Fruit Beer All Grain Blood Orange Hefeweizen

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heyblinkin

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 12, 2012
Messages
92
Reaction score
14
Location
Oak Park
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
WY3068
Yeast Starter
Yes
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.048
Final Gravity
1.010
Boiling Time (Minutes)
90
IBU
12
Color
4
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
none
Additional Fermentation
none
Tasting Notes
Crisp traditional hefeweizen with great blood orange flavor and aroma
When I first started brewing I brewed the extract version, from Extreme Brewing. A couple years after going all grain I converted, and tweaked this recipe. I prefer the double decoction mash, but this can certainly be brewed with a single infusion.

Blood Oranges start being sold in late December. I live in the midwest, so this is a great beer to drink in the late winter months, look out the window and dream of the upcoming spring.

Grain:
5 lbs German Wheat Malt
4 lbs German Pilsner
1 lbs Munich Malt
1 lbs Rice Hulls (optional)

Mash: Double Decoction
I use the classic double decoction posted here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Decoction_mash#Classic_Double_Decoction

Boil/Steep:
.5 oz Saaz @ 90 minutes
.5 oz Saaz @ 20 minutes

2 oz of fresh grated Blood Orange Peel, and 16 oz of chopped up Blood Orange fruit (remove the pith). Add both to a mesh bag during the last two minutes of the boil, turn off the heat and let rest for 20 minutes. Then cool.

Fermentation:
21 days @ 68 degrees F, using WY3068

IMG_0382.jpg
 
I do a blood orange wheat with a slightly different process for the oranges. From my recipe notes:

"Peel 4 blood oranges and discard half of the peels. Zest the remaining peels and cut up the fruit. Bring fruit and zest to 160f in 1/2 gallon of water, turn off heat and let steep as it cools. Once young beer is in the primary fermenter, add the entire liquid/peel/fruit mash and aerate, then pitch yeast.

I ended up taking the zest and the fruit and throwing them into the blender to make a puree. I put that in a grain sock and into the 1/2 gallon of water to heat, cool, and throw into the fermenter. I dumped the cooled wort right on top."
 
I do a blood orange wheat with a slightly different process for the oranges. From my recipe notes:

"Peel 4 blood oranges and discard half of the peels. Zest the remaining peels and cut up the fruit. Bring fruit and zest to 160f in 1/2 gallon of water, turn off heat and let steep as it cools. Once young beer is in the primary fermenter, add the entire liquid/peel/fruit mash and aerate, then pitch yeast.

I ended up taking the zest and the fruit and throwing them into the blender to make a puree. I put that in a grain sock and into the 1/2 gallon of water to heat, cool, and throw into the fermenter. I dumped the cooled wort right on top."

I have tried similar methods before. My way has more to do with me being lazy. For me its just easier to throw it all in at flame out, let sit for 20 minutes, remove, then ferment undisturbed. I'm pretty happy with the blood orange favor and aroma I get this way. As far as sanitation goes I should probably boil it for a minute but I'm counting on the wort being hot enough, for long enough after the boil to kill off any possible infections. I think your way is the way Sam recommends in Radical Brewing?

Unfortunately blood oranges don't do much to the color, but the flavor is noticeably different from other oranges I've brewed with (better in my opinion).
 
I remember doing a lot of research on how people use the blood orange and I think I did end up using the Dogfish Head method. Very astute observation. This was my bottlemark cap:

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Nice. I'd love to be able to get a nice red color from the Blood Oranges, like your logo.
 
I was thinking of changing the color with some different grains, but that would change the flavor. I did cheat the last time and added some red food coloring. This beer was for SWMBO and I wasn't not going to explain to her that her "Dexter Beer" didn't look like blood.
 
I'm brewing my version tomorrow. I've made several batches. im splitting a 10 gal batch in 2, testing 3068 in one and S05 in another. Same hop schedule but will dry hop the s05 with Citra/mosaic.

Key to red color = 100% pure, fresh squeezed blood orange juice. They sell it at whole foods during blood orange seasn, which is right now. I still get blood oranges for the zest and to put in the primary, but about 3 cups of juice goes along way with taste and color profile.

