Fruit Beer watermelon wheat

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I had a few more watermelon wheats. the other day with my brother in law.

The beer was bottled on July 2 and had an easily recognizable watermelon taste and aroma two weeks later. If you read above, I served it Aug 3 at a party and it was very well received with everyone easily percieving the watermelon. However, I thought that the taste was a bit more subdued than it was at a mid July tasting.

Three weeks later I can definetly say that the watermelon 'essence' of this brew has mellowed with age. It is still a light, drinkable beer, but the wallop of watermelon that used to be there is greatly subdued.

I don't know it it is related to the all-wheat beer recipe I used to carry the watermelon, or if it something that just happens to the watermelon flavor. A pale-ale type recipe may offer different results. Based on my experience, this seems like a great beer to drink while its young. Drink 'em if ya got 'em!

N_G
 
Has anyone ever used like a Saaz hop or anything else with this brew? Perle is a high bittering hop that probably wouldn't help the bittering situation out.
 
this beer has no bitterness to it. the ibu is pretty low but you can use what ever hops you want. i use perle in most of my wheats.
 
Has anyone put any thought to doing this with cantaloupe? I love that flavor and was curious how it may turn out in the beer. My only concern is that cantaloupe begins to smell funky as it ages (the fruit) unlike watermelon. I would fear the cantaloupe juice would funk up my good wheat beer. Thoughts anyone?

TxT
 
i have a question...do you not need to add priming sugar before you bottle with this recipe? if not, please explain why not...thank you :)
 
Just finished brewing this recipe. I modified a bit in order to get rid of some ageing ingredients. In addition to the standard recipe provided, I added 1 lb crystal 40L and about 3oz torrified wheat (for better head retention). I did .5oz perle @ 60, .5 perle @ 30 along with 1lb honey, then .68oz cascade @ 15. OG was 1.044. Does that sound about right? I thought it would have been higher...

TxT
 
im not sure if the torrified wheat will make much of a diff with a wheat beer but its worth a shot. the og sounds good and it will be picked up a bit more when you add the watermelon juice.
 
I used torrified wheat when I made Graff's apple cider. GOt a darn nice head on it. I figured would help some with this one as I saw some people on this post concerned about head retention. Wheat beer - torrified wheat, I fugured why not.....

TxT
 
Im preparing to put this baby in the secondary with the watermelon juice. Would it hurt to fridge it while in the secondary? I dont want to put the yeasties to sleep. I used an American hefe yeast so they may not be too partial to cold temps? I'm only doing it for clarity but I know this is a wheat and aint gonna be much clarity anyway. I do know that it may help the yeast eat up some of the off flavours. Should I do it at room temp, carb in the bottles then refridgerate? Looking for any suggestions....

TxT
 
i would do it at room temp because the watermelon juice is going to cause it to start to ferment again. if the beer is at colder temps it would slow the fermentation down and you might have possible bottle bombs. the yeast you used should clear up any off flavors after a bit. i just used the american hefe and it had a bit of a sulfur smell to it but it did go away.
 
Up and brewing this recipe right now in CA. Going to take it up to NorCal for Raiders vs. Jets in Oct. Hope all goes well. How does that saying go ? Plagerizing is flattery. Or just not good enough to formulate original recipes just yet.
 
Will do at room temp but I just cant get the ideal temp for room temp fermentation - I get around 75-78. I cant get it any cooler. The FG before watermelon was 1.010 and same after. I added three cups juice. Guess we will see in a week how it went.

Thanks-

TxT
 
My OG only got down to 1.042 ??? Any ideas ?

thats about right for the og. the extra points comes from the watermelon juice that you add. im not sure exactly how many points that watermelon juice is but i tested some with my hydrometer and it said it was a 1.042. im sure this vaires very much from melon to melon, year to year, and locations too. i will change the og in the orginal recipe to correct this.
 
