Fruit Beer watermelon wheat

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Racked my Wit to a carboy today, and added 5 cups of watermelon juice to it.

It is now officially a Watermelon Wit!


102_5061.jpg


It looks a lot more pink in person...
 
Yea the color never show up well in pics. You gotta love the funky pink head it grows after the juice is added. Keep me posted on how it turns out for you.
 
Mine tastes more like the rind of the watermelon than actual watermelon. Granted its only been carbing for 1 week I'm hoping it'll start tasting a little sweeter. My OG was a little low though, and it tastes a little watered down as I oversparged :(
 
Yeah its all on me. I'm going to try it again here in a few weeks. It smells delicious but just an odd taste.
 
SirBC what's your house recipe if you don't mind me asking?

I just made mine with 50/50 mix of 2 row and red wheat, and about 8 percent honey malt. And for lack of any wheat yeast at my LHBS I went with 001.

Thanks and you pic looks delicous!!!

Cheers:mug:
 
Was 12 cups of Au Juice (for 12 G batch), not 6.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 13.98 gal
Post Boil Volume: 12.48 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 12.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 4.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 85.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 85.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
1 lbs Rice Hulls
11 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
11 lbs White Wheat Malt
1.25 oz Pearle [6.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min
1.25 oz Pearle [6.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
1.25 oz Pearle [6.50 %] - Boil 1.0 min
3.40 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)
4.50 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60.0 mins)
8.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins
12.00 Cup Watermelon Juice (Secondary 5.0 days)
2.0 pkg American Wheat Ale (Wyeast Labs #1010)
2.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 mins)
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 23 lbs
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 37.90 qt of water at 158.1 F 150.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 9.27 gal water at 168.0 F
 
Thanks, I just took my first gravity reading. I hit my marks and it looks like it finished right at 4.5%. The sample tasted great and it seems like I should be good to go with the watermelon juice this week!!! STOKED!!!
 
Hey Ben did you melt the jolly ranchers or did you just put a whole one into a 22? if you melted them what was your process?

Thanks!!!
 
I used the jolly ranchers in a 22oz bottle. It takes 1 per bottle. I weighed out a coopers carb drop and found how much it was and then a jolly rancher and it was almost twice as heavy so i used one per 22oz. I have not tried to melt them down but im sure you could just like priming sugar. Let me know what you decide to do.
 
This recipe is very very similar to mine. I would definatly drop all of the water additions for a recipe for everybody to use.

SirBC said:
Was 12 cups of Au Juice (for 12 G batch), not 6.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 13.98 gal
Post Boil Volume: 12.48 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 12.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 4.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 85.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 85.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
1 lbs Rice Hulls
11 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
11 lbs White Wheat Malt
1.25 oz Pearle [6.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min
1.25 oz Pearle [6.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
1.25 oz Pearle [6.50 %] - Boil 1.0 min
3.40 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)
4.50 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60.0 mins)
8.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins
12.00 Cup Watermelon Juice (Secondary 5.0 days)
2.0 pkg American Wheat Ale (Wyeast Labs #1010)
2.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 mins)
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 23 lbs
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 37.90 qt of water at 158.1 F 150.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 9.27 gal water at 168.0 F
Click to expand...
 
ben the brewman said:
This recipe is very very similar to mine. I would definatly drop all of the water additions for a recipe for everybody to use.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they are very very similar. Other than the all grain, different yeast, no honey, an entirely different grain bill with no carapils, and 11 lbs of American 2 row, 50% more watermelon juice, they are basically the same recipe.

And yes, all water additions are for my particular source water.
 
SirBC said:
Yeah, they are very very similar. Other than the all grain, different yeast, no honey, an entirely different grain bill with no carapils, and 11 lbs of American 2 row, 50% more watermelon juice, they are basically the same recipe.
Click to expand...

I have listed a all grain option like 4 posts below the extract. The extract recipe was just the first way I had made it. And you recipe is almost a dead exact copy of mine. I have the two listed below for a 5 gallon batch. I have changed the yeast many times to try and find the best one and have since dropped the honey out for honey malt and dropped the carapils out since i have done all grain because its not needed. So my recipe varies by having 2 specialty grains. The hop additions are very slightly different but other than that the are exactly the fu@#$ng same! You do have me on the extra juice though.

4.5 lb Wheat
3 lb two row
0.50 lb Aromatic Malt
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine
1.00 lb Honey
0.50 oz Perle 60 min
0.25 oz Perle 15 min
0.25 oz Perle 5 min
1 Pkgs German Wheat Yeast (Safebrew wb-06)

2.5 cups of watermelon juice


1 lbs Rice Hulls (which only help run off)
4.4 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
4.4 lbs White Wheat Malt
.5 oz Pearle Boil 60.0 min
.5 oz Pearle - Boil 15.0 min
.5 oz Pearle Boil 1.0 min
1 american wheat yeast

6 cups of watermelon juice
 
Forget what I said. This thing is getting better as time goes. Most of the people at my work (brewery) thought it was tasty and for a unique beer, very good. Its very drinkable with great aroma.

