Berliner Weisse Boil Schedule ?

[redbone]

OK... berliner newbie here

So, the common methods for a Berliner is to either do a no-Boil or a short ~15 minute boil. I have a simple question. Why? I can't find any information as to why it is this way and NOT a longer boil.

What would occur if you were to do a longer boil closer to a typical 60 minute boil?

Go!!!

 

[bknifefight]

It all comes down to how you do your Berlinner Weisse. I sour mash and boil for 15 minutes. The boil serves two purposes. One, to kill the lacto, since it has soured to the level where I am happy with it during the sour mash. And two, to add a little bitterness. I add some noble hops and aim for 5 IBUs. It's questionable if that is even perceivable but it just wouldnt seem right to make a beer without hops, would it? lol

 

[redbone]

It all comes down to how you do your Berlinner Weisse. I sour mash and boil for 15 minutes. The boil serves two purposes. One, to kill the lacto, since it has soured to the level where I am happy with it during the sour mash. And two, to add a little bitterness. I add some noble hops and aim for 5 IBUs. It's questionable if that is even perceivable but it just wouldnt seem right to make a beer without hops, would it? lol

I also sour mash and did it for about 48 hours last time while incubating at 90F. Even after the sour mash and boiling for 15 minutes and giving some IBU's, we did toss more lacto and also experimented with a small amount tossing a Belgian Saisson yeast to it. We were split on which ended up "better" as we perceived it.

Regardless of the above method...

Why do all the "rules" for this style suggest a 15 minute boil or even a no-boil?

What would change if I did a 60 minute boil?

These two questions are what I'm trying to answer and understand.

Thanks!

 

[jester5120]

there's no real need to do a 60 minute boil is probly the main reason. we boil for 60 minutes is to maximize alpha acid utilization from hops and it also slightly changes the color and flavor of the wort while concentrating it. berliner weisse are supposed to have almost no bitterness and be low gravity and light. so it's not needed and probly just a time waster if you did a 60 minute boil. as to why it's 15 minutes instead of say 20 or 10, i have no freakin clue.

 

[redbone]

What bout possible "off flavors" like DMS that could arise from a sour mash? DMS could/would be boiled off.

Not that I do or do not want to, but would a good hot break help with clarity if it was boiled longer?

Would you loose "sourness" by boiling it longer?

Heh... I know.. too many questions.

For what its worth, here is my Sour mashed berliner that is about 5-6 weeks old now. After kegging a couple weeks ago... the 5 gallons is almost gone if that tells you anything I'm just always looking to either improve or understand a process better... thus my questions.

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[bknifefight]

If you wanted to make a sour IPA then you might want to boil for the whole 60 minutes, giving you plenty of time to get some good bitterness. Like was said before, 15 minutes is enough to extract 5 IBUs.

I do not believe boiling will diminish any of the sourness that has been added.

 

[tedclev]

The sourness actually becomes more concentrated with a longer boil. If u are trying to control the sourness and have reached the desired sour level preboil, then a longer boil will provide u with a beer thats more sour than originally anticipated. At least that's my experience. I do wonder about dms though. Curious if lacto eats or processes it somehow. Not sure...