Blood Orange Hefeweizen

[mewithstewpid]

how many oranges did you use? did u use zest?

I used 6, zest from 4. made a "tea" that i threw right in primary.

I have a pretty good deal of citrus. Its not like biting into a regular orange, but it is definelty different that a regular hefe.

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

I used 4 fruit and zest, not alot of flavor, fermentation smelled amazing though, my ferm temps were high so the yeast flavors are really there, but as they are dying down allittle bit of orange is coming out, maybe if I fermented cooler I would get the robust orange that people are talking about, but it's fine with me, not going to be a regular thing but wouldn't mind doing it again

 

[CidahMastah]

how many oranges did you use? did u use zest?

I used 6, zest from 4. made a "tea" that i threw right in primary.

I have a pretty good deal of citrus. Its not like biting into a regular orange, but it is definelty different that a regular hefe.

I used 10 oranges for a double batch - zested nearly all of them and followed the directions (tea to primary). Perhaps I had some bland oranges, but they tasted pretty sweet, overripe if anything. nailed SG at 1.050 and ended at 1.009-1.010. Ferment temp was 68-70F

I can taste the citrus slightly, but the wheat by in large overwhlems it. Maybe it will rise up as the wheat tapers off in a few weeks.

Not a bad hefe, but needless to say, I was just expecting something totally different.

I will say this - I would prefer to try another hefe before rebrewing this. This was a lot of extra work for minimal orange contribution.

I will post back if the beer drastically changes and more orange come alive.

 

[mewithstewpid]

oh, i also squeezed the blood oranges into the primary.

I cut them in halves to steep them in the tea, then when done, squeezed all of them over the primary bucket. this obviously loosened all the pulp inside, and a lot of extra juice came out. . then i just put the squeezed halves in the primary. maybe that has something to do with it?

also, what yeast did you use? 3068 here.

 

[CidahMastah]

oh, i also squeezed the blood oranges into the primary.

I cut them in halves to steep them in the tea, then when done, squeezed all of them over the primary bucket. this obviously loosened all the pulp inside, and a lot of extra juice came out. . then i just put the squeezed halves in the primary. maybe that has something to do with it?

also, what yeast did you use? 3068 here.

I took all the fruit and juiced it into the tea, but kept the rinds out. So zest, fruit insides juiced into the tea - then added to the primary.

I used WL351 for the yeast - perhaps that is it, but I wouldn't think so

 

[D_Struct]

Brewing an all-grain batch this weekend. I'll be going with the Wyeast Weihenstephaner 3068 yeast on this one, as well. Might have a little more of a spicy, clove taste than the ester, banana-y flavors from WLP 300.

Really looking forward to it!

 

[Toecutter]

so i brewed this again yesterday, but i changed it a bit I used a dozen oranges for a 10 gallon batch. and I changed the yeast to White Labs WPL 400 which is for a Belgian Witt. I dont like the Bananna flavor from the Hefe yeast mixed with the orange. This will be a different beer, but it should be interesting. one thing. that is some mighty yeast. I pitched at 8 pm and it's already built a significant krusan

 

[Jsmith82]

Haha.. Okay brewers, I bottled on Tuesday, but in light of Pacman getting ready to dominate Mosley, I brought a sampler 4 pack to the party.

Wow.

I brewed this (3rd time) with tarocco oranges and my four beers just lit up the room, everybody was bLown away, what a batch. I used lme for pale, wheat grain, totally a sick beer. Cheers!

 

[Dtroy17]

I just tapped the keg on this and Its very good. My wife is preggo and she really liked it and cant drink guess It a yearly beer from now on.

 

[rdann87]

Just bottled my attempt at this. Tastes good.... A beer for the mrs. which was my goal. Nice orange flavor....I think i shoulda used more lme personally, but I'll see how it tastes once carbonated

 

[mewithstewpid]

After 2+ weeks in bottle it had a very nice rocky head that did not dissipate.

 

[Tiedye]

OK - I brewed up a batch this weekend. I followed the recipe pretty much straight from the book. The OG turned out at 1.035 instead of the target of 1.050 . The yeasties seem to be doing their thing. Very slow, mellow bubbles in my airlock.

Am I ok with the lower OG? Do I need more sugar? If so, how much of what, and how???

This is my first batch moving off the stove and using a ton of new fun equipment (penrose kettle, home made IC ala Bobby, bayou banjo, and new O2 aerator). So far I've avoided spousal drama with all the new gear, but I need this to turn out better than before I upgraded!