I finally brewed this one up and after the recommended time in the primary and secondary with 2.5 cups of freshly squeezed watermelon juice and then 2 weeks of bottle carbonation and the chilled. I did not notice any watermelon flavor so I let it sit in the refridge for another week, even though the flavor did mellow out there was still no noticeable watermelon flavor. So next time I brew this one I think I will do 5 cups of watermelon juice.
Over all this is a great beer to sit back and drink. :) thanks for the recipe.
 
Well, just as my brew was about ready to be bottled, my AC in the house failed. Since I couldnt keep the temp stable, I decided to throw the carboy in the fridge and wait for the AC to be repaired. I bottled today. Let me tell ya, a week in the fridge at 35'F cleared the heck outta this one. It tasted great before bottling. You get that slight hint of watermelon as you swallow - perfect. I used 3 cups of juice. My only fear is that there may not be enough yeast to carb the bottles. I took the carboy out a full 24hrs before bottling to bring back to room temp and I even intentionally siphoned some yeast into the racking bucket to ensure some would mix in. Now all I can do is hope and wait for 3 weeks....

TxT

Primary # 1(tomorrow) - Imperial Oktoberfest
Primary # 2(tomorrow) - Pumpkin Ale
Secondary - none
Bottled - Watermelon Wheat
Enjoying - Graff's Apple Cider, Imperial Stout
Planning - Watermelon Cider, maybe another Graff's Apple - that was an awsome one
 
thats about right for the og. the extra points comes from the watermelon juice that you add. im not sure exactly how many points that watermelon juice is but i tested some with my hydrometer and it said it was a 1.042. im sure this vaires very much from melon to melon, year to year, and locations too. i will change the og in the orginal recipe to correct this.

Its been two weeks and the primary is still burping about once every 10 seconds. The gravity is still dropping, measured 1.006 on 10/03. I think I will rack to secondary on Sunday 10/04 and add the juice with the primer. This brew going to Raiders vs. Jets. I found out how to open up a Sierra Nevada 5 gallon cylinder and then transport, and pump up with normal Bronco pump.
 
I finally brewed this one up and after the recommended time in the primary and secondary with 2.5 cups of freshly squeezed watermelon juice and then 2 weeks of bottle carbonation and the chilled. I did not notice any watermelon flavor so I let it sit in the refridge for another week, even though the flavor did mellow out there was still no noticeable watermelon flavor. So next time I brew this one I think I will do 5 cups of watermelon juice.
Over all this is a great beer to sit back and drink. :) thanks for the recipe.

im sure that every watermelon is different so they will vary from melon to melon.
 
In my case, the flavor of the watermelon has faded. I brewed that beer to be ready around mid July. It was great then. I had one this past weekend (first week in october) and the watermelon flavor has faded. Instead, its a nice wheat beer with a thick mouthfeel, is fairly sweet and has a slight taste of watermelon. Can't say that I'm dissappointed, but if you intend to let this sit for 4 or more months, go heavy on the watermelon juice to keep more flavor as it ages.

I am still enjoying mine, as does SWMBO.
 
Up and brewing this recipe right now in CA. Going to take it up to NorCal for Raiders vs. Jets in Oct. Hope all goes well. How does that saying go ? Plagerizing is flattery. Or just not good enough to formulate original recipes just yet.

Hopefully your beer does better than your Raiders will do...:off:
 
I must say I am impressed with the outcome of this recipe. I have had a few people ask if I actually made it or if it was store bought as it was the best homebrew they ever tasted. the watermelon in mine is ever so slight. In fact, it leaves you thinking "what is that taste?" in your mind after you get that first mouthful and swallow. I think what really did it for this batch was the fact that I cold crashed for almost two weeks (because my AC went out & had 90deg plus temps). Against everyone's recommendations, I had to because I didnt want the yeast to produce off flavors. The cold crash clarified the hell out of the brew & I was worried there would not be enough yeast to carb in bottles. I took it out 48hrs ahead of bottling to allow the yeasties to awaken from their hibernation & as I transferred to my racking bucket with the priming sugar, I siphoned some slurry to make sure. Only one week later, they got some good head and great flavor. Went ahead and put all the bottles in the fridge to prevent bottle bombs. I gotta say, the taste & the clarity are near commercial perfect. I saved some slurry coz you can bet your bottom dollar Im gonna duplicate this one again.