I too prefer pastuerizing the fruit, colling in the primary and dumping the wort right on top, no muslin needed, just cold crash.:D
 
I'm brewing my version tomorrow. I've made several batches. im splitting a 10 gal batch in 2, testing 3068 in one and S05 in another. Same hop schedule but will dry hop the s05 with Citra/mosaic.

Key to red color = 100% pure, fresh squeezed blood orange juice. They sell it at whole foods during blood orange seasn, which is right now. I still get blood oranges for the zest and to put in the primary, but about 3 cups of juice goes along way with taste and color profile.

I too prefer pastuerizing the fruit, colling in the primary and dumping the wort right on top, no muslin needed, just cold crash.:D

Planning on doing this this sunday. When do you add the juice? During the boil? or into the primary?
 
Also thinking of adding a lb of honey right before flame out. Just to see, What are your guys thoughts? Think it would clash with the blood orange or compliment?
 
So, I've decided to go ahead with the honey, mainly because I have some not doing anything. I am half way through my boil right now. If I did my calculated right I got 80% efficiency, i'm doing Biab. I blended 6 blood oranges which gave me about 4 cups of pulpy juice. I will add that, the honey and zest after the boil cools to 195 and let sit 20min. Then strain during the transfer.
 
So, I've decided to go ahead with the honey, mainly because I have some not doing anything. I am half way through my boil right now. If I did my calculated right I got 80% efficiency, i'm doing Biab. I blended 6 blood oranges which gave me about 4 cups of pulpy juice. I will add that, the honey and zest after the boil cools to 195 and let sit 20min. Then strain during the transfer.

I would've recommended the Gambrinus Honey malt from Canada also, but I'm interested to see how it comes out. Keep us updated. Never Boil the BO juice, add it add flameout or just straight into the primary. You'll find the same with honey, if you just add it directly to a cool primary it'll retain much more honey sweetness/flavor for whatever reason.

My batch withthe 3068 blew off and smells amazing as always with that yeast the S05 is going slower with not as citrusy a nose as i thought, there's no fruit in that primary, but alot of zest was added to the boil the last 5...
 
My O.G. ended up being 1.061. The first 24 hrs were a REALLY active fermentation. It smells a bit funny but with definite citrus tones. A lot of zest ended up being blown out with the foam, I am hoping enough remained to give it a zing.
 
Just out of curiosity. Would you guys recommend racking over to a secondary? I normally leave it in the primary for the whole time.
 
OK, pulled a sample and things look good. The juice didn't give it the color profile I was hoping for but there is a SLIGHT orange after taste to it. I think the next time I do this I will expirement with a different yeast. The hef yeast banana-ish taste may have overpowered anything the oranges offered. I kegged it today so in a week or so I will post another pic of the first pour.
edit- oh and FG was 1.010

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1365814825440.jpg
 
Just wanted to say thanks. Recipe caught my eye and figured I would give it a whirl today on this wonderful Midwest day.
 
I'm new to trying recipe tweaks, so any opinions would be appreciated.

Thinking about brewing this, but going alittle hoppier, especially because I'm dying to try out my new mosaic hops!

How does:
.75oz Mosaic (90mins)
.5oz Mosaic (30 mins)
1oz Mosaic (5mins)

Sound?
I'm estimating around 60 IBU if I'm my mistaken, which is what I'm thinking I want, and I should get some great hop aroma and flavors - agreed?




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I have just made the extract version of this beer. It is going to be bottled soonish. The flavor is amazing already though.
 
I'm brewing a blood orange wheat and I couldn't find any more blood oranges so I got some 100% blood orange juice made by Aliseo from whole foods. It says "not from concentrate" and it's "pasteurized" so I guess its okay to treat it like fresh squeezed bloor orange juice and add it to the primary. I may heat it up with some zest from other oranges just like in Sam Calagione's book, Extreme Brewing.

Has anyone substituted 100% blood orange juice for blood oranges. How much did you add and at what point.
 
I've seen that juice in whole foods too. I would add the juice after fermentation and gently stir it in, until it matches the flavor profile you're looking for. The only issue this may cause is that fruit juice has sugar and may ferment, which could cause problems with bottling.
 
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