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!!!!

 

[Jsmith82]

@Tiedye - I wouldn't sweat it, this was my learning curve beer and I've not only done things backwards and upside down, I've missed the OG twice hitting a range of 1.043-1.045. It continues to steal the attention of the room when I bring it out.. I think that's what I like most about this beer, it's just a flat out good beer and a toughy to really botch up. My last batch which was one of the first times I tried ag brewing, I hit 1.045 and finished at 1.012 with an ABV of 4-4.3% (It was spousal approved ).

Since it's already taken off with a healthy fermentation, if it were me I'd let it go as is and write it off as learning your new equipment, the flavors though weaker should still balance but just a little lighter then normal. Decocting wort and adding dextrose (somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, just going off experience here), you're risking contaminating but also only upping the power of the beer if the yeast hold out and eat your additive.


@ Mewithstewpid - my boss is giving my the stink eye, thanks for that pic. Now I have to find a way to justify trying to drink my monitor.

Cheers!

 

[CidahMastah]

Well I gave this beer some more time to age and I gotta say - I like this beer, but I don't love it. I think the citrus you get in the hefe doesn't warrant all the extra work. i.e. the flavor isn't pronounced enough for me.

Not sure if this just isn't the beer for me, or if I just prefer other German styled hefes instead. To test my theory I brewed ed worts bavarian hefe - and I hope that will clear it up for me.

Good luck all

 

[mewithstewpid]

Well I gave this beer some more time to age and I gotta say - I like this beer, but I don't love it. I think the citrus you get in the hefe doesn't warrant all the extra work. i.e. the flavor isn't pronounced enough for me.

Not sure if this just isn't the beer for me, or if I just prefer other German styled hefes instead. To test my theory I brewed ed worts bavarian hefe - and I hope that will clear it up for me.

Good luck all

keep us posted!

pics of both, too, if possible, would be sweet

 

[CidahMastah]

keep us posted!

pics of both, too, if possible, would be sweet

Will do.

I hope I remember to grab a pic of the blood orange (I do love the color of the brew - and that white creamy head

 

[Tiedye]

Thanks for the comments Jsmith82! Taking your advice!

 

[TheGeek]

Well after some free-time turbulence from buying my first home, I finally got this brewed again. This year I did AG as I stated before recipe pretty much what beersmith shows on page 3 except i did:

5# Pale Malt
3.5# Red wheat

I couldn't find any blood oranges, so I used Navel this year. I also used WLP380 (Hefeweizen IV) which is my favored hefe yeast.

I'll post a pic and give some tasting notes in a couple weeks when its kegged.

 

[CidahMastah]

Will do.

I hope I remember to grab a pic of the blood orange (I do love the color of the brew - and that white creamy head

I must say - this one really came around in the last week or so. Great mouthfeel and better citrus flavor. I might be under the spell of this brew a little bit, as I have had a sort of craving for it with this sunny weather.

I am thinking for me this hefe is definitely peaking right about now. Next time I think I will give it a full 3-4 weeks before I crack into it.

 

[Jackhole]

What brand of extract did you guys use? I can't find any that have 55% wheat, 45% barley. Closest I've found was 40/60.

edit: Ran the search a little differently and found that people are using Munton's.

 

[TheGeek]

Welp, here it is.

I've linked the image from last years version for comparison. The primary differences being this years was AllGrain, last years was exact to the recipe and done with DME.

I think the color difference is a little exaggerated in the photos due to lighting. But the flavor with the AG is great! Citrusy as I remember little banana, little clove. A tasty brew for summer!

 

[CidahMastah]

Just thought I would offer this up. In my quest with the hefe style I went back and found the dunkelweizen episode from the brewing network. One notable difference I found there was the ferment temp.

According to Jamil 62F is the money spot for the ferment temp to get both clove and banana in the right amount for hefe's and dunkelweizen. He also says that you should pitch the correct amount of yeast.

Has anyone tried this recipe at 62F?

 

[nspaldi0]

I've brewed this twice as an extract batch. I fermented the first without temp control, and it was around 68-70 degrees temp. The second time I had temp control and kept it at 66 then moved to 68 to finish. I've got the ingredients for all grain batch and am going to ferment at 62 per Jamil's recommendation for the style. I'll report back when I brew it. I hope to brew it this weekend.

