Blue Moon Clone

[Snotpoodle]

Hi Wayne,

To let you know, I brewed your recipe down here in South Africa this weekend, used the Zest of 6 small oranges, not the dried variety, using Hallertauer hops.

After cooling to pitch the yeast, the little sample that i tasted was absolutely heavenly, a very nice orange and malt taste, even the colour looked fantastic.

Excellent brew, this bad boy will be bottled in a few weeks, and probably enjoyed quite quickly.

Thanks for a great recipe.

EDIT: Would you suggest racking to secondary, and for how long? Some Belgian Beer books talk about not even filtering the yeast out at all...what would you recommend?

 

[Wayne1]

Snotpoodle,

Thank you for giving the recipe a try. Please keep us all informed on the progress of the beer.

What variety of oranges did you use? Did you also use coriander?

I would leave it ferment for at least two weeks in the main fermenter. If the FG has stabilized for three days, it will do no harm to transfer to a conditioning vessel. This will help with yeast dropping out. If you could store the conditioning tank at 4 C (40 F) this would also help. I would suggest at least one week in conditioning, perhaps two will even be better.

The beer will never drop bright. With the wheat and oats, it will always be hazy. That is part of the style characteristic.

 

[GusWatab]

Snotpoodle,

Thank you for giving the recipe a try. Please keep us all informed on the progress of the beer.

What variety of oranges did you use? Did you also use coriander?

I would leave it ferment for at least two weeks in the main fermenter. If the FG has stabilized for three days, it will do no harm to transfer to a conditioning vessel. This will help with yeast dropping out. If you could store the conditioning tank at 4 C (40 F) this would also help. I would suggest at least one week in conditioning, perhaps two will even be better.

The beer will never drop bright. With the wheat and oats, it will always be hazy. That is part of the style characteristic.

I am thinking that I will let it sit for 2 weeks in the primary, 2 weeks in the secondary and then bottle it. Bottle conditioning usually takes about 2 weeks...So I am taking the patient route on this batch. 6 weeks before I can taste the finished product.

Someone was talking about wheat beers taking a bit longer to fully condition and I was wondering if the above schedule looks ok. Thoughts??

 

[Wayne1]

I have actually found the opposite to be true. Lighter, wheat beers are ready to serve quite quickly. Every one's system and tastes are different.

I would give the bottles three weeks to fully carbonate at cellar temperatures. Otherwise, I think your schedule looks very good.

Of course, you do have to pull a sample out and chill it down for quality analysis every week.

 

[MathMan]

Alright, I figured i should go ahead and contribute another possible extract recipe. I say possible because the starting gravity ended up at 1.044 and I expected 1.054! I have to thank every one who has contributed to this thread and the attempt at recreating this beer, in particular nilo whose extract ingredientsI've used.

I didn't feel comfortable steeping the oats, so (against better judgement) I decided to steep them but after testing, they didn't contribute any gravity to the wort (I fear only astringency).

6.6# Munton's Wheat LME
1.4# Alexander's pale kicker
1/2# oats (quaker, rolled)

1.25 oz Coriander
~.4 oz Valencia Orange peel
(both McCormick's from the grocery store)

Wyeast 1056

I tried to walk the line between the original grain bill and the new amounts of spices (with adjustments for the 3:1 ratio). It's bubbling away in the primary (no plans for secondary) and I'll check on it again in a couple weeks.

My only real concern is the starting gravity, I can't figure it out! I put 5.25 gal in the primary instead of 5 gal, but I calculated to account for 5.25 gal. Would it be possible that by not stirring prior to taking a sample, the gravity of the sample is weaker than expected? I have a 3 gallon brew pot and added water to the primary to make-up 5.25 gal. It was immediatley after adding the water that I took my sample. Admittedly I'm new to home brewing, but calculations should be my strong point. I'm perplexed...

Thanks again and I'll update with results.

 

[DougE]

So my first attempt to all grain was brewing this recipe, and the mashing was a failure. Now that I've brewed a different AG recipe, and it turned out great, I'm ready to give this recipe a try again. Maybe this weekend if I can get some warm weather.

I've been following the recipe as it has evolved, and here is what I'm thinking (mostly copying nilo's last attempt). Please provide any feedback.

