What do you think of my Raspberry Wheat?

So, I'm trying to develop a Raspberry Wheat. I've compiled it from a couple of different recipes as well as some ingredients on hand. What do you think?

Original Gravity
1.055
(1.049 to 1.057)
Final Gravity
1.013
(1.011 to 1.013)
Color
3° SRM / 7° EBC
(Yellow)

Mash Efficiency ?
70% edit

Batch size: 5.5 gallons

Yeast

Wyeast Pacman with starter

% LB OZ MALT OR FERMENTABLE PPG°L

55% 6 0 White Wheat Malt 40 2
36% 4 0 American Two-row Pale 37 1
9% 1 0 Cara-Pils 33 2

Total grain bill 11 #

Hops

boil 60 mins 0.5 Sterling pellet 7.5
boil 30 mins 0.5 Tettnang pellet 4.5
boil 5 mins 0.5 Tettnang

Total 20.4 IBU

Secondary 7 days 5 pounds Raspberries

What do you think? How strong will the raspberry flavoring be? I don't want it to taste like fruit juice like some berry beers do. Just something nice and refreshing with undertones of raspberry.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

I would go with less raspberries (if you want it to be beer first, raspberries second), but I would leave the beer on them longer to make sure the sugars ferment out. Are you planning to bottle right after secondary, or are you going to rack off the berries to let it clean up beofre bottling?

3° SRM / 7° EBC
(Yellow)

I don't think it will be yellow...

When I use real fruit, I chill the beer down, rack onto the fruit, and secondary at lager temps. If I don't, the yeast gets to work on the sugar in the fruit and I get a "wine like" taste. Which I hate.

YMMV

I was just planning on racking to my keg after secondary. If one week isn't long enough should I do two weeks in the keezer to keep it from fermenting the raspberry sugars out? What do you think about cutting it down to 3 - 3.5 pounds of fruit?

mcjake said:

I was just planning on racking to my keg after secondary. If one week isn't long enough should I do two weeks in the keezer to keep it from fermenting the raspberry sugars out? What do you think about cutting it down to 3 - 3.5 pounds of fruit?

Click to expand...

If you are kegging you can certainly do the "cold" fruit addition if you want a sweet-fruity finished beer. This isn't an option when bottling because when you warm the beer back up to bottle condition the yeast will eat the sugar and explode the bottles.

It is all about what you want, but I think 3-3.5 lbs would be better for a beer that tastes of more than just raspberries.