Gluten Free Blood Orange Hefe

Adapted from Dogfish Head's Blood Orange Hefe in Extreme Brewing

Ingredients:
------------

6 lbs Sorghum Syrup (60 min)
.50 oz Hallertauer, pellet 3.8% (60 min)
.50 oz Tettnang, pellet 4.7% (20 min)
.50 oz Tettnang, pellet 4.7% (10 min)
1 tsp yeast nutrient (20 min)
4 Blood Oranges (20 min, see below)
1 lb corn sugar (60 min)
1 pkg SafBrew Wheat (WB-06)

Carbed with 4.45 oz corn sugar

Regarding Blood Oranges: Peel oranges and separate sections of fruit. Discard half of the peels. Cut fruit into small pieces. Grate the peel and save the rind only! Heat fruit and peels in 1/2 gallon water to 160-F and then turn off heat. Let it steep as it cools. Pour into fermenter when cooled.

I found it easier to zest the oranges before cutting them into sections.

Link to OP: DFH's Blood Orange Hefe- Gluten Free Style

After 3 weeks of bottle conditioning the blood orange was way up front but not overwhelming and sorghum notes were still present. 6 weeks after bottle conditioning the beer is muched improved. The blood orange is still present but is more subtle and the sorghum notes seem to be mostly gone.

Note: The WB-06 Safbrew yeast is indeed gluten free.



Review from DKershner http://brew.dkershner.com/2010/casanova-blood-orange-hefeweizen/

He already noted the address of my full review in the OP, but I had some of this beer and it was pretty good. It hides the citrusy sorghum flavor better than most beers I have had, and the high carbonation and light taste really make it easy to drink.

This is my proposed brew.. I've modified it only a little.. any input on this would be appreciated..

60 Mins: 12oz Brown Rice Syrup
60 Mins: 6 lbs Sorghum Liquid Extract
60 Mins: 12oz Corn Sugar
45 Mins: .5oz Hallertauer Hops
20 Mins: .5oz Tettnang Hops
10 Mins: .5oz Tettnang Hops

Use 6 blood oranges instead of 4

Pitch at 78F with WB-06 Yeast

Estimated SG: 1.053
Estimated FG: 1.014
5 Gallon Batch

Ferment in Primary for 7 days at 70F
Ferment in Secondary for 7 days at 70F

Bottle and store at 52F for 4 weeks.
Carbonate to 2.7 vols

I like the idea of using some BRS and cutting back the corn sugar. Why no 60 minute hops? Were you aiming to reduce the bitterness? My IBU's above were only 9.6.

Using more blood oranges isn't a bad idea but I thought that 4 was plenty! Oh, and I carbed to 2.5 volumes.

Oh, and maybe ferment a little hotter.

Lcasanova said:

Why no 60 minute hops?
Using more blood oranges isn't a bad idea but I thought that 4 was plenty! Oh, and I carbed to 2.5 volumes.

Click to expand...

The hop schedule still puts me at about 11 IBU.. Maybe my boil volume is higher than your recipe? I also was trying to keep it easy for me by using exactly .5 ounce increments..

If 4 oranges were enough, maybe I'll stick with that.. My fear is that the beer will be too thin, or perhaps the sorghum flavor will be too present.. this is also why I thought a bit more carbonation might help..

I'll try to brew this in the next couple weeks, and will post back my results, once I have them! I imagine this may take a couple tries..

Why would you ferment warmer? What would that do to the overall flavor?

Thanks!

Check DKershners review in the OP- it was a suggestion to draw out more esters from the yeast.

I didn't think this beer was thin when I brewed it but our recipes are slightly different.

Stuntman1 said:

Why would you ferment warmer? What would that do to the overall flavor?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

More banana flavor, caused by the esters Casanova mentioned.

I brewed this last night for my wife. Blood orange season is over so I used another variety of sweet orange. Boiled with about 3 gallons, came out with gravity 1.115, split into two carboys added orange mash and a gallon of water to each to come in right at 1.051. Pitched dry 06 directly.

Thanks for the recipe, hope this works.

