Blood Orange Hefeweizen

deadguyry said:

So i had to go out of town and my fruit fermented for 13 days im kegging it and its my first time kegging but it does not really have any resemblance of a hefe and is pretty bitter. What could that be?

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Mine had the fruit and zest in the primary for about 3 weeks. The hydrometer sample was awesome. The orange flavor really hit on the finish. It has that typical green beer taste along with it, as expected.

Did you have any part of the white part of the peel/rind in your fermentor or just orange colored zest and fruit?

My wife and I tried to keep everything that wasn't orange "meat" or orange zest out of the tea and primary.

Jackhole said:

Where are you guys getting the 60/40 LME? Closest I can find is 55/45.

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I don't think 5% will make that big of difference. I think I used 55/45.

I just bottled this the other day. I followed the recipe and left it in the primary for 2 and a half weeks, the fermentation was vigorous. When bottling i tasted it and it seemed watered down and was more clear then cloudy, would this be normal. This is my 2nd batch so excuse any ignorance.

SICCNESS said:

I just bottled this the other day. I followed the recipe and left it in the primary for 2 and a half weeks, the fermentation was vigorous. When bottling i tasted it and it seemed watered down and was more clear then cloudy, would this be normal. This is my 2nd batch so excuse any ignorance.

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I thought mine was "clearer" than other hefes I've done in the past, but I also used WLP320 American Hefeweizen. I thought the color and flavor was awesome though. I'm hoping the orange flavor sticks around.

Kegged mine the other night, and was also surprised by how clear it was... At the same time my fg was 1.01 nowhere close what book says.. Any one know if 1.2 it lists is a typo or am I reading it wrong?

brewed an AG version of this, this is how the 'drometer reading looked

ended up a bit low on the SG, but tasted amazing!

Rivenin said:

brewed an AG version of this, this is how the 'drometer reading looked

ended up a bit low on the SG, but tasted amazing!

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What recipe did you use? Can't seem to find the AG version. I want to brew this before blood oranges are out of season.

Converted it in beersmith and changed it just a tad. Was 5.5 pounds of 2 row. 3.5 pounds of wheat and I added a .5 pound of carapills... beer smith converted it just under that.(without the catapills... just felt the urge to add it ) Just rounded up a bit. The hops I did half ounce for each addition. The hydrometer sample tasted amazing. I actually took another sample to keep sipping on. I'm rather impressed!

I'm on my phone and can't edit posts... lol but I did do 7 large blood oranges... I had 8 but I ate one lol

Just brewed this yesterday, used 5 oranges and zest from 3. Sample tasted pretty good, cant wait to see how it tastes fermented out. I had to zest with a paring knife and that was a PITA. Pitched a starter of 3068 and pushing some serious krausen out the blowoff tube right now, approx 5.25 gallons in a 6 gallon fermenter. Topped off a little too much and my OG was 1.046 using approx 5.3lbs DME.

I tasted one of these over the weekend to see if it was carbed, thought it had been 2 weeks, but it was only one. It was carbed and the orange/citrus was there at the finish. It wasn't overpowering or obnoxious - just a nice, clean American wheat with an orange/citrus finish.

I've got this as my second ever batch fermenting as of today. One thing I was curious about is the amount of priming sugar- I didn't see it mentioned in the 10 or so pages I've read, but I'm wondering if the blood oranges have fermentable sugar and if the volume of priming sugar should be adjusted at bottling time.

Other people seem to be having success but reading about another user's banana/chocolate fiasco made me think...

alukaiser said:

I've got this as my second ever batch fermenting as of today. One thing I was curious about is the amount of priming sugar- I didn't see it mentioned in the 10 or so pages I've read, but I'm wondering if the blood oranges have fermentable sugar and if the volume of priming sugar should be adjusted at bottling time.

Other people seem to be having success but reading about another user's banana/chocolate fiasco made me think...

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I used 5 oz of priming sugar and I have carbonated beer in about a week, but it's been above 70 consistently where the bottles are sitting.

Don't change from the norm unless you want a different coronation level. 2 cups of water and 3/4 cup of corn sugar

Actually, if you want to be closer to the style of a Bavarian Hefe, more carbonation is needed. The BJCP style guidelines show 3.6 - 4.48 volumes of CO2; which equate to 7.4 - 9.8 oz of priming sugar (dextrose or corn sugar). The 5 oz "rule" is an average for American beers and equates to 2.7 volumes of CO2. This is within the range of American wheat beers, which of course are not hefes. I know these numbers are a bit scary when it comes to the possibility of bottle bombs; but I have twice used the BJCP guidelines on a Paulaner Hefe clone with great success. If you have ever been to Germany and had a traditional Hefe you know that after the pour, it continues to create a foamy head as it is enjoyed due to the high carbonation level.
Ref: http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

I made this last night, and I pitched the yeast this morning. It's bubbling away already. This makes me happy.

I brewed an all grain batch of this sunday, 10 gallons, with Blood Oranges off my tree. It almost blew the top off the fermenter, bubbling like a Volcano. its the first beer that has ever done this to me. Not sure if its the Oranges. sure is interesting

The first couple of these beers have had zero head retention. They've been really tasty, just no head once it settles. It's not a thick, creamy head like a typical wheat either. The next time I pour one, I'm going to ensure the glass has been completely rinsed.

It seems really well carbonated, as it should be for a wheat. This is the first wheat I've made using WLP320. Is this yeast strain typically lacking in head retention?