MASH
5# 2 row
4.5# white wheat malt
2# crystal 10L
1/2# Carapils
1/2# rice hulls

BOIL
1/4lb flaked oats (60mins)
1oz hallertauer (aiming for 17.5 IBU) (60 mins)
3 tsp ground coriander (10 mins)

1/2oz orange extract
S-05 dry yeast

Also, as an AG newbie, I had some questions.

1. I am planning on using (pre-soaked) rice hulls. Is there a reason that you didn't for your recipe?
2. What is the reason for the addition of crystal and cara-pils? What do they add to the beer? (Again, just curiosity question from a newbie).
3. A few pages back, Wayne suggested using 1/2# Weyermann CaraFoam instead of 1/2# cara-pils. Is there much of a difference? Which is better?
4. When do you add the orange extract? Flame-out? Primary? Secondary? And do you just dump it in or do you do something special?

Thanks. I'm sure I'll probably come up with some more questions before the weekend.

 

[Snotpoodle]

Snotpoodle,


What variety of oranges did you use? Did you also use coriander?

I would leave it ferment for at least two weeks in the main fermenter.

If you could store the conditioning tank at 4 C (40 F) this would also help.

The beer will never drop bright. With the wheat and oats, it will always be hazy.

Hi Wayne,

Yep, cracked some fresh coriander seed, lovely aroma. The oranges, they were locally grown Valencia's.

I'll leave the brew in the fermenter for 2 weeks minimum then, however I will be hard pressed to condition the brew at 4C.

I am quite happy with the style being cloudy, as all my brews seem to have a haze

I did however get a stuck fermentation last night (48 hours in), gave it a bit of a wiggle and 10 mins later the yeasties were munching again.Strange.

 

[mccabedoug]

Alright, I figured i should go ahead and contribute another possible extract recipe. I say possible because the starting gravity ended up at 1.044 and I expected 1.054! I have to thank every one who has contributed to this thread and the attempt at recreating this beer, in particular nilo whose extract ingredientsI've used.

I didn't feel comfortable steeping the oats, so (against better judgement) I decided to steep them but after testing, they didn't contribute any gravity to the wort (I fear only astringency).

6.6# Munton's Wheat LME
1.4# Alexander's pale kicker
1/2# oats (quaker, rolled)

1.25 oz Coriander
~.4 oz Valencia Orange peel
(both McCormick's from the grocery store)

Wyeast 1056

I tried to walk the line between the original grain bill and the new amounts of spices (with adjustments for the 3:1 ratio). It's bubbling away in the primary (no plans for secondary) and I'll check on it again in a couple weeks.

My only real concern is the starting gravity, I can't figure it out! I put 5.25 gal in the primary instead of 5 gal, but I calculated to account for 5.25 gal. Would it be possible that by not stirring prior to taking a sample, the gravity of the sample is weaker than expected? I have a 3 gallon brew pot and added water to the primary to make-up 5.25 gal. It was immediatley after adding the water that I took my sample. Admittedly I'm new to home brewing, but calculations should be my strong point. I'm perplexed...

Thanks again and I'll update with results.

Steeping flaked oats, flaked wheat or crystal malt will NOT contribute any fermentable sugars unless some 'base' grain such as pale, pilsner, munich malt, etc. is present to enzymatically convert the starches to fermentable sugars. You will get some haze from the oats and maybe a little mouthfeel, but no fermentable sugars.

Regarding your OG, I agree, you should have been above 1.050. Kinda hard to miss your OG with extract. Basic question that always gets asked when this comes up from new brewers: how vigorously did you stir before you took your sample? In other words, is there a chance that your sample was a bit watery since your wort was not sufficiently mixed? Just a thought. Either way, your beer will be drinkable.

Lastly, even though this is not a classic wit, making this type of beer and/or wits was THE primary reason I went all grain. I am convinced that you simply cannot make a Blue Moon or (and I know I am stretching since the beer in this thread is not a wit in the classic sense) a Hoegaarden with extract or with extract and grains. I couldn't and I tried my hardest over a couple years. My first AG was a wit and after that, there was no going back.

 

[nilo]

Steeping flaked oats, flaked wheat or crystal malt will NOT contribute any fermentable sugars unless some 'base' grain such as pale, pilsner, munich malt, etc. is present to enzymatically convert the starches to fermentable sugars. You will get some haze from the oats and maybe a little mouthfeel, but no fermentable sugars.

