Planning Brew 2

[lawlladin]

I have just recently gotten in to home brewing. So far I have only brewed one batch of beer which was an American Pale Ale (from extract). Overall, I thought the process was extremely interesting and fun. I was very nervous as to what the result would be like since it was my first time brewing but I was extremely pleased. So needless to say, I'm pretty sure I'm hooked now and wanna start my next batch. I have decided that I want brew a Hefeweizen due to the warmer weather approaching and to get my first experience brewing a wheat beer. However, heres where my questions begin. I would really like to try a couple new things and be experimental with this batch. Im planning on splitting the batch in half when it goes into fermenters and racking one with raspberries to make a raspberry Hefeweizen. I guess my main question is: Whats the best way to go about doing this?

For feedbacks sake, heres what my approach would currently be:

Recipe:
6lbs Wheat LME
1lbs Wheat DME
1oz Tettnang Hops
WLP300

I have heard that when brewing hefeweizen from extract you should not add the extract until late in the boil so you do not end up with an amber color in your beer. The only problem is all the time suggestions I read were quite different on what was considered "late". What would you suggest?

I would really like to experiment fruit but dont want to risk ruining the whole batch of Hefeweizen. To go about this I plan on literally just splitting the batch in two when it comes time to add the wort to the carboys. Is it okay to do this? Both of the carboys are 5 gallons so there will be quite a bit of room left in the vessels. If I open the fermenters to take gravity samples am I running the risk of halting fermentation at all?

When it comes to adding fruit I have read mixed things on which type of fruit to use. It seems like each kind whether it be fresh, frozen, or puree, has their downfalls. Which would you suggest? What should be the process for adding the fruit when I chose which type to use? Could I just add them to the primary after the main fermentation cycle has ended?

I love hefeweizens and their cloudy appearance. Does this occur naturally from the yeast strain or is it just from not filtering the beer? With my last batch of beer I did not filter but I left all the sediments at the bottom of the fermenters and then the bottling bucket. Do you still leave the sediment at the bottom with hefeweizen or does it stay?

So thats basically it! Thanks in advance for any feed back and sorry if the questions go back and forth a little too much.

 

[McGreen]

This recipe looks pretty easy and legit.

Hefeweizens get their cloud from a few things - not filtering and using wheat for base are the main reasons, but since you will be home brewing and bottling, you will probably have more of a cloudy look. Hefe is a perfect homebrew, especially for beginners and for the summer IMHO.

To answer the last question, as with all homebrew bottles, you do not force the sediment into the glass no matter the beer. You work on your pouring technique and most of it will stay at the bottom where it belongs. Working on your technique will help you in the long run, even with commercial beers.

This is a great second beer recipe though! Did your first have specialty grains? Because that makes extract brewing more interesting and a a bit more customizable.

Cheers!

 

[McGreen]

Also, as far as the fruit addition goes, I do not know where it is implemented or how, but I would love to see how adding puree raspberries in with the priming (or corn) sugar would go. I know for my Oktoberfest I will be adding caramel along with a bit of sugar for the bottling carbonation. I wonder how much raspberries it would take to do that? Either way, adding them after fermentation is probably best. But I am not sure. Going to need advice from the vets on the forum!