Blood Orange Hefeweizen

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what's the shelf life of this beer once you've got it in the bottle? blood oranges are in season now, but I was planning on keeping most of this for a relaxing summer beer, like July.
 
Brewed mine back in March, fermentation was done after 10 days (OG 1.050, FG 1.010). I didn't use a grain bag at all, just had the zest from the oranges and the fruit in primary. Didn't use secondary, just bottled after fermentation was finished. Just make sure you don't get fruit in the bottle. Drinking the first one now...delicious!
 
Just took my first gravity reading of this beer...brewed it 8 days ago and it was at 1.014...sample tasted great...still had a thick krausen on the top...is this normal for this to still be there?
 
I haven't made this recipe, but I did make a hefeweizen recently. They do tend to keep their krausens for a long time because of all the protein in the wheat. That's a good thing. That's why wheat beers have thick heads.:mug:
 
Finally got around to putting this on. unfortunately blood oranges are just out of season up here so I was stuck using naval oranges. I zested the rind of 2 of them and man, its a pretty potent aroma, I hope its not going to be overwhelming.
At the end of the boil I hooked up the wort chiller and started to clean up. After about a minute blam! the efferent hose slipped off the copper tubing and started shooting 90 degree water all over the place! I quickly tried to turn the water off, but turned it on full blast instead. Haha, what a mess, I probably added a half liter to my wort from that little slip up.
 
Just put this into the bottles tonight...smelled great and samples tasted great...now to decide what's going to fill this empty fermenter!
 
Jim, the aroma from the zest and fruit will be strong but it won't have an overpowering effect on the beer (especially since you added the extra water during cooling, haha!). I used the zest from 3 large naval oranges and mine turned out with just a hint of orange.

One of my friends is going to try this, but he's going to mix it up with the oranges and toss in a grapefruit or 2. Anyone have any thoughts on that?
 
Wow, put this on 2 days ago and now my whole brew room smells like bananas and fruit, so delicious. I plan on washing this yeast once done, but have read that some people advise against it, stating the sensitive weizen yeasts lose their aromatic properties. Anyone on here have any experience with washing wyeast 3068?
 
I'm curious how "Active" everyone's fermentation was? I got my ingredients today, but I'm realizing all I have free is a standard 5.5gal carboy. Would that be enough headspace?

Also I plan on adding about 8oz of some older wheat malt I have kicking around, increase some mouth feel and such (plus going from partial back to straight extract feels like a step back for me)
 
KFBass said:
I'm curious how "Active" everyone's fermentation was? I got my ingredients today, but I'm realizing all I have free is a standard 5.5gal carboy. Would that be enough headspace?

Also I plan on adding about 8oz of some older wheat malt I have kicking around, increase some mouth feel and such (plus going from partial back to straight extract feels like a step back for me)
Click to expand...


I used 7 lbs of bulk wheat LME from my LHBS, as it was cheaper than two 3.3 lb cans. And what's .4 lbs extra LME? Well, I had 5.25 gallons in a 6 gallon carboy and, well, It was ACTIVE! I used WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast...

You will need a blow off tube of some sort. I would go HUGE on the blowoff!
 
I agree on the blowoff tube...while this was only my third brew, it was the first time I used a blowoff and I'm sure glad I did...very active fermentation...I used wyeast 3068...by the way, this has been in the bottles a week and I'm thinking about testing one to see how carbing is coming along!
 
I am purchasing the ingredients for this one today. Really looking forward to it.

I use buckets, so no blowoff tube for me. Hope the lid doesn't pop off :-/


Question: Has anyone used DME and LME? Not in the same batch, but in different. What will the difference be, taste wise? Also, I would probably be using more DME than LME, so that would just affect mouthfeel right?
 
Very tasty! I tested a bottle tonight and it was great. I'll let it sit for another week or two and see how it progresses!
 