Regarding your OG, I agree, you should have been above 1.050. Kinda hard to miss your OG with extract. Basic question that always gets asked when this comes up from new brewers: how vigorously did you stir before you took your sample? In other words, is there a chance that your sample was a bit watery since your wort was not sufficiently mixed? Just a thought. Either way, your beer will be drinkable.

Lastly, even though this is not a classic wit, making this type of beer and/or wits was THE primary reason I went all grain. I am convinced that you simply cannot make a Blue Moon or (and I know I am stretching since the beer in this thread is not a wit in the classic sense) a Hoegaarden with extract or with extract and grains. I couldn't and I tried my hardest over a couple years. My first AG was a wit and after that, there was no going back.

From my experience, you get good amounts of fermentable sugars when steeping crystal malts, even without a base malt. The amount will depend on the kilning level, more sugars for Crystal 10L, less for Crystal 120L.

 

[MathMan]

Thanks Mccabedoug! I had a feeling that by taking the reading before stiring the wort I had gotten a "weaker" sample. I was so anxious to use my new hydrometer (before i didn't have one at all), that I must've been my mistake.

Regarding AG brewing, I can't wait to get a set-up, but right now my wife is in the Air Force and we'll be relocating in the next few months so even if I had the money, I need to get settled before adding to my set-up too much. Hopefully I can still make some palatable "wit" beers with extracts until then.

 

[mccabedoug]

From my experience, you get good amounts of fermentable sugars when steeping crystal malts, even without a base malt. The amount will depend on the kilning level, more sugars for Crystal 10L, less for Crystal 120L.

Yup, I checked and you're right and I'm wrong. I guess you do get some fermentables from steeping caramel malts. Not as much as if you mashed them, but some nonetheless. Thanks!

 

[mccabedoug]

Thanks Mccabedoug! I had a feeling that by taking the reading before stiring the wort I had gotten a "weaker" sample. I was so anxious to use my new hydrometer (before i didn't have one at all), that I must've been my mistake.

Regarding AG brewing, I can't wait to get a set-up, but right now my wife is in the Air Force and we'll be relocating in the next few months so even if I had the money, I need to get settled before adding to my set-up too much. Hopefully I can still make some palatable "wit" beers with extracts until then.

No worries, you will make excellent beers using extract w/grains. I did that for 5 years before going AG. The taste of my extract w/grains wits was excellent. I just couldn't get that white, hazy look until I went fully AG.

You'll know when the time is right to go AG.

 

[bmickey]

I am making this tomorrow!

 

[GusWatab]

Well here is an update on my attempt at the Blue Moon style...

I came up with an extract recipe getting as close to wayne's wheat/pale/oats ratio, and posted it a couple weeks ago. It has tasted great each time i've tasted it.

I just racked it to secondary and had a little side by side with a Blue Moon and I think the homebrew had a bit more mouthfeel probably due to boiling a half lb of oats. It tasted phenomenal and I could taste plenty of orange. i used 10 grams of sweet orange peel and at this point I can definetely taste it. That may mellow a bit more but we'll see. I had an O.G. of 1.054 and today had an S.G. of 1.017. I was hoping that would have been lower...oh well.

I am suprised at how much darker the homebrew turned out. Here are a couple photos of the side by side and of the secondary.

Gotta love brewing in the MN Winters!

 

[bmickey]

I hope you all can bare with me here, This will be my first AG batch this weekend and I wanted to verify the process you all think is best. From what I read i will be doing a batch sparge as follows:

I'm heating up about 4 gallons of water to 169F and will add that to my grains in my 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler with false bottom. I'm aiming to keep the temp at 155 for 90 minutes.

At the end of the 90 minutes i am going to vorlauf a few minutes and then drain that first batch of wort to my keggle.

Immediately following I will add 5 gallons of sparge water to my mashtun at 168 degrees and I'm not sure how long I should let that soak before vorlauf'ing and draining to kettle.

I am aiming to get 7 gallons roughly to my kettle to boil down to 5.25 gallons roughly.

On the boil side I planned on adding 3 tsp of ground coriander at 80 min and also 1 tsp of McCormick's Valencia Orange Peel at 85 minutes. good? seems like there is a ton of back and forth on how much to use...