 

[CidahMastah]

I've brewed this twice as an extract batch. I fermented the first without temp control, and it was around 68-70 degrees temp. The second time I had temp control and kept it at 66 then moved to 68 to finish. I've got the ingredients for all grain batch and am going to ferment at 62 per Jamil's recommendation for the style. I'll report back when I brew it. I hope to brew it this weekend.

awesome. Let us know how it goes. I am hoping to brew this again in 2-3 weeks and try the lower temps - but any initial information out the gate would be great.

 

[mlg5039]

I brewed this a month ago, the AG version. I substituted pilsener malt for the 2-row and fermented 3068 at 62 degrees. It is fantastic!

 

[kmac666]

I made one batch with 4 oranges, for me not enough orange flavor. So maybe I went a little over the top for some but just brewed a 5 gallon batch with 10 bloods - pulp and zest. I love it. The girls I had over couldn't get enough. It's a refreshing, delicious summer beer. If you want more than just a subtle orange flavor I highly recommend at least doubling the oranges to 8. 10 with pulp and zest turned out incredible.

 

[MTB]

Does the orange mask the taste of banana/cloves? I plan on brewing a hefe soon with 3068 and fermenting at 62* (I like the clove taste). Does the orange balance well with the traditional hefe flavors?

 

[MDRex]

I'd actually like less banana flavor, but don't have good temp control. What would be a good yeast for this that can ferment at a higher temp, like low 70's, and keep the banana flavor low? I'm also planning on going big with the oranges like kmac above, so should I even worry about too much banana?

 

[CidahMastah]

I made one batch with 4 oranges, for me not enough orange flavor. So maybe I went a little over the top for some but just brewed a 5 gallon batch with 10 bloods - pulp and zest. I love it. The girls I had over couldn't get enough. It's a refreshing, delicious summer beer. If you want more than just a subtle orange flavor I highly recommend at least doubling the oranges to 8. 10 with pulp and zest turned out incredible.

Did you zest all the oranges?

 

[gurrback]

I just sampled my first batch of this beer and the results are so-so. I used 5 large mandarin oranges as a substitute for the blood orange (out of season). I used the zest and the meat of the orange boiled in a "tea" to sanitize the orange as the recipe suggests. I fermented at a higher temp, about 72F, again as the recipe called for. I used LME and added it with 20 minutes left in the boil. I added the orange directly into the primary as per the recipe.

I say "so-so" because the colour is off....not quite as orange or quite as light as I was expecting. It's actually a bit murky. Also, the orange is very, very subtle. There's a sweet banana/orange nose, but it's a little lost on the palate. Overall it’s just not screaming “heffe” to me.

Disconcertingly, there is a bit of a strange sweetness that I tasted in one other beer I've brewed. It's very hard for me to identify the smell/taste that I'm talking about, but it's sweet/tangy and sort of metallic? Can anyone identify this off flavour? Maybe it's not even an off flavour and I'm just paranoid.

 

[CidahMastah]

I just sampled my first batch of this beer and the results are so-so. I used 5 large mandarin oranges as a substitute for the blood orange (out of season). I used the zest and the meat of the orange boiled in a "tea" to sanitize the orange as the recipe suggests.

The recipe doesn't say to boil, it says bring to 160F and then let steep and cool on its own.

I fermented at a higher temp, about 72F, again as the recipe called for.

The recipe said 68F for ferment I believe - though I did a rebrew and am doing 62F for this time around.

Just trying to be fair to the recipe with the above.



Color will be off because mandarin oranges are orange in color where blood oranges are red. The strange sweetness might be your extract having the twang factor (why many people switch to all grain).

I just did a rebrew of this - 12 oranges 10G all grain and am fermenting at 62F. Will post back my results. How old is your brew? I found 4-6 weeks was prime time for mine.

 

[gurrback]

Hm, you may actually be right about the orange "tea". I don't have the recipe in front of me so I'll take your word for it. However, I'm almost positive that they specifically note a slightly higher than average fermentation temperature would be ok for this beer as it would bring out more banana/yeast flavor.

Either way, I guess I'm splitting hairs. I just expected a bit more of a citrusy orange and less brown. And maybe the "tangy" flavour is coming from the LME...

 

[gurrback]

I just did a rebrew of this - 12 oranges 10G all grain and am fermenting at 62F. Will post back my results. How old is your brew? I found 4-6 weeks was prime time for mine.

Still only 1.5 weeks. I know it's young so perhaps the twang will subside.

 

[CidahMastah]

Still only 1.5 weeks. I know it's young so perhaps the twang will subside.

