Blood Orange Hefeweizen

[Toecutter]

Just finished off my keg of Da Yoopers ale. Next up was the Hefe. Beautiful and a really nice head

 

[jscholtes]

It says to bottle condition for 4 weeks. I just tried one after 2, and it had great head with great head retention, and it tasted great. I don't think I can wait another 2 weeks to see how it turns out.

 

[Jsmith82]

Just finished off my keg of Da Yoopers ale. Next up was the Hefe. Beautiful and a really nice head

Man, check out your setup! That is sweet.

Back on Topic..
Man, check out that beer! That is sweet.

 

[rdann87]

I wanna brew this so badly now. I tried a brew similar to this... But I think I made some mistakes. I put the zest right into the boil.

It's still fermenting now... Depending on what the taste/smell is in a few days I may decide to try add the orange mixture to the secondary.

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

I just bottled 5 gallons of this on sunday, ill post some pictures when I crack the first one. Sample from bottling was fairly spicy at the end due to weird weather giving me high fermentation temps, but had a nice orange start

 

[Acoma]

Bottled this last night. Question for those that have bottled it. Did you age it for the typical minimum 3 weeks at ~70º?

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

I'm impatient so I open one at a week, but they are sitting at 68 now, we'll see how carbed they are but I would wait 3 weeks if you don't want to open any early

 

[Jsmith82]

@ Acoma

From my experience with this brew, my first batch I started opening after 1 week b/c I was impatient and though they all tasted good, the last 22oz I cracked was amazing, that was over 3 weeks in the bottle at 70. Working through my second batch of bottles with this now and one thing I have noticed between the two, this beer carbed EXTREMELY well, and quickly for me both times (Though I'm waiting to drink the majority of this batch till after the 12th, I had one last weekend and no doubt will have 1 or 2 this weekend).

So a wee bit of patience with this beer will prove itself in the end, but it tastes good fresh as well, just not AS good. I recommend you have 1 or 2 to scratch the itch, then have some other craft beer and keep telling yourself how amazing it will be by mid April.

 

[Stefano]

Bottled this last night. Question for those that have bottled it. Did you age it for the typical minimum 3 weeks at ~70º?

I sampled mine after four days and it was great!

 

[Priemus]

I was gonna make a wit this weekend with orange zest, I think I might try this instead.

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

Well here is my pint, it's only been a week to carb but it's not too bad for only a week. Alot of bananas and cloves in the taste due to higher than ideal fermenting temperatures and not really any orange there. But it looks great and tastes good, if you don't mind the banana and clove that is, haha

 

[Stefano]

Well here is my pint, it's only been a week to carb but it's not too bad for only a week. Alot of bananas and cloves in the taste due to higher than ideal fermenting temperatures and not really any orange there. But it looks great and tastes good, if you don't mind the banana and clove that is, haha

when did you add the orange. I added mine a week after fermentation and its perfect

 

[kmac666]

I have been obsessing that I didnt add enough oranges. So after about the first 15 hrs (where I was having very active fermentation), I added two more oranges. Fermentation continued and I just check again this AM - it looks like fermentation has pretty much stopped. So dumb question, by adding oranges 15 hrs in, during heavy fermentation, this would not have slowed or impacted fermentation on anyway, right? Things should be fine?

 

[kmac666]

Let me also add to the prior post that I checked again 30hrs into fermentation and it seems very quiet

 

[TheWeeb]

For what it is worth, I used six instead of the four in the original recipe. The reaction has been excellent; but what took it from excellent to "outstanding" is the way it is poured. I was pouring like my other bottle conditioned beers, being very careful not to disturb the muck at the bottom of the bottle.

This is, of course, not how a traditional Hefe should be poured. Yesterday, at the homebrew club, using the traditional method of decanting 2/3rs and then giving the bottle a swirl before pouring the rest, I kicked up all of the sediment and yeast. It was an entirely different beer! There must be tiny bits of the orange zest mixed in with the yeast, as the hefe-yeast flavor was suddenly there with a very strong orange taste. This balanced the banana/clove really well.

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

I steeped 4 of them, both flesh and zest and added the fruit and tea to the fermenter, and poured the wort over that to mix it up. So next time it will be put in after a few days of fermenting

 

[RedGuitar]

How would adding a couple pounds of honey and/or a 1/2 pound of honey malt effect this beer?

 

[TheWeeb]

How would adding a couple pounds of honey and/or a 1/2 pound of honey malt effect this beer?

Make it even more delicious!

I enhance the original extract recipe a bit. I did a partial mash with one pound of Weyermann Dark Wheat and one pound of Briess Carapills, and added a pound of brown sugar to the boil. I know it gave it a darker color (see the pic I posted a couple of pages ago), enhanced the flavor profile, and boosted the OG to 1.066. I had a FG of 1.012, making a nice, warming 7.2% ABV hefe.