Does this sound good? I am unsure on the sparge water/soak time.

let me know if anything else seems out of whack!

Thanks all for your help!

 

[bmickey]

Hi Joe! Thanks man, but seriously, nervous that I'll screw this up but can't wait!! I already have a second one figured out, Ed Wort's recipe.

 

[MathMan]

bmickey, as you mentioned, there's been a lot of back and forth about the ratios of coriander to orange peel and I believe Palmer in How to Brew says "discretion is the better part of flavor", but I believe the original ratio was given in terms of weight, not volume (so, 3:1 oz as opposed to tsp)

 

[ThomInSC]

Wow, what an awesome thread. I am just about ready to give it a go with Wayne's last recipe as follows but have just a couple of questions.

6 lbs. Weyermann Vienna Malt
5 lbs. Weyermann Wheat Malt
1.25 lb Flaked Oats
0.5 Rice Hulls (pre-soaked in warm water)
Add 1.7 oz Hallertau (3%) pellets 30 min into the boil. (60 min boil left)
Add 1.25 oz fresh ground coriander (10 min boil left)
Add 0.3 oz Valencia Orange Peel (5 min boil left)

Looking at supplier options, the Weyermann Wheat I am seeing is Pale Wheat. Is this correct for the style? The SRM looks right.

Based on my suppliers Hallertau pellets (3.8%) the IBUs will be more like 20.5 per Beersmith. Do I lower the .ozs, add later or just call this close enough to the original 17.5 units? (Definitely like the non-bitterness of the commercial Blue Moon).

Been using rice hull on all my AG brews but this is the first I have heard of pre-soaking. What is the reason for this?

Finally, I might be crazy but I seem to see somewhere buried in either this thread or another whit thread about pitching two smack packs in a 5 gal batch. Is one 1056 enough?

Thanks again for a long, great thread with lots of info and I hope to contribute my results in the coming weeks.

 

[BeerBaronBob]

bmickey, as you mentioned, there's been a lot of back and forth about the ratios of coriander to orange peel and I believe Palmer in How to Brew says "discretion is the better part of flavor", but I believe the original ratio was given in terms of weight, not volume (so, 3:1 oz as opposed to tsp)

To clarify Wayne suggested starting with the ratio that the original Blue Moon was deigned at.

3:1 is the ratio of corriander to orange peel but the approx equivalent amount for a 5 gal batch is 1oz ground corriander for the last 10 minutes of boil and 0.3 oz of ground sweet valencia orange peel for the last 5 minutes of boil - ground or fresh zest has been suggested as well.

Good luck with your brew.

 

[BeerBaronBob]

I hope you all can bare with me here, This will be my first AG batch this weekend and I wanted to verify the process you all think is best. From what I read i will be doing a batch sparge as follows:

I'm heating up about 4 gallons of water to 169F and will add that to my grains in my 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler with false bottom. I'm aiming to keep the temp at 155 for 90 minutes.

At the end of the 90 minutes i am going to vorlauf a few minutes and then drain that first batch of wort to my keggle.

Immediately following I will add 5 gallons of sparge water to my mashtun at 168 degrees and I'm not sure how long I should let that soak before vorlauf'ing and draining to kettle.

...

On the boil side I planned on adding 3 tsp of ground coriander at 80 min and also 1 tsp of McCormick's Valencia Orange Peel at 85 minutes. good? seems like there is a ton of back and forth on how much to use...

let me know if anything else seems out of whack!

I would suggest a few things... First preheat your mash tun with some hot water for about 10 minutes with the cover on. Then pour that out right before you start the first water addition to get to 154F. My Beersmith software says that initial infusion water volume is about 14 Qts at 170F to get about 10# of grain that is 68F up to 154F. Have some extra hot and cold water available to fine tune your temps if you need to. You dont need to be exact. Wait about 5 minutes to measure your temp after you stir the grain and put the lid on. Write down notes of your actual temps as you go along so you can go back and review this next time you plan your brew.

At the end of your 90 min initial mash at 154F I would suggest adding a mash-out step which brings the mash temp up to 168F by adding/infusing more water, stirring, putting the cover back on and waiting 10 more minutes before vourlaufing and draining your first runnings. My Beersmith software says to add just about 2 gal at 198F to get your temps up to 168F. This is where I find I miss most often being too low and need additional hot water avail.

