Belgian Raspberry Wheat

I was thinking of doing a Belgian fruit beer as Christmas gifts for family. Something like:

60/40 Pils/Wheat
20 IBU with Styrian
Wyeast 3787 (washed + starter)
1lb/gal raspberries in secondary

Anyone done anything like this? Anything you'd change?

Should I add some other grains for body? Or, keep it crisp with the pils/wheat?

Also, do the raspberries add a significant amount of bitterness? I'm looking at some random recipes and 1lb/gal might be overkill.

1lb/gal is too much, I'd go with 3 lb for a 5 gal batch. You may want to toss in 5-10% crystal, aromatic, or munich to give a little more character to the grain bill and add some sweetness to balance the tartness the fruit will give. Also you're going to need to brew soon to give it as an xmas gift, so get moving!

I think one pound of fruit per gallon is spot on, if you want to know it is there.
I also like your base recipe, it is simple & will showcase the fruit, if that is your goal.

I do strawberry blond beers all the time.
*edit: i use 4-5 pints of berries. not sure how much that weighs.
try it one way & adjust it to your tastes the next time!
good luck!


the "similar threads" below show 5 other threads with the same title, so be sure to check those out

Finally brewed this. Turned out fantastic. I went 60/40 wheat/pils with half a pound of rice hulls (pre-soaked as per someone's suggestion on HBT). Fermented with 3787. I think my OG was about 1.050 and finished at 1.010. I did 25 IBUs of Styrian Golding with a 60 and 5 minute addition; although by the time the raspberries hit it I'm not sure you need any 5 minute addition. After 2 weeks I racked onto 24 ounces of frozen raspberries and let it sit for another week.

It's a beautiful ruby red color with a nice white head. With even just 24 ounces, the raspberry aroma is pretty big. It blends well with the Westmalle yeast and finishes nice and dry. I really like the flavor freshly tapped but I'm excited to taste it once the raspberry fades just slightly.