Don't get me wrong I am with you - at 2-3 weeks I thought I had brewed a real dog (BO hefe). See if it turns around at 4-6 weeks like mine did.

I definitely never got the crazy citrus flavor that everyone was claiming. But most folks backed down saying it wasn't that crazy, just a subtle sweet berry flavor more than citrusy. I have a sneaking suspicion that sometimes people hype up their results because they are excited about there brew, or maybe they just don't a have a very discerning palate. No harm meant of course, hell I am excited about my brews too! For example, I did ed worts bavarian hefe at 68 too and it was good, but IMO not great. My buddies came over and we destroyed the first keg in maybe 2 hours - so they obviously thought it was good too. But I still say that there was something off about my results, and I know because I have tried bavarian hefes. I can see the potnential in that recipe, but something was off.

Jamil does 62F for hefe's and pitches the correct yeast volume and says that is the way to get consistent solid results with banana and clove. I think the internet results of high temps banana and low temps clove are up for my own review. i.e. I don't buy that information as fact just yet. Check the "can you brew it" Jamil show on the brewing network - search for dunkelweizen and they discuss hefeweizen brewing techniques.

Everyone claimed you could drink very early and you can. I just found I started reaching for it at ~4 weeks. I will wait at least three weeks before I try my next batch.

 

[gurrback]

I definitely never got the crazy citrus flavor that everyone was claiming. But most folks backed down saying it wasn't that crazy, just a subtle sweet berry flavor more than citrusy. I have a sneaking suspicion that sometimes people hype up their results because they are excited about there brew, or maybe they just don't a have a very discerning palate. No harm meant of course, hell I am excited about my brews too! For example, I did ed worts bavarian hefe at 68 too and it was good, but IMO not great. My buddies came over and we destroyed the first keg in maybe 2 hours - so they obviously thought it was good too. But I still say that there was something off about my results, and I know because I have tried bavarian hefes. I can see the potnential in that recipe, but something was off. .

I consistently experience the same thing. I'm the only one in a group of friends sampling the beer that thinks something is wrong. Everyone else is saying "oh this is great!" and I'm stuck thinkin "hm, what's that flavour? What's that nose? Hmm...this isn't perfect". I should probably relax and just drink the damn thing.

 

[CidahMastah]

I consistently experience the same thing. I'm the only one in a group of friends sampling the beer that thinks something is wrong. Everyone else is saying "oh this is great!" and I'm stuck thinkin "hm, what's that flavour? What's that nose? Hmm...this isn't perfect". I should probably relax and just drink the damn thing.

Maybe But maybe that nagging voice that will, hopefully, push us to make the recipe fantastic by all standards and to all tasters. If not we will be eternally, though on a minuscule level, disappointed

I think a lot of this has to do with the few gents with exceptional palates (supertasters). Since a supertaster is the minority, there isn't any question why we would feel like the odd guy out.

Or we are just screw ups that can't brew this right!

EDIT:
checked on my "navel orange" hefe (BO out of season): right at 62F, so this should be a good test for the lower ferment.

 

[MTB]

checked on my "navel orange" hefe (BO out of season): right at 62F, so this should be a good test for the lower ferment.

How is the krausen on yours? I brewed mine on Monday and this is the first time I ferment at the low end. Fermentation started 10 hours after pitching, but the krausen never got too serious. It's like an inch high and doesn't look like it's going any higher

 

[CidahMastah]

How is the krausen on yours? I brewed mine on Monday and this is the first time I ferment at the low end. Fermentation started 10 hours after pitching, but the krausen never got too serious. It's like an inch high and doesn't look like it's going any higher

Same with mine. Well sorta - mine is about 10.5G in a 15g glass fermenter - but the krausen maybe got up to about 2-2.5 ish inches or so max so far. I mention the larger fermenter for reference if you are using carboys.

However for the first couple days it was low, like an inch. Yours might pop up in hte next day or so. I did notice it had bumped up to 64F yesterday, so i am combating that. I figure the krausen is peaking right about now. Not an overly boisterous ferment.

 

[CidahMastah]

a few pictures of the my results towards the end of hte keg

 

[RedGuitar]

It's possible that I missed this in the 50 pages of this thread, but here's my question:

I can't find blood oranges at this time of year. I read several posts where people substituted clementines or naval oranges, but these are a lot sweeter than blood oranges and lack that tartness. Any opinions on 1 red grapefruit with 4 naval oranges?