attempting to make less bitter beer for the wife

[arcadiaacres]

I'm about 6 batches into my home brewing career with 3 batches having been bottled & opened up for tasting. I'm happy with the progress I'm making and I know I'm learning more each time. While I prefer the more robust tasting beers, the wife likes a far less bitter beer. Blue Moon is her cup of tea, but when I made a witbeir kit from Brewers Best, she thought that was too bitter for her taste. Maybe that was because I tweaked it some or maybe it was because I made some mistakes. Either way, I want to make something more to her tastes so she continues to tolerate this "hobby" as it progresses toward "obsession"

So, I'm going to brew up a Brewers Best Weizenbier kit this week. The IBU's listed are low but I want to make sure I'm doing what I can to ensure that they stay that way...or are even lower than listed. From what I *think* I've learned, here are ways to keep the bitter taste down and/or increase the sweetness a little. Are these all correct steps?

1. longer, more robust boil - I don't think I had an aggressive boil with my first batches
2. Add less bittering hops or add them later in the boil. The kit includes 1oz of bittering hops
3. Add something like orange zest at flame out
4. Would changing up the yeast vs. what comes in the kit help? I don't recall what came in the kit but it's a packet of dry yeast

Would those things help? Any other ideas.

As always, thanks in advance for the great advice

 

[Strangelove]

Are you fermenting/aging long enough? I've found "green" beers can be bitter in a non-hop way.

 

[slarkin712]

Another thing to consider is the carbonation of your beers. If they are too carbonated you can get a bite that may be interpreted as bitter.

 

[Bmorebrew]

I would suggest brewing this first as-is, except for the yeast. I've never used a Brewer's Best so maybe I'm talking out of the side of my neck, but I would buy some fresh liquid yeast and use that. Make a starter too.

If it turns out too bitter still, then brew it again but back off the hops a bit. It would be much easier to start with a reference point.

She could always mix it 50/50 with sprite or something for a nice refreshing summer drink - if she's into that.

 

[imperialipa]

I have noticed with my wife if I make my bluemoon clone she is all over it. It uses a California ale yeast NOT a German or Belgian Whitbeer yeast.

If I make a traditional Whitbeer she cant stand it. She does not like the clove/banna flavor those yeasts give off.

Definately use a clean yeast that does not give off estery or clove flavors

 

[stikks]

My SWMBO does not like bitter either.I have made her Vanilla Cream Ale and
Spotted Cow Clone.IBU`s are between 16 and 20.Maybe try something light
like this.Kolsch is another non hoppy beer.It took me a few years to make something she likes,but these hit the mark for her.

good luck

 

[TopherM]

Does your GF understand what hops bitterness tastes like? A Blue Moon clone should have had pretty darn low IBUs/hop bitterness.

My GF told me for years that she didn't like hoppy, bitter beers.

Once I started brewing, and she got to understand the process a bit, I found out that she actually LIKES hop bitterness, it's strong malt flavors that she dislikes. She can drink a 100 IBU IPA all day long, but hates a malty brown ale. I tend to make her more light bodied APAs up to about 50-60 IBUs these days, and she loves tasting and learning about the different profiles the hops lend to the beers, now that she found a low-malt base beer that she likes!

Just a thought. I've found that most people that don't know the brewing process or can't explain what makes what in the flavor profile of a beer misuse terminology. She might know what she means, but her idea of "bitter" isn't your idea of bitter. I'd explore her definition of bitter beer first, since, again, that Blue Moon clone should not have been particularly bitter!

Another one I find is that girls tend to really like citrusy hops, but dislike piney, earthy hops. Again, not the bitterness, per se, but the flavor profile of the hops.

 

[edmanster]

Is she afraid of color? If not, you have alot you can try without having to dial in the hops.... I can't leave out marzen's, abby's, trappist's etc in fear of the ol'lady and the kids

 

[marmonduke]

My wife also likes blue moon so I make one that is not a clone it's just close in flavor profile..It's all grain recipe though. I think the BB wit kit from what I can gather online comes with wit yeast. I'd use S04 or S05 instead. Also I have no idea what's in their spice packet but it is VERY important to have the right amount/type of orange peel and corriander. If it comes with 1oz packet of corriander I'd crush about .375 oz of it and if it came with sweet orange peel (dried BB packet) I'd add two oz of sweet. if it came with 1 oz bitter orange you can still use it just add two oz of sweet orange also or just don't use the bitter. Add the orange and corriander the last 5-10 mins of boil. The IBU is not really out of range. Of course that's given ferm temps, sanitation, etc are on point.