When draining your first and second runnings I would suggest you open the drain very very slowly and a maximum of 1/2 turn of your drain valve until near the end when you can open it up more. It might take 45 minutes to do this step. If the flow stops before you have the tun drained, open the lid, restir everything up good and revourlauf before you continue with your first runnings. Wayne suggests using about 1/2# of presoaked rice hulls in your mash to help with keeping your first/second runnings draining properly because of the wheat malt.

After the first runnings are drained you can proceed with your batch sparge. To get your final boil volume from the second runnings your sparge water addition should be about 3.9 Gal and I would suggest adding that water at about 172-174F because your grain temp will most likely drop from the first runnings being drained. I think you can do this in one step instead of two.

Total volume for both runnings should be just shy of 8 gal to allow for evaporation loss during your 90 minute boil. If you have a hydrometer you should measure the specific gravity which should be about 1.047. This will give you a good indication of what mash efficiency you achieved.

Finally read the last comment I made about the spice addition times. You have confused the instructions a little. The spices get added at the last 10 minutes of the boil.

Good luck with your brew! Hope this helps more than confuses you.

 

[BeerBaronBob]

Wow, what an awesome thread. I am just about ready to give it a go with Wayne's last recipe as follows but have just a couple of questions.

Looking at supplier options, the Weyermann Wheat I am seeing is Pale Wheat. Is this correct for the style? The SRM looks right.

Based on my suppliers Hallertau pellets (3.8%) the IBUs will be more like 20.5 per Beersmith. Do I lower the .ozs, add later or just call this close enough to the original 17.5 units? (Definitely like the non-bitterness of the commercial Blue Moon).

Been using rice hull on all my AG brews but this is the first I have heard of pre-soaking. What is the reason for this?

Finally, I might be crazy but I seem to see somewhere buried in either this thread or another whit thread about pitching two smack packs in a 5 gal batch. Is one 1056 enough?

The original recipe uses US 2 Row Pale Malt and US White Wheat Malt. Wayne has suggested if you wish to tweak the original recipe you can substitute Vienna for the regular 2 Row. I am cracking a keg of this variation this weekend. I used regular White Wheat Malt not the Weyermann Pale. I also used 1.5# of Flaked Oats.

I presoak (not very long.. maybe a couple of minutes) my rice hulls in hot water because they absorb a bunch of water and it helps me hit my mash temps and runnings volumes better.

I always use a starter so only use one smack pack but the amount of yeast you need is generally dependent on the amount of attenuation you expect . higher yeast cell counts for higher gravity beers. Your recipe above if it is for 5.25 gal calcs to an estimated OG of 1.068 at 75% efficiency in my Beersmith which is a little high for this style. Im only using about 10# of grain in my recipes with an OG of 1.057 at 75% eff. Check out My Malty for more about this but if you dont use a starter, you could use two smack packs and should be OK. This kind of beer does not need two if you target an OG of 1.054. I make sure my yeast is a fresh as possible, and I use a starter to make sure the yeast is active before I get to pitching time. If the yeast ends up being bad or too old I can then get another pack and can pitch directly on brew day if I need to. Proper aeration of the wort is also a factor. Make sure you shake up your carboy good prior to pitching so your yeast gets enough O2 to work. Underpitching is just as bad as over pitching so the right amount is really dependent on a lot of factors including age of the smack pack and how it was stored in transit to you.

Finally 1.5 oz of 3.2% Hallertau for 60 min gives you about 17.7 IBUs in a 5.25 gal batch.

Hope this helps!

 

[midfielder5]

ten more gallons of Wayne's first version--- it rocks!
I added fresh ginger along w/ orange zest after fermentation quieted down.

 

[ThomInSC]

The original recipe uses US 2 Row Pale Malt and US White Wheat Malt. Wayne has suggested if you wish to tweak the original recipe you can substitute Vienna for the regular 2 Row. I am cracking a keg of this variation this weekend. I used regular White Wheat Malt not the Weyermann Pale. I also used 1.5# of Flaked Oats.

I presoak (not very long.. maybe a couple of minutes) my rice hulls in hot water because they absorb a bunch of water and it helps me hit my mash temps and runnings volumes better.