 

[RedGuitar]

Make it even more delicious!

I enhance the original extract recipe a bit. I did a partial mash with one pound of Weyermann Dark Wheat and one pound of Briess Carapills, and added a pound of brown sugar to the boil. I know it gave it a darker color (see the pic I posted a couple of pages ago), enhanced the flavor profile, and boosted the OG to 1.066. I had a FG of 1.012, making a nice, warming 7.2% ABV hefe.

That seems like a LOT of additions. Does this change the mouthfeel any? I've never added brown sugar to a brew- what effect does that have?

 

[TheWeeb]

"Brown Sugar imparts a rich, sweet flavor and is used in Scottish ales, old ales and holiday beers." - from a site on adjuncts. It is used in many brews, the Lagunitas Brown Suggah' is one of my seasonal favorites. I think (according to Palmer's book) you are safe if you keep the adjunct sugars to 20% or less of the total fermentables. The one pound I added contributed 10%. As for the grains, the wheat and carapils are in tune with the style. Mouthfeel was much like a traditional German hefe; thick, yeasty, and the blood orange taste was at the end.

 

[slumslum]

Phew. I just skimmed all 44 pages of this thread.

I was just wondering if someone could give me feedback on a couple newbie questions I have. This will be the first time I brew a hefe, and the first time I use real fruit in the brewing process. It will also be my 2nd All Grain brew.

Questions:
1. It looks like most people are putting the zest and fruit in a bag and steeping it around 160 degrees. When I go to add this to my fermenter, do I throw everything in... including the liquid and bag of fruit and zest?

2. I see people bottling/kegging at different times. With most my beers I put in a secondary to rack for a week, but should I skip the secondary and put this directly into the keg and carbonate?

3. I am assuming that I shouldn't filter this? I don't want to kill the flavor profile, but I usually filter to rid the beer of yeast sediments. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

[TheWeeb]

1. It looks like most people are putting the zest and fruit in a bag and steeping it around 160 degrees. When I go to add this to my fermenter, do I throw everything in... including the liquid and bag of fruit and zest?

yes.

2. I see people bottling/kegging at different times. With most my beers I put in a secondary to rack for a week, but should I skip the secondary and put this directly into the keg and carbonate?

yes; 2-3 weeks primary is sufficient.

3. I am assuming that I shouldn't filter this? I don't want to kill the flavor profile, but I usually filter to rid the beer of yeast sediments. Any thoughts on this?

Correct, do not filter. Take a look at the Hefe style guidelines; filter = bad.

 

[slumslum]

Thanks for your response. My challenge now will be to find fresh blood oranges, or something similar.

Anyone else have a substitute I can use if I can't get the blood oranges?

 

[Jsmith82]

Thanks for your response. My challenge now will be to find fresh blood oranges, or something similar.

Anyone else have a substitute I can use if I can't get the blood oranges?

Not a substitute, but this recipe works great with clementine oranges. Bitter, tangy, and good orange roots.

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

Not a substitute, but this recipe works great with clementine oranges. Bitter, tangy, and good orange roots.

I'm thinking the next time I do this, I will put the oranges in after a couple days of fermenting and possibly use clementines or possibly cars caras

 

[snevey]

I don't know where you're located, but blood oranges are available at almost every grocery store in Central PA, and we NEVER get these at our super markets, with the exception of Wegman's. Our Giant and Weis markets NEVER carried these, but suddenly they are here... I used to have to go around from market to market, fruit stand to fruit stand to find their deliciousness...

 

[slumslum]

I don't know where you're located, but blood oranges are available at almost every grocery store in Central PA, and we NEVER get these at our super markets, with the exception of Wegman's. Our Giant and Weis markets NEVER carried these, but suddenly they are here... I used to have to go around from market to market, fruit stand to fruit stand to find their deliciousness...

Our local stores don't carry them. I am in the Coal Region of NEPA. I can take a ride up to the Wegmans in Wilkes-Barre, but that is about an hour drive.

 

[CrimsonBrew]

I live in Missouri and I found them at the whole foods store near me.

 

[ausch30]

A buddy bought the Extreme brewing book, he and I are big fans of Dogfish Head. This was the 6th beer we've brewed (brewed and fermented their 60min IPA at the same time), we've done a couple Brewers Best boxes (terrible) and a couple kits from our lhbs and this was by far the best. We brewed this holding true to the recipe and my fermentation temp was steady between 64 and 66F. For anyone who has never tasted a blood orange, they really don't have any orange flavor but instead taste like a berry. My final beer was outstanding with a very slight berry flavor throughout but very hefe with a bit of cloves and a fair bit of banana on the finish. If you stay true to the recipe, you absolutely won't be disappointed

 

[Rickycore]

My final product. Tastes amazing. Looks good too I'd say.