Watermelon wheat

Brewed this guy a week ago. The recipe is adapted from an extract version I found here. Took a sample today before adding the watermelon and it's really yummy. Nice clean wheat flavor with just a little tang to it. OG 1.038, FG 1.010.

I fermented it at 66-68F. I used Wyeast 1010 for the first time. I have never smelled anything so awful while this was fermenting. It made apfelwein fermentation smell like a flower garden.

I racked it into the keg today on top of the watermelon juice. I puree'd enough watermelon in my blender to get 2.5 cups of juice after running it through a paint strainer.

It'll probably be in the keg another 2-3 weeks before there's room in my fridge for it. I've never done a real fruit juice addition before - will the residual sugar in the watermelon juice wake up the yeast?

-Joe

Recipe for 5 gallons:

Prepare Ingredients for Mash

4.50 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain
3.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain
0.50 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain

Mash In: Add 12.75 qt of water at 164.4 F
60 min - Hold mash at 154.0 F for 60 min

-- Drain Mash Tun
-- Batch Sparge Round 1: Sparge with 4.50 gal of 168.0 F water.
-- Add water to achieve boil volume of 6.42 gal
-- Estimated Pre-boil Gravity is: 1.039 SG with all grains/extracts added

60 min 0.50 oz Pearle [8.20 %] (60 min) Hops
15 min 0.25 oz Pearle [8.20 %] (15 min) Hops
5 min 0.25 oz Pearle [8.20 %] (5 min)

Secondary: 2.5 cups watermelon juice

 

I'm curious to see how this works out. Never had a watermellon brew before. The added sugar of the mellon will be gobbled up by the yeasties, but since you are kegging, its not big deal.

 

Sounds good, the the layout looks good. I'm kinda suprised to not see any flake wheat in there. I'm also wondering if 2.5 cups of watermelon jucie is enough to impart any flavor in 5 gal. of brew?

Also, how much melon did it take to get 2.5 cups?

I'm curious because, for one i've got a couple crimson watermelon plants in my garden and two i've been wanting to throw a little fruit in my house wheat recipe. Just haven't been convinced on what yet.

Oh, and it's just for the SWMBO, right?

 

Well, I don't want an overpowering watermelon flavor, so I thought I'd start on the light side. I can always brew it again with more.

It took a little less than 1/2 of a soccer ball-sized seedless watermelon.

hah, actually I'm trying to recreate a beer that I had at a brewpub in RI last summer. I got their sampler, of course, and was all ready to hate on their watermelon wheat. As soon as I took a sip I was a believer. It was delicious - the watermelon was perfect against the wheat. That was a great trip. My wife even talked her way into the brew house

Maybe wheats just make a good backdrop for flavors. I made an apricot wheat for my annual Oktoberfest party last year and it was a *huge* hit. That one used apricot flavoring from a bottle, though.

-Joe

 

Sounds good, you will have to let us know how it turns out. I usually brew really hoppy beers but it would be nice to have something like this for the normal folks.

 

I usually brew really hoppy beers but it would be nice to have something like this for the normal folks.

the hop schedule nostalgia gives you is about 20 IBU's, give or take, so for any wheat i've brewed this is on the high end.

i'm curious about the addition of juiced watermelon into a secondary with no sterilization. are you supposed to boil it? or does that take something away?

 

Based on experience, 4 cups of watermelon juice per 5 gallons of beer should be just right.

 

O.K. between 2.5 to 4 cups of watermelon juice, depending on preference.

But nobody said anything about sterilization when adding it to the secondary or possibly adding it at other points in the brew process.

Any helpful tips?

 

I just sanitized the containers I used. I didn't want to boil the juice, and I'm not too worried about the inside of a watermelon being unsanitary. I also reasoned that primary fermentation is done, so there should be enough alcohol to keep things happy.

We shall see Every time I walk by the keg I burp the pressure release valve, and it's well-pressurized, so those yeasties are working on the watermelon.

-Joe

 

As long as you clean the outside of the melon with soap and water, and then sanitize... And sanitized the cutting board and all knives/juice squeezin' apparatus... The juice will be fine, the alcohol in 2ndary will kill everything.

No boil/pasteurizing.

 

I've been wanting to do this for a while, please update us about the flavor. This may have to be my next brew.

 

I used Star-San in a spray bottle. I just sliced the melon in half with the sanitized knife, then used a sanitized ice cream scoop to scoop out the flesh. No contact with cutting board/rind/cat/etc.

In other news, the ice cream scoop is now my go-to method for eating a watermelon

-Joe

 

Just put it on the gas yesterday. Going to give it a wee taste at the end of the week and see how it's coming along.

-Joe

 

I tried one of these at the Brewers Cup in Indianapolis, It was surprisingly tasty. Kind of wine-cooler-esque and I could see my self sipping on one on a hot summer day. Or maybe for breakfast.

 

What kind of effect do you think the watermelon juice had on your gravity?

 

Now were talking !:rockin:

 

Ok here's the first pull:



Not totally carbed up yet, but almost there. Flavor is definitely interesting - the wheat and yeast aroma and taste is right up front. The watermelon doesn't show up until the finish, leaving a tangy aftertaste.

I expect the yeast flavor to lighten up after a few pints. Full report in another week once it's carbed up!

-Joe

 

Ive got one of these in process.. however, its 2 qts of watermelon (half a big watermelon through a juicer) for a 5 gallon batch!

The base was a half Pils, half wheat, Tettnang, WLP 300 Bavarian hefe (German fruit beer, not very reinheitsgebot) fermented at 62°F for a week (1.052->1.025)... then, transferred and racked on watermelon and allowed to free rise (made it to 78°F).. boy did it take off! pooped the airlock right off on day 2 of secondary.. didnt take a refractometer reading of the juice, so Im not sure of the sugar content add, but my guess is that it added 5-6 points to the gravity... so far its been in secondary for 5 days.. Ill end up taking a reading today.

By going to secondary before it was fully attentuated, I was really hoping that I was going to get mostly clove phenols, and some to little banana, but on that day 2, you could certainly smell the banana esters being cranked out (you can definitely smell the watermelon in it, too.). It is DEFINITELY pink beer... nothing straw colored about it.

Ill probably keg it Sunday.. Ill have a better idea of the flavor/aroma profile by then.