here in AZ. At least not this time of year.
 
I'm a Rhubarb pie fanatic. It never dawned on me to do a rhubarb beer! Thanks so much for the recipe! I'm adding this to my todo list for summer when our rhubarb is ripe.
 
Nice looking beer. I made a rhubarb berliner weiss a while back with a couple pounds of cooked down stalks, but didn't get a great deal of flavor.
 
TravisF said:
I'm a Rhubarb pie fanatic. It never dawned on me to do a rhubarb beer! Thanks so much for the recipe! I'm adding this to my todo list for summer when our rhubarb is ripe.

Check out yoopers rhubarb wine recipe. I will certainly be making another batch. This recipe is now thoroughly subscribed though.
 
Update, thanks for the props! Down to four bombers and four 12oz bottles of this. I am torn between entering two of the smaller ones into a local competition (at Dry Dock brewing), or reserve them and enter the national AHA competition next month. I think it is that good, but then I am a fan of the crystal weizen style, and the bigger malt background that I thought was a bit too much seems to be more in balance with the rhubarb fruit now that it has conditioned for six weeks. Not sure if this picture does it justice, but it is completely clear copper red with really nice champagne-like bubbles that continue to produce a creamy head down to the last sip.

Edit: Though I have nothing to compare it to, some threads discussing the addition of olive oil and negative effect on head retention are not holding true in this case. Since I did not split the batch, I have no idea if the olive oil helped in yeast production or had an impact on flavor, but head creation and retention were very true to style.

rhubarb2.jpg
 
Noob question warning: The recipe says single hop addition....That means add them all at the beginning of the boil, right?

I've searched through the forums, but I'm not getting very far.
 
yes, in this case, single addition at 45 minutes, the hops are really minimal in german wheat beers. Enjoy!
 
what's the difference between steeping the grains for 30 minutes vs. the "partial mash" for an hour?
 
what's the difference between steeping the grains for 30 minutes vs. the "partial mash" for an hour?

I am curious about this too as I have only extract brewed. And I've got a few lbs of rhubarb right now I want to brew with. Suggestions?
 
what's the difference between steeping the grains for 30 minutes vs. the "partial mash" for an hour?

I am curious about this too as I have only extract brewed. And I've got a few lbs of rhubarb right now I want to brew with. Suggestions?

When you are steeping grains, you are doing just that... you steep the grains in hot water to extract flavors and colors from them.

When you do a partial mash you are maintaining proper temperature, water to grain ratio, etc to do an actual mash of the grains. You also have to make sure you have enough grain with diastatic power to convert the other grains.
 
... ok, what color did this come out when you brewed it? I made it and it's DARK!!!

*and* I followed the recipe exactly for once!!
 
I'm thinking about doing some variation of this... I have a buttload of rhubarb in the freezer right now.
 
Ah. It's lightening up now. When I put it in primary it looked SUPER dark, like porter territory.
 
Revived this and brewed it today:

5 gallon batch

7 lbs Liquid Wheat Extract
1 lb Amber DME
8 oz flaked wheat
1.5 lbs Pale Pils malt
1.5 lbs Red Wheat

Chop 1 lb rhubarb, place in glass bowl, barely cover with water, microwave for 5-8 min until steaming (> 170 degrees), cover, let cool. This will kill any buggers in the fruit.

Steep/mash grains @ 154 for 45-60 min in three gallons of water
Remove, add the LME and DME, bring to a boil

1 oz Hallertau @ 60
1 oz Hallertau @ 15
1 tsp Irish Moss @ 15

Cool to 70 degrees, top off to 5 gallons, aerate, add yeast and cooled rhubarb. I used two packages of Wyeast 3333 German Wheat instead of making a starter.

OG = 1.074

IBU = 12, the rhubarb will add nice tart/bitterness to bring this up

Primary for two weeks @ 65-70 degrees, then will transfer off the fruit to secondary for another couple of weeks until finished. I am using a five gallon paint strainer bag lining the fermenting bucket for an easy way to remove the spent rhubarb. It is also a good idea to give it a gentle shake every day to keep the fruit moist, as it will float to the top and dry out.
 
Yonkers! Just transferred off the fruit, gravity reading 1.014, really good for mostly extract, a solid 8% big brew. The sample taste tells me this is another great one!
 
Bottled today, have a keg system but wanted the ability to easily transport. FG 1.010 @ 40 degrees (cold crashed for 5 days prior to bottling). Calculated 8.7% ABV, used 6oz dark brown sugar to prime. Sample tasted most excellent, banana with a hint of clove on the nose, rhubarb earthy on first taste with a nice tart finish. I think this batch will be superb!
:mug:
 
Had to crack one last night, only three days so very little carbonation, but the rich red color from the rhubarb is awesome and the taste a very nice banana/clove up front finishing with a tart rhubarb on the backside.

rhuwheat1.jpg
 
That looks great. I just did a small batch Belgian with strawberry and rhubarb. It is in secondary now on the fruit. It's about a 7% and the color was that of a Belgian until the fruit was added and now it is a nice red color.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
The rhubarb in our garden is going gonzo this year. I really wanted to make a beer along the lines of Ovalde's Auroch's Horn on Rhubarb. This seems like exactly what I want. 5 gallons of this years belgian tripel might get the rhubarb treatment as well....
 
How would I go about doing an all-grain version of this? Are there any changes or suggestions you would make to the recipe since the original post?
 
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