I made a similar version of this, basically took Edworts Bee cave hefeweizen, and added mandarine oranges to the fermenter, similar to how you did the blood oranges. It turned out great, I think the oranges lightened up the body of the beer some, but you can taste the tartness of the oranges in the finish, no bitterness! This pic is of it only a week in the keg, but who cares, its fantastic! Low clove, and minimum banana... Awesome!

Today is the day!~

small grater quickly stripped of the zest, using six Blood Oranges as the only place I could find them was at Whole Foods, organic, and looked smaller than what the OP used.

Weihenstephan Weizen is the yeast I have selected; excellent results on two previous Paulaner clones using it.

Bottled this last night, I had a moment of panic when I saw big green splotches on some of the oranges in the fermenter, but I realized it was just hop chunks.
FG 1.014, tasted awesome outta the bucket! Now to get the damn oranges out of the carboy....

I only have 3 22oz bottles of this left from my original brew, this makes me sad.

I brewed 4 gallons of this last Saturday using 4 honey tangerines, zest from 1 lemon, and a 1/2 cup of honey. This makes me happy, and evidently the yeast as well cause it's still vigorously bubbling.

Jsmith82 said:

I only have 3 22oz bottles of this left from my original brew, this makes me sad.

I brewed 4 gallons of this last Saturday using 4 honey tangerines, zest from 1 lemon, and a 1/2 cup of honey. This makes me happy, and evidently the yeast as well cause it's still vigorously bubbling.

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When did you add the honey? To the primary or when bottling?

Acoma said:

When did you add the honey? To the primary or when bottling?

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I put the lemon zest, tang zest, and chopped up fruit into a grain bag and steeped it as normal. At the point the fruit and water heated up where I pulled it off the stove to let it sit during the remainder of the boil, I stirred in the honey before covering up the pot. I figured it would blend better with the heated water then directly into the bucket with the 70 degree wort.

Looking good so far, this is my first time using honey so I just kind of barged it but with a 1/2 cup for 4 gallons, I'm hoping to end up with just a hint of the flavor.

You should get a bit of honey sweetness and flavor. I added a pound to a Belgian Wit and it's going to be amazing based on what a bottle tasted like after on two days. A crack in the neck caused that one to go early.

Jsmith82 said:

I put the lemon zest, tang zest, and chopped up fruit into a grain bag and steeped it as normal. At the point the fruit and water heated up where I pulled it off the stove to let it sit during the remainder of the boil, I stirred in the honey before covering up the pot. I figured it would blend better with the heated water then directly into the bucket with the 70 degree wort.

Looking good so far, this is my first time using honey so I just kind of barged it but with a 1/2 cup for 4 gallons, I'm hoping to end up with just a hint of the flavor.

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Right on. I am going to do this batch this weekend and I think I may add some of this really good honey my wife picked up. Thanks!

I used a complete organic honey with no additives, kind of jumped the gun with it because I was ready to brew and didn't feel like making a road trip. Next time I want to head down to one of the local farmer's markets to try and get something authentic with flavor ties to this area; some organic Missouri honey..

jtkratzer - Sounds delicious. The ol' cracked bottle sampler never hurts. It's usually the oops I opened this bottle by accident sampler around my house

Proof.

Salute!

On another note, great looking color, even through the green tint.

this is on the list of beers soon, have to start perusing wegmans and whole foods for blood oranges.

if you're in the PNW, Fred meyer has them,

unfortunately i'm in the north east.

flyerwire said:

unfortunately i'm in the north east.

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Anywhere near Philly with that username? The local Giant has them in Lancaster County.

jtkratzer said:

Anywhere near Philly with that username? The local Giant has them in Lancaster County.

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yup, south/east suburb (Springfield). I'll have to check out a few around me. I'm brewing a bunch of beers for a big party in early May and trying to time this one so its pretty fresh for the party so i got some time.

Lookin' good!

just dropped 10 gallons of all grain brewed with blood oranges from my tree into the keg. tried an uncarbed sample, tasted damn good.

Just rebrewed this today baby

Wow, I just bottled this last night and loved it uncarbonated. I think I'm brewing another batch next week.

Can someone tell me what page the all grain recipe is on? I tried searching and gave up on reading the whole thread. I have Sams book and always wanted to make this one.

nyer said:

Can someone tell me what page the all grain recipe is on? I tried searching and gave up on reading the whole thread. I have Sams book and always wanted to make this one.

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Hers what I did for a 10 gallon batch

11 Lbs GW 2 Row
11 Lbs GW White Wheat

1 ounce Hallertau hop pellets (60 minutes)
1 ounce Saaz hop pellets (20 minutes)
8 average sized blood oranges (20 minutes in another pot)
1 ounce Hallertau hop pellets (10 minutes)
2 packets of Danstar Munich yeast

scoop out the insides of the oranges. uses a potato peeler to remove as much of the orange skin (peel) as possible. add the orange parts and the peeled skin to a hop bag or a nylon stocking will work. soak the bag with the orange parts for a few minutes in 1 qt of water heated to 180 DG. then dump this all into your fermenter after your wort is in there. shake it up to mix, then add your yeast.

Mine had an enormous fermentation for 6 solid days. I kegged at 15 days, crash chilled, and put the C02 to it yesterday. it looks good, tasted the fermented wort, this is going to be a great beer when carbonated

Thanks for the recipe, post back when you get to taste it.