I just read this entire thread and will make an AG version of this myself this weekend, I am going to use a more neutral yeast WB-06 and ferment around 64 deg.
one thing I am going to change (because I am looking for as much Orange flavor and tartness as I can get) is to add the steeped fruit into a cold secondary (45F) for an extra week. I will let you guys know how it goes.

Here's the recipe: 5 gallon Batch
4 lbs Wheat malt
4 lbs Weyerman Pilsner malt
1 lb Flaked Wheat
Mash @ 122 deg. for 10 minutes (1.25 qts water per lb)
Raise to 154 for 80 minutes
Raise to 168 and hold for 10 minutes
Sparge for 45 minutes with 173 deg. water
Collect 6.2 gallons of wort
Boil for 1 hour
1 oz Hallertau hops @ 60 minutes
chill to 65 deg.
add 2 pkgs of WB-06 dry yeast packets (rehydrated)
Primary for 7 days @ 64 deg., letting it rise normally for 2 days to 72 deg
Secondary for 10 days @ 45 degrees with fruit and zest of 4 Blood oranges
see how it goes.......
 
how long can I get away leaving this in the bucket after the 10 day mark. Im going to have company this weekend and wont be able to bottle until next week, somewhere around 12-14 days in the fermenter.
 
jim_reaper1066 said:
how long can I get away leaving this in the bucket after the 10 day mark. Im going to have company this weekend and wont be able to bottle until next week, somewhere around 12-14 days in the fermenter.
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you will be fine as long as your cleaniing practices are up to it, and as long as its fine at 10 days, 12 or 14 wont make any differrence at all.:)
 
Thanks man, this is my first wheat beer and im really looking forward to it so I dont want to screw anything up. How much sugar should I use for a wheat beer when bottling?
 
jim_reaper1066 said:
Wow, put this on 2 days ago and now my whole brew room smells like bananas and fruit, so delicious. I plan on washing this yeast once done, but have read that some people advise against it, stating the sensitive weizen yeasts lose their aromatic properties. Anyone on here have any experience with washing wyeast 3068?
Click to expand...

I didn't see this question answered and was wondering the same thing: Anyone on here have any experience with washing wyeast 3068?

Also, how pronounced is the orange taste in this brew? I want to make it, but prefer only a subtle hint of orange.
 
Jim - I used approx 3/4cup of priming sugar which worked well. The beer is nicely carbonated, smooth but still a good head on the pour.

Jangel - the orange in my batch wasn't overpowering at all. I thought it might be after how strong the fermenter smelled but it's just a nice touch on the beer. I'm with you that I don't like a strong fruit presence in the beer but this turned out nicely.
 
I think i'm going to table my attempt at a Lagunitas IPA clone to try this instead. Looks tasty.
 
Just curious what temp did you ferment this at? I have never done a hefe. Also, i just converted a freezer into a fermentation chamber so looking to really nail down my fermentation temps.
 
Wow, so happy to see so many replies to this.

We just rebrewed this. Glad to see this sparked so much inspiration in so many people.
 
my buddy's coming over and brewing this tomorrow. i'm doing ohiobrewtus' porter.

i'm pretty excited for both beers.
 
It's brewed and in the fermenter! Had to use sweet oranges as I couldn't find any blood oranges but they were incredibly ripe and sweet. I'll post when its being consumed and let you know how it is.
 
davidisser said:
what's the shelf life of this beer once you've got it in the bottle? blood oranges are in season now, but I was planning on keeping most of this for a relaxing summer beer, like July.
Click to expand...

Wheat beers are best drank quickly. Two months is ok, three months would really be pushing it. It will be a different beer in four months.

Eric
 
A wheat ale is often drank within two months. However, I have consistently kept a couple bottles of my home brewed wheat beers - mostly German and Belgian - for over a year and, if anything, they taste better. They have mellowed with age, but the variety of flavors has became increasingly complex.

However, I think that may depend on the yeast you use, more so than it being a wheat beer. Nonetheless, wheat beers are generally not known for their aging.