I always use a starter so only use one smack pack but the amount of yeast you need is generally dependent on the amount of attenuation you expect . higher yeast cell counts for higher gravity beers. Your recipe above if it is for 5.25 gal calcs to an estimated OG of 1.068 at 75% efficiency in my Beersmith which is a little high for this style. Im only using about 10# of grain in my recipes with an OG of 1.057 at 75% eff. Check out My Malty for more about this but if you dont use a starter, you could use two smack packs and should be OK. This kind of beer does not need two if you target an OG of 1.054. I make sure my yeast is a fresh as possible, and I use a starter to make sure the yeast is active before I get to pitching time. If the yeast ends up being bad or too old I can then get another pack and can pitch directly on brew day if I need to. Proper aeration of the wort is also a factor. Make sure you shake up your carboy good prior to pitching so your yeast gets enough O2 to work. Underpitching is just as bad as over pitching so the right amount is really dependent on a lot of factors including age of the smack pack and how it was stored in transit to you.

Finally 1.5 oz of 3.2% Hallertau for 60 min gives you about 17.7 IBUs in a 5.25 gal batch.

Hope this helps!

Thanks BBB, I really haven't been tracking my eff but I suspect it is more like 70-72 % and I generally shoot for a 5.5 gal batch to account for losses between the kettle to primary to secondary so that might be some of the differences. Regardless, I have reworked my grain bill and hops to now have what looks like OG 1.055 and IBU 16.9. I will give the hull pre-soak a go and plan to pitch one pack. Hopefully be giving a report on how the mash and boil go next weekend.

Thom

 

[nilo]

Here's my 3rd attempt.

4.5# wheat malt
5# 2row >>>>> CORRECTED AT 6/6/11 TO SHOW CORRECT AMOUNT OF 2 ROW MALT USED. IT WAS SHOWING 4 POUNDS BEFORE.
2# crystal 10L
1/2# carapils
1/2# flaked oats boiled for 1h
1oz hallertauer for 60min
1/4oz coriander for 10min
1/2oz sweet orange peel for 10min
1/2oz bitter orange peel for 10min
Mashed at 157F, fermented at 66F with S04

OG=1.051
FG=1.011
ABV=5.2%
IBU=13
SRM=7

Comments: I got some phenolic taste, just a little, could be the boiled oats?
Boiling oats did increase thickness/body to something very close to the real BM.
If I had to change anything to this recipe, it would be the oats, perhaps 1/2# boiled for only 10min.

Here's how it looks like and a test I did, not sure if means anything, but knocked as much CO2 as possible out of each beer and tested gravity. Look what I got.

 

[bmickey]

To clarify Wayne suggested starting with the ratio that the original Blue Moon was deigned at.

3:1 is the ratio of corriander to orange peel but the approx equivalent amount for a 5 gal batch is 1oz ground corriander for the last 10 minutes of boil and 0.3 oz of ground sweet valencia orange peel for the last 5 minutes of boil - ground or fresh zest has been suggested as well.

Good luck with your brew.

So 1oz of corriander is 6 tsp right? I will make sure I adjust accordingly tomorrow!

 

[bmickey]

My first All Grain batch is bubbling away in my primary!

 

[tremec77]

Here's my 3rd attempt.

4.5# wheat malt
4# 2row
2# crystal 10L
1/2# carapils
1/2# flaked oats boiled for 1h
1oz hallertauer for 60min
1/4oz coriander for 10min
1/2oz sweet orange peel for 10min
1/2oz bitter orange peel for 10min
Mashed at 157F, fermented at 66F with S04

OG=1.051
FG=1.011
ABV=5.2%
IBU=13
SRM=7

So you have removed the rice hulls all together?

 

[nilo]

So you have removed the rice hulls all together?

Correct, no rice hulls

 

[midfielder5]

why no rice hulls? have you brewed it yet?

 

[Wayne1]

I would say nilo doesn't need rice hulls in his recipe because he is not mashing with the oats. The combination of wheat and oats is what turns the mash into a gelatinous mass of goop.

Just malted wheat and barley aren't really hard to lauter.

Please remember that everyone's system is a bit different. In nilo's system with the ingredients available to him and for his taste, he felt that the original recipe wasn't giving him the mouthfeel and color that the current commercial version of Blue Moon offer.