Mine is little lacking in mouthfeel/abv but I intend to fix that next brew.

2065533669853 thumbs up!
 
ben the brewman said:
I have listed a all grain option like 4 posts below the extract. The extract recipe was just the first way I had made it. And you recipe is almost a dead exact copy of mine. I have the two listed below for a 5 gallon batch. I have changed the yeast many times to try and find the best one and have since dropped the honey out for honey malt and dropped the carapils out since i have done all grain because its not needed. So my recipe varies by having 2 specialty grains. The hop additions are very slightly different but other than that the are exactly the fu@#$ng same! You do have me on the extra juice though.

4.5 lb Wheat
3 lb two row
0.50 lb Aromatic Malt
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine
1.00 lb Honey
0.50 oz Perle 60 min
0.25 oz Perle 15 min
0.25 oz Perle 5 min
1 Pkgs German Wheat Yeast (Safebrew wb-06)

2.5 cups of watermelon juice


1 lbs Rice Hulls (which only help run off)
4.4 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
4.4 lbs White Wheat Malt
.5 oz Pearle Boil 60.0 min
.5 oz Pearle - Boil 15.0 min
.5 oz Pearle Boil 1.0 min
1 american wheat yeast

6 cups of watermelon juice
Click to expand...


Dont mind my drunken ramblings just running my mouth.:tank:
 
So I read from some other thread (found via google) that watermelon juice has a SG of about 1.042.

Anyone tried using the juice for bottling? Or part of the priming sugar being juice and part sugar?
 
robdamanii said:
So I read from some other thread (found via google) that watermelon juice has a SG of about 1.042.

Anyone tried using the juice for bottling? Or part of the priming sugar being juice and part sugar?
Click to expand...

I checked it with a refractometer and came up with like a 1.035 i think. Im sure it varies depending on the ripness of the fruit. I am a bit scared to try to use it to bottle myself but if anybody does please let me know how it turned out.
 
ben the brewman said:
I checked it with a refractometer and came up with like a 1.035 i think. Im sure it varies depending on the ripness of the fruit. I am a bit scared to try to use it to bottle myself but if anybody does please let me know how it turned out.
Click to expand...


So if my math is correct, it would only take about 3.5 ounces of watermelon juice per 5 gallons to equal the same gravity points as about 4 ounces of priming sugar (which, unless I'm mistaken, would give the proper carbonation of 2.5 vols?)
 
robdamanii said:
So if my math is correct, it would only take about 3.5 ounces of watermelon juice per 5 gallons to equal the same gravity points as about 4 ounces of priming sugar (which, unless I'm mistaken, would give the proper carbonation of 2.5 vols?)
Click to expand...

I wish I could help more with that but I just dont know. I guess you could try it and let us know how it works lol.
 
ben the brewman said:
Any updates?
Click to expand...

Well, it's been in the keg for about a week now, and it's ready to drink. It's an OK beer. I think the spices from the Wit yeast take away from the sweetness of the watermelon. It's not real sweet. You can definitely taste melon, it's just not real sweet like a watermelon should be.

Drinkable, but not what I was hoping for.

I wouldn't use the wit yeast again.
 
Give it some time. I felt the same way at a week. Let it sit a couple more weeks then try it again. I was pleasantly surprised.
 
I ended up doing partial mash with the following:

2 lb belgian 2 row
1.5 lb Belgian Pils
.5 lb flaked wheat
1 lb torrified wheat
4 oz aromatic malt
60 minute mash 152 degrees, 168 degree fly sparge.

Add 3lb wheat extract

1oz Tettanger 5% 60 min
.5oz Saaz 4% 10 min
.5oz Saaz 4% flamout

Cool and pitch WB-06.

OG came out to 1.048. I still need to adjust my boil volume as I ended up boiling off too much and had to top up the fermenter with about a gallon of cold water.
 
stblindtiger said:
Well, it's been in the keg for about a week now, and it's ready to drink. It's an OK beer. I think the spices from the Wit yeast take away from the sweetness of the watermelon. It's not real sweet. You can definitely taste melon, it's just not real sweet like a watermelon should be.

Drinkable, but not what I was hoping for.

I wouldn't use the wit yeast again.
Click to expand...