 

[AdamPag]

God, is it everyones SWMBO who likes that stuff? Funny Im concocting a recipe on friday for her, a similar pseudo-wheat. The problem however as stated, if the girls like blue moon/shock top, those are Belgian Wheats, so apparently the clove/banana esters arent the problems. Im only using .75oz hallarteur for 45mins and .25 the last 15 mins along with sweet orange and corriander, 3lbs light dme, 2lbs wheat dme, 1lb flaked wheat (for that hot body) fermenting with WB-06 at a slightly lower temperature (Im pretty sure blue moon is carrying that light clove-ish flavor) and zesting in an orange for the last week in the FV for added girly-ness. Im even playing with adding 1/2lb of orange blossom honey but I really dont wanna dry the beer out. Men unite, perfect a woman beer so we can go about our manly business!

 

[helibrewer]

I found an Anderson Valley Brewing Company Winter Solstice clone that I'm going to try for my wife (IBU's about 6). She loves the stuff but it's seasonal and will be out of production soon. Their Summer Solstice is the same recipe with a weaker grain bill.

AVBC Winter Solstice

Ok, I can help here. The BYO reciepe for summer solstice is very close, for the winter, you simply up the grain bill.

12.5# 2-row
1.5# crystal 40
1.25# crystal 80
Wyeast 2112
1oz cascade hops - add at the 5min mark (5IBU)
Mash at 150-151 for a very fermentable wort.

You're shooting for 1.066 SG, 1.014 final. Scale the grain bill back if you get better eff. Ferment around 62-65

Add 1.5oz vanilla extract at bottling, and let it age for at least 4 weeks to let the vanilla mellow.

That will get you super close to winter solstice. Summer solstice is the same grain bill, only scale it back so your SG is 1.053. It's an amazing beer.

Summer Solstice is 4 IBU, Winter Solstice is 6 IBU, that's straight from AVBC. They add their only hop addition during the whirlpool, I like to add mine during the last couple minutes of the boil (4-5), and leave them in while I chill the wort.

Summer Solstice is basically identical to Anchor Steam (California Common), but it has almost no IBUs, and they add vanilla. Winter Solstice is the same as Summer, just a bigger grain bill. If you hop the beer more, you'll basically have a Vanilla Cali Common.

I've brewed the Summer solstice recipe twice, and it's turned out fantastic both times. It's an absolute favorite of my friends and family. Recipe is the same as the Winter, I cut back the grain bill to hit 1.053 SG:

8.5# 2-row
1# Crystal 40
13oz Crystal 80

 

[arcadiaacres]

Wow, thanks for all the feedback. Here are some responses to the questions/comments:

Strangelove: "am I fermenting/aging long enough". Over the course of my 6 batch career , I've moved to leaving things in the primary for 3 weeks vs. moving to secondary so that could be it.

Slarkin712: "too carbonated may be interpreted as bitter". good point, I think my first few batches were overly carbonated

Bmorebrew & imperialipa: "buy liquid yeast" & "use a clean yeast". any suggestions on what would go with the Weizenbier kit?

TopherM: "her idea of bitter isn't your idea of bitter". THAT's a great point!!! I don't think they taste bitter, but then again, I fit probably fit right into that category of misusing terminology. I know which beers I like (okay, almost all of them), but I'm not sure I can explain, in accepted terms, what aspects of a given beer I do like (hoppy vs. malty, etc...). Other than trial & error, does anyone have a suggestion as to how to improve my knowledge of how to match beer attributes up with the right words?

AdamPag: "men unite!". I shall continue to tweak this (and drink my mistakes) until I come up with something

helibrewer: "summer/winter solstice recipe". Looks great. I'm sure I'll be into AG brewing shortly and I'll keep this one around for when I get there.

Again, thanks everyone

 

[imperialipa]

I have found this strain to work well. Its a wheat beer strain but without the clove/bananna profile

1010 | American Wheat by Wyeast

Also to address the statement that shocktop and blue moon use Belgian yeast becasue they state they are belgian wheat beers is to my understanding not correct. In one fo the Bluemoon threads a brewer who worked at Coors and helped make Bluemoon stated in these forums coors uses an American ale strain. NOT a belgian yeast strain.

If you have ever had an authentic Dunkelweizen from Germany and a Bluemoon there is a significant flavor profile that comes from the yeast.

 

[AdamPag]

I have totally had a dunkel from germany and I totally see how coors isnt using a real belgian strain. Thats more or less false advertising.