Sunset Wheat Clone - extract

I searched far and wide for a good ale, extract recipe for Lienenkugel's Sunset Wheat. I finally had to just grab straws and pick the one I thought I could trust. Turns out, it was off a good bit (too high OG, too much blueberry). So then I tried some variations, and slowly I got closer. I think I finally have achieved perfection with this recipe yielding 5 gallons:

6 lb wheat DME (55% wheat, 45 %barley)
2 oz cluster hops
Wyeast Labs #3944 (Belgian Witbier)
1 oz coriander (toasted and crushed)
1 ounce blueberry extract added to keg

Bring 5 gallons water to boil, remove from heat. Add DME and 1 oz hops. Return to boil. After 45 minutes add 1 oz toasted, crushed coriander and remainder of hops - boil for 10 more minutes. Top-off fermenter to achieve Original gravity 1.051. Ferment to final gravity 1.010 - 1.012 (10 - 14 days at 70F). Add 1 ounce blueberry extract to keg when transferring from fermenter. Serve at 9 psig and 40 F.

The blueberry will seem too strong at first but will fade over the course of the first few weeks in the keg/bottle.

Interesting, SWMBO loves this beer and has requested that I make it. Up until now, Dude's recipe for watermelon wheat has sufficed...

I would go:

6 lb wheat DME (55% wheat, 45 %barley)
2 oz cluster hops
Wyeast Labs #3944 (Belgian Witbier)
2 boxes Post Fruity Pebbles cereal added to 2ndary.

Joking, of course... Blueberry, eh? I don't think blueberry with the Sunset Wheat.

Love sunset wheat, thanks for the recipe!! I 'am the only one who can taste the blueberry out of all my friends. They all thought i was crazy until i found an article from one of the brewers who says they actually use 2 oz for fruity flavor not necessarily for a blueberry taste. I just made a blueberry wheat hope it turns out good with 2 oz

Of course Leinenkugel makes this beer all-grain and as a lager. So it is a tall order to try and clone it as an all-extract with an ale yeast. But I think the above recipe will get you pretty darn close - my friends can't tell them apart.

I always thought Sunset Wheat had a blueberry flavor but I decided my taste buds were deceiving me when I read the label and checked Leine's web site - absolutely no mention of blueberry, only a citrus flavor and coriander is mentioned. One day my cousin asked if I had tried the blueberry beer by Liene and that is when I decided to check into it. I have not seen anything from Leinenkugel that confirms it but there are a few homebrewers who claim to have confirmed it with them and also that there is NO orange peel added.

On occasion, I like to have a bowl of fruity pebbles with my kids. I don't smell or taste them in a bottle of Sunset Wheat. When first poured I get a strong scent of blueberry and on my first few drinks there is a mild blueberry after-flavor.

NOTES: (1) Another nice thing about kegging - if you decide 1 ounce blueberry is not enough you can easily add more. (2) This beer tastes like a barley wine if you drink it before it is properly carbonated - ehk!

Hey Jon, just wanted to let you know, took your recipe down, and went to my HBS and got the ingredients, unfortunately the Wheat DME was 65/35, but I have it in a carboy clearing, and it's still fermenting a bit after 2 weeks. Have you tried your's yet? How's the taste, mine looks good, smells good, hoping it tastes good too! Thanks for your work on that one.

I think you'll like it, give it some time (3-6 weeks) before you make any judgements. The yeast strain is very important, fermentation temperature 67 - 70 also is key. Don't overcrush the coriander - in other words dont grind it up or use coriander form the grocery spice rack - it will be too strong. Sometimes I think some bitter orange peel would be good for this beer but i have not tried it yet, supposedly Liene says they don't use it in Sunset Wheat. I am interested to see how your evaluation changes with time and also to see if you think we got the blueberry right.