Thanks for the awsome recipe Ben the brewman!

-TxT
 
no problem man. im glad you and your friends reall like this recipe cause i know i will be making it every year during the summer.
 
really intrigued by this recipe. and the tart thing does not concern me., plus I'm thinking of trying a dry wheat yeast for the first time, be it wb 06 or the danstar munich. any recommendations one way or the other? also, how about hallertauer or EKgoldings? and finally....
i agree the jolly ranchers are the way to go. since 1 jolly rancher is enough to carbonate 2 12oz bottles you can take 24 jolly ranchers and melt them down in some water just like priming sugar.

how'd you come up with this? i'm into the jolly rancher idea, but I don't want to risk overcarbonating it and have my bottles blowin up! this sounds like a cool beer, thanks for the recipe!:mug:
 
Munich yeast is pretty nice. Its what Brewer's Best gives you in their Weizenbier kit. It seems pretty neutral when fermented cool. I will be making this one again this spring.
 
I have two packs of munich yeast in the fridge. I havent used it in anything yet but i think i will in the next batch of watermelon wheat too.
 
really intrigued by this recipe. and the tart thing does not concern me., plus I'm thinking of trying a dry wheat yeast for the first time, be it wb 06 or the danstar munich. any recommendations one way or the other? also, how about hallertauer or EKgoldings? and finally....

how'd you come up with this? i'm into the jolly rancher idea, but I don't want to risk overcarbonating it and have my bottles blowin up! this sounds like a cool beer, thanks for the recipe!:mug:

I kind of liked the tartness from the wb 06 but i have munich so i will use it next time, either one will make a good beer. Any of the hops that are good for a wheat beer can be used in this i just use perle because it dosnt take much of them to get the job done. The jolly rancher idea was just a experiment that i tried. I figured since they are nothing more than corn syrup it should be the same as corn sugar. Next time i use the jolly ranchers i will just dissolve them in some water just like regular priming sugar.
 
Just racked this one to the secondary with the melon. Can't wait to try it. Should be timed perfectly for the fourth of July, which was the goal.
 
Well I made 10 gallons this weekend. The first five will be watermelon and the other five will be passion fruit mango. Not sure of the exact ratios yet but ill get it soon.
 
I did a watermelon wheat 'ben the brewman' style last year. It was great, see my replys in this thread.

I decided to go a differnet route this year because I would have to wait till about now to get a decent watermelon. Instead, I followed the suggestion in this thread here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f75/watermelon-ale-167129/
and my version (see thread) has been bottled for a week now. It is pretty good so far! Also, this one appears to be able to pour with a head on it, something the natural Watermelon version wouldn't. Check it out!
 
Brewed this yesterday morning - happily bubbling away in the primary now. Followed the original recipe, but pitched Wyeast 3068. I ordered the watermelon jolly ranchers to use for priming - will report back when it's ready for tasting in mid-August.
 
Im not sure about the us05 yeast it should work just fine, the last batch i made i did it with us05 and it turned out just fine.
 
Brewed this yesterday morning - happily bubbling away in the primary now. Followed the original recipe, but pitched Wyeast 3068. I ordered the watermelon jolly ranchers to use for priming - will report back when it's ready for tasting in mid-August.

The 3068 gives it a good flavor that goes pretty good with the watermelon. Be careful with the jolly ranchers it takes 1 to prime a 22oz bottle.
 
I was gonna use the s05 yeast too, just because that is what I have on hand. Any tips to insure that this does not come out too tangy?
 
The 3068 gives it a good flavor that goes pretty good with the watermelon. Be careful with the jolly ranchers it takes 1 to prime a 22oz bottle.
Thanks - I am going to bulk-melt enough jolly ranchers in water to mix with the entire batch. If the math is right, 26 or 27 jolly ranchers should be enough for the 5 gallons. Has anyone tried this bulk method, or has it only been 1 per 22oz bottle?
 
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