Good to know about the wit yeast! I think my two fav yeasts for this beer so far have been 1056 and american heffe.
 
robdamanii said:
I ended up doing partial mash with the following:

2 lb belgian 2 row
1.5 lb Belgian Pils
.5 lb flaked wheat
1 lb torrified wheat
4 oz aromatic malt
60 minute mash 152 degrees, 168 degree fly sparge.

Add 3lb wheat extract

1oz Tettanger 5% 60 min
.5oz Saaz 4% 10 min
.5oz Saaz 4% flamout

Cool and pitch WB-06.

OG came out to 1.048. I still need to adjust my boil volume as I ended up boiling off too much and had to top up the fermenter with about a gallon of cold water.
Click to expand...

Sounds pretty tasty! Let me know what you think of the wb-06 yeast. I think that was the first one i tried and thought it was a bit tart for my liking.
 
So I racked my wheat onto five cups of watermelon juice last Friday. It looks like it is done fermenting but it is still a dark red/pink color. I was under the impression that the beer cleared up and looked like a normal wheat beer... Should this clear up?
 
It depends on how much juice you added. When I add 2.5 cups it has just a touch of pink to it. When you get in in a glass it will look a lot lighter too.
 
brum said:
Give it some time. I felt the same way at a week. Let it sit a couple more weeks then try it again. I was pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...

Agreed Brum. It has been getting A LOT better. The watermelon is really starting to shine through now. I'm definitely starting to like this! It's got a nice little kick to it too!
 
Mine came out a bit thin this time due to a low mash temp. I think it needs to be mashed around 155 to keep it from getting to thin in body.
 
ben the brewman said:
Mine came out a bit thin this time due to a low mash temp. I think it needs to be mashed around 155 to keep it from getting to thin in body.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm going to try next time. 155* sounds good...I can't seem to find the original brew notes though...i think it was 152 :drunk:
 
So my Watermelon Wheat has been fermenting for about 2.5 weeks now. After primary, I racked onto 4 cups of watermelon juice, but as of now, I'm tasting very little watermelon flavor, just a bit of tartness from the juice.

Were any of you experiencing actual sweet watermelon flavor or was it just that tartness?
 
stblindtiger said:
Give it some time... it will get sweeter.
Click to expand...

So I should just bottle it and age it for a couple weeks before drinking then? I was under the assumption that it would be a little bit sweet prior to bottling.

I'm guessing the watermelon is probably being overwhelmed by the tart flavor of the yeast and the general green beer flavor.
 
So I just took a taste of my wheat that I added 5 cups of watermelon juice to, it's been in the keg for only five days and its by no means fully carbed, but I am geeked at the way this beer turned out.

A smooth drinking wheat beer followed by a fresh blast of watermelon in the aftertaste. I can only imagine how great this beer will be in a week or two. IF it makes it that long. Most definitely will be bumping this one ahead in my brew schedule. It will go down great in this intense Ohio heat.

I also bottled three 22's and carbed them with a watermelon jolly rancher so I am stoked to see how they turn out.

Cheers!!!
 
bmock79 said:
So I just took a taste of my wheat that I added 5 cups of watermelon juice to, it's been in the keg for only five days and its by no means fully carbed, but I am geeked at the way this beer turned out.

A smooth drinking wheat beer followed by a fresh blast of watermelon in the aftertaste. I can only imagine how great this beer will be in a week or two. IF it makes it that long. Most definitely will be bumping this one ahead in my brew schedule. It will go down great in this intense Ohio heat.

I also bottled three 22's and carbed them with a watermelon jolly rancher so I am stoked to see how they turn out.

Cheers!!!
Click to expand...

Awesome man im glad its turned out well for you. Let me know what you think about the jolly rancher ones too.
 
Just opened the first bottle of my watermelon wheat. Excellent brew. I used 4 cups of juice, left it to secondary for an extra 6 days (mainly due to being away) and it just turned out fantastic.

I get a little tartness mixed with the sweet watermelon due to the yeast strain used, but I find it's pretty agreeable.
 
ben the brewman said:
Awesome man im glad its turned out well for you. Let me know what you think about the jolly rancher ones too.
Click to expand...

I cracked open a few 22's this weekend at a brew out and got lots of positive feedback.

The bottles to me had better flavor and tasted damn near the same as the hell or high watermelon we were drinking side by side. Very pleased and will be doing another batch before watermelons go out of season here.

My kegged watermlon got overcarbed, and I think that took away from the watermelon flavor. OVerall this was a great beer and will be making it a summer staple in my house....

CHeers
 
Hell yea! im glad you guys are liking this beer so much. its a great summer beer for sure. I wish I could edit my original post and update the recipe with the allgrain recipe but it wont let me
 
My buddy was just telling me about a watermelon beer he had in California called Hell or High Watermelon. Does anyone know if this recipe compares?
 

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