Just ordered Sorghum syrup, and intend to brew this one for my wife. Knowing that blood orange season is almost upon us, I decided to look up the original (non GF) recipe, and brew it for myself. I noticed that the original calls for Saaz hops where you have used Tettnang. What caused you to make that substitution? Do Saaz not play well with Sorghum, or did you just happen to have Tettnang hops on hand?

Lcasanova said:

Adapted from Dogfish Head's Blood Orange Hefe in Extreme Brewing

Ingredients:
------------

6 lbs Sorghum Syrup (60 min)
.50 oz Hallertauer, pellet 3.8% (60 min)
.50 oz Tettnang, pellet 4.7% (20 min)
.50 oz Tettnang, pellet 4.7% (10 min)
1 tsp yeast nutrient (20 min)
4 Blood Oranges (20 min, see below)
1 lb corn sugar (60 min)
1 pkg SafBrew Wheat (WB-06)

Carbed with 4.45 oz corn sugar

Regarding Blood Oranges: Peel oranges and separate sections of fruit. Discard half of the peels. Cut fruit into small pieces. Grate the peel and save the rind only! Heat fruit and peels in 1/2 gallon water to 160-F and then turn off heat. Let it steep as it cools. Pour into fermenter when cooled.

I found it easier to zest the oranges before cutting them into sections.

Link to OP: DFH's Blood Orange Hefe- Gluten Free Style

After 3 weeks of bottle conditioning the blood orange was way up front but not overwhelming and sorghum notes were still present. 6 weeks after bottle conditioning the beer is muched improved. The blood orange is still present but is more subtle and the sorghum notes seem to be mostly gone.

Note: The WB-06 Safbrew yeast is indeed gluten free.

Review from DKershner http://brew.dkershner.com/2010/casanova-blood-orange-hefeweizen/

Click to expand...

I've often carbed with sorghum rather than dextrose in my cyders and pearys, after eight weeks its present and plays very well with the aromas and flavors. I imagine in this recipe one might find great results with sorghum carbing. But I'm an experiment extremist so don't take my word for it.

I am looking at doing a Fruit Heffe for my next batch but I do not need to make it GF. Can I just use a good Heffe recipe and just use through in the blood oranges? I am getting sick of winter and I think this will help!

WhackedBear said:

I am looking at doing a Fruit Heffe for my next batch but I do not need to make it GF. Can I just use a good Heffe recipe and just use through in the blood oranges? I am getting sick of winter and I think this will help!

Click to expand...

Here's the non-GF recipe (extract)

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/beer-recipes-how-to-home-brew-hefeweizen#slide-2

taken from:

http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Brewing-Enthusiasts-Guide-Craft/dp/1592532934?tag=vglnkc3441-20

Am I understanding correctly that I will use the pith of two oranges, and none of the zest? Should I be removing seeds? After steeping, is the fruit and pith going in the fermenter, or will the solids be strained out?

Would this recipe lend itself to a little bit of Mandarina Bavaria finishing hops, or do you think that would be too hoppy?

I just kegged this beer on Saturday, and today I went to sample and it is very cloudy and murky looking. This is my first GF homebrew.
Usually my homebrews are nice and clear. I have made this beer in the past, as non GF, so I'm wondering if the appearance of this is typical for GF.

Normally gluten free with sorghum is fairly clear with a three week fermentation and and most of mine are crystal clear after a few weeks in the keg (i have never used fruit though). If i don't cold crash i often get yeast pulled off the bottom once it carbonates. There is usually a good amount of yeast in the keg after it kicks, so it is probably true that the yeast goes slower with sorghum base than with a barley LME. I have had one batch where the yeast seemed to never finish. Not sure about the blood orange impact. The original in this post looked pretty cloudy.

With one batch i had to put a few coasters under the liquid line side of the keg to tip the keg and keep the liquid tube above the settled yeast.

I would pour a pint once or twice a day to pull the bottom yeast as it settles. it will probably get clear in a few days. If you bump or move the keg it might get cloudy again for a period.

Good luck!