Keep a few bottles around, let us know how they are in 6 months. ;) That is the only real way to find out.
 
maztec said:
A wheat ale is often drank within two months. However, I have consistently kept a couple bottles of my home brewed wheat beers - mostly German and Belgian - for over a year and, if anything, they taste better. They have mellowed with age, but the variety of flavors has became increasingly complex.

However, I think that may depend on the yeast you use, more so than it being a wheat beer. Nonetheless, wheat beers are generally not known for their aging.

Keep a few bottles around, let us know how they are in 6 months. ;) That is the only real way to find out.
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My experience stems mostly from Hefeweizen, Wit, and American Wheat. All have been great at 1-2 months, then fade fast. My wit was nearly undrinkable at 4 months. Imagine a with without any spice or orange...it was just very plain and boring. Like the life was sucked out of it. My experience with Hefeweizen has been similiar.

Using wheat in other recipes would probably yield different results, especially Weizenbock. The darker malts would help to preserve it better, I think.

Eric
 
EricCSU said:
My experience stems mostly from Hefeweizen, Wit, and American Wheat. All have been great at 1-2 months, then fade fast. My wit was nearly undrinkable at 4 months. Imagine a with without any spice or orange...it was just very plain and boring. Like the life was sucked out of it. My experience with Hefeweizen has been similiar.

Using wheat in other recipes would probably yield different results, especially Weizenbock. The darker malts would help to preserve it better, I think.

Eric
Click to expand...

Interesting. Is this perhaps a difference between using malt extracts and going all grain? I have not gone all grain yet.

That is, the malt extracts I have used are possibly not all wheat, which would make a big difference.
 
Bottled this last night. All the nice banana ester smells from the early days of fermentation had disappeared and now it smells strongly like a dark red wine. The hydrometer sample tasted like wine as well. The only change I had made was in using 3 kg of dry wheat malt, as it was only available in 1 kg bags. Any thoughts on my wine-wheat beer?
 
jim_reaper1066 said:
Bottled this last night. All the nice banana ester smells from the early days of fermentation had disappeared and now it smells strongly like a dark red wine. The hydrometer sample tasted like wine as well. The only change I had made was in using 3 kg of dry wheat malt, as it was only available in 1 kg bags. Any thoughts on my wine-wheat beer?
Click to expand...

what temps did you ferment at? sometimes at high temps, some have reported those flavor perceptions, as they will produce more fruity esters. they will probably subside in time, just check it every couple of weeks.
 
During the first few days of fermentation it stayed around 22-23 due to the yeast activity. However it was around 20 degrees for the last week.
Im a little scared that some yeast from my blueberry mead may have carried over in the bucket I used, even after a intense cleaning and sanitizing.
 
if it really was in the high 60's, it shouldnt be estery at all, what was your final gravity?
I doubt the old yeast carried over even a little if you really cleaned and sanitized properly. besides, the cleaning, your yeast should have really dominated the fermenter and choked out anything that insignificant.

you will probably find that leaving it in the bottle will clean up many of the undesirable flavors you perceive. probably would have benefitted greatly from another week in the secondary.
 
I had a crazy high OG = 1.060, and FG = 1.014
not sure how much the oranges contributed to that high OG. Im hoping those flavrs will age out but I dont know if i can wait that long, I wana drink it now!
 
jim_reaper1066 said:
I had a crazy high OG = 1.060, and FG = 1.014
not sure how much the oranges contributed to that high OG. Im hoping those flavrs will age out but I dont know if i can wait that long, I wana drink it now!
Click to expand...

well that 6% abv isnt helping the flavor components in such a light beer to start with, thats for sure. im sure it will mellow some if you have the patience.:ban:
 
Does anybody have suggestions on where to buy the 6.6 pounds (3kg) light liquid wheat extract (55% wheat malt and 45% barley malt) as called for in the recipe? I don't have a lbhs so I will have to order through the internet. Thanks.
 

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