Raspberry Wheat (extract) recipe check

Just got my ingredients together for my next brew, a raspberry wheat using DME. This will be my third brew. For my first I used a Brewer's Best kit, and for my second I based my recipe off of a kit, but mixed and matched specialty grains and a few other things here any there. My third batch is basically a recipe I made up through an amalgamation of numerous ones. I just want to make sure I am on the right track before brew day this weekend. Thanks in advance, you guys have been great!

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs wheat DME
• 1 lb light DME
• 10 oz crystal 40 grain
• 1.5 oz Hallertrauer hops
• .5 oz Hallertauer hops (finishing)
• White Labs WLP 320 American Hefeweizen liquid yeast
• 8 oz honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp irish moss
• 1 metric buttload of raspberries

Process:

1. Steep grains for 25 min @ 160*F
2. Sparge grains, add to brew pot with water from steeped grains
3. Bring to boil, add all 6 lbs DME (2 gallon boil)
4. Add 1 oz hops, return to boil
5. Add another .5 oz hops after 30 min boil
6. Add honey, vanilla, and last .5 oz hops after 45 min boil
7. Add irish moss before flameout
8. Ferment 2 weeks in primary
9. Rack onto 4 to 5 lb frozen raspberries (after pasteurizing), leave in secondary for 2 weeks
10. Bottle condition 3 weeks
11. PARTY

Basically I am looking for suggestions or a confirmation that I am on the right track. I guess I am a little confused about how to sparge properly, but from what I understand I steep the grains in my main brew pot for 25 minutes (which I have done with my last two brews), then basically do the same in a separate pot with new water for a bit (sparge??), then combine and continue by removing the spent grains and boiling + adding the DME, etc?

The recipe looks pretty tasty on it's own. With 4 or 5 lb of raspberries you're going to get huge raspberry flavor. If you want lots of fruit flavor go for it.

Sparge is the process of rinsing the sugars from the grains. Put them in a strainer and pour hot water (170F or so) through them to get all the good stuff.

I am looking for a very present raspberry taste, so I figured 4 lbs was a good start.

Thanks for the info on how to sparge, I will try that.

is my irish moss addition time and method correct?

wwwdotcomdotnet said:

is my irish moss addition time and method correct?

Click to expand...

Hi there, typically the Irish Moss is added with 15 minutes remaining in the boil. Good luck on your Rasp. Wheat. I am looking through recipes for Raspberry wheat myself. That will be my next home brew.

Brewed up this recipe this weekend, hit an OG of 1.042. Only change was to use 3 oz of wildflower honey since thats all I had (damn GF and her tea). Right now it is bubbling away in my 6.5 gallon glass carboy, but the krausen is only about an inch high. I'm a bit concerned since it has been less than 48 hours and the bubbling has already slowed to 1 bubble every 3 to 5 seconds, however I'm sure everything will turn out fine. Currently I have a blowoff tube rigged, but the krausen is nowhere near the top of the carboy. Should I be worried about this? Maybe I did not properly aerate the wort? This is my second wheat, and the first one I did in a plastic bucket nearly blew off my airlock.

Got this recipe transfered to the secondary (gravity went from 1.043 to 1.0135) this weekend along with 3.5lbs frozen raspberries. Looks like there will be a ton of loss to the raspberry sediment, but thats ok.

I actually had about eight 12 oz bottles extra due to making a 5.5 gallon batch and then adding the raspberries in the secondary. This was was my plan, and I just bottled the extra beer to see what it would turn out like without the fruit. There was a ton of sediment that got sucked up by my autosyphon at the end of the syphoning (that went into the bottles without the secondary). Hopefully those turn out ok. They will be incredibly murky, I'm not counting on these to look to pretty in a glass.

One thing that is bugging me is that the brew had an almost wine taste to it. This was likely due to the yeast I used? Maybe the WLP320 wasn't the best choice, but I am hoping this turns out ok. I've had plenty of hefeweizens before, but this one seemed to taste a bit off, but not due to infection. Maybe it was even the honey (only 3 oz wildflower honey).

can anyone offer any advice?

I am no expert by any means but I do know that WLP320 will not give you near the flavor of a traditional Hefe yeast it wlso will not ferm as vigorously. You are going to end up with a beer much like the Lemon Grass wheat that I brewed a few months back. It used WLP320, the brew was great actually one of my favorate I have done, but almost no Hefe taste, look or mouthfeel and you could definately taste the lemongrass, and I only used 1 oz at flame out then racked it to primary leaving the grass in the kettle. Your Rasberry might be a little bit overwelming, leave it in the bottle for a month or so then try it. Best of luck.

quick question about amount of raspberries...it's currently out of a season and the cheapest i found was 6oz for $3.99 - if i go with the 4lbs (which i intended) that's the price of a beer recipe alone (and then some) - could i get away with only doing 1-2lbs? or what if i switched to strawberries for this recipe and go with a strawberry wheat (strawberries are cheaper and have more weight) - would the recipe still essentially work?

thanks,
j

How'd this turn out!?