The way YOU brew might turn out a different result.

Try the original recipe. Try the "new" version I recently posted. Try nilo's version. compare them all them see which one you like the best.

We have strayed a bit from an exact clone of the original Blue Moon to dialing in a homebrew version of what is currently being sold. That's just fine with me. I appreciate the feedback of everyone who has tried out the various versions offered in this thread.

I may even try to brew up a version this summer

 

[bmickey]

Well it is fermenting away!

 

[Snotpoodle]

Hi Wayne,

Just to let you know, the first batch came out beautifully, I followed your recipe almost to the letter.

So good in fact, that my province's brew club asked me to brew one up for our beer festival, and to compete in the Specialty beers category.

For this run I will be using the right coriander / orange ratio, as i felt the coriander didn't come through (i had them in even measures), and I am going to give the Danstar Belgian Yeast a go, i felt my Safale Belgian didnt give me enough zing / clove.

This is a fantastic recipe, thanks for all the advice, I'll pop my recipe up in a few minutes, as I'll be putting down the brew this Saturday.

 

[rack04]

My LHBS has Great Western Wheat Malt, Weyermann Light Wheat, and Weyermann Dark Wheat. Which wheat malt is the one I should be using for this recipe?

 

[midfielder5]

either the GW or Weyermann light.

 

[Wayne1]

midfielder5 is correct. The Weyermann pale wheat would be the best choice, but the GW Wheat Malt would be fine. In fact that is what was used in the first batches of Blue Moon brewed at SandLot.

I have just gone back and edited the recipe I posted in post #274.

I have added a bit more detail with times and temps and water amounts. This is roughly the mashing program I use in my system. I hope it will work out for yours.

I fly sprage, so I did not add any detail for batch sparging.

For anyone who does make this recipe, I would appreciate some feedback to this thread.

 

[rack04]

So has anyone compared the original recipe with 2-row vs vienna? I'm wondering it the vienna provides the body that we are used to with Blue Moon.

 

[midfielder5]

I have made 20 gallons of Wayne's first recipe & don't had any complaints about the body. I have drank it side by side the real thing many, many, many times. GF loves Blue Moon so we always have it in bottles.
It is perfect, IMO. but to each, his/her own!

thanks Wayne.

 

[Snotpoodle]

And its brewday, here is the recipe I am using for todays Belgian Wit (Blue Moon Clone).

Belgian Halfwit

Brew Type: All Grain Date: 3/19/2011
Batch Size: 25.00 L Assistant Brewer:
Boil Volume: 28.62 L Boil Time: 60 min


Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
2.50 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.2 %
2.50 kg Wheat Malt, Pale (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.2 %
0.30 kg Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 5.7 %
40.00 gm Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.60%] (60 min) Hops 18.0 IBU
0.40 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
0.63 oz Chamomile Flower (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1.20 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Belgian White Ale Yeast (Danstar) or White labs that i have washed from last time.

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.049 SG (1.044-1.050 SG) Measured Original Gravity: 1.050 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.014 SG (1.006-1.010 SG) Measured Final Gravity: SG
Estimated Color: 3.5 SRM (2.5-5.1 SRM) Color [Color]
Bitterness: 18.0 IBU (15.0-25.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 1.0 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 4.5 % (4.8-5.3 %) Actual Alcohol by Volume: 0.6 %
Actual Calories: 90 cal/l

All on track for a great brewday, weather is overcast, so should be a good one for a blue moon!

UpdatE: Brewday was a resounding success. Hit the 1.050 Og nicely on a perfect 25L batch. Fermenter is chugging away quietly after a healthy starter was pitched.

Yay more Belgian Wit!

 

[fdemt84]

Well it is fermenting away!

Is that a Kruezberg bottle back there in the corner?

 

[nilo]

I'm just drinking my blue moon clone as I type and one thing I learned, our clones will never be like the commercial beer, you know why?
Whatever we brew, is better than the commercial version, seriously. Just taste much better.
I have been testing my batches side by side with BM and I, and others, have always came to the conclusion of "the homebrew is much better".
I guess we are trying to prove to ourselves that we CAN brew something close to BM but if we get too close, we'll probably say "ok, I need to brew now something that taste good"
Anyways, just some weird thoughts, I may have had too much of my homebrew at this point