Blue Moon Clone

[shadows69]

GusWatab...yes you can add it in the secondary. If fact i think it has much more flavor doing it that way. Just soak the lemon or any zest in vodka before adding to the secondary. The coriander does not need to be soaked, crush it with a rolling pin in a zip lock bag. I use a hop bag and put everything (Orange zest, lemon zest, lime zest, coriander for Shock Top) into the primary after 2 weeks. I keep it in there for a week. Also, as mentioned 1.25 oz is way to much coriander, keep it under 1 oz.

 

[Poobah58]

Poobah58,

I am interested to hear how this turns out. I also followed post #362 (but added .5 oz of Orange extract at bottling for 5.5 gallons). Two weeks in the bottles and the aroma is awesome but the taste is like orange crush with a punch in the face coriander aftertaste. I'm hoping another week or two and it will calm down. I saw another post where someone mentioned that 1.25 oz of coriander was possibly too much.

Finally had a glass tonight. Very nice. The SWMBO loves it! There is definately some orange in there but not overpowering. Coriander is very faint. This might be a yearly brew...

 

[ekjohns]

so the orange extract mellowed out and blended nicely?

 

[Poobah58]

so the orange extract mellowed out and blended nicely?

I didn't use the extract. That was psusoccer21...

 

[petrostar]

Tasted mine today with a blue moon side by side comparison. Lets be honest, there isnt one.

I used the 4th veesion of nilos recipe and with only 4 days in the keg. The beer is just great. The head is great. The color os just barely darker than normal blue moon. I will say that is because of my effiency.

Overall, would I brew this again? Hell yes! And I cant wait until this mellows out a bit more in the keg. Thank you nilo and others who have troubleshooted the ingredients for the rest of us. Btw, I used cali 001 yeast.

 

[Jackhole]

Hey i asked Nilo about his #3 recipe. And i also got his input on and extract recipe i made up. He gave me this recipe:
-2.5 pounds wheat malt syrup
-3 pounds golden light DME
-2 pounds chrystal 10L
-.5 pounds carapils
-.5 pounds flaked oats

-1 oz. hallertau
-1/4 oz. coriander
-1/2 oz. sweet and 1/2 oz. bitter orange peels

s-04 yeast for 8 days at 66F

Has anyone brewed this?

 

[Poobah58]

Tapped on 5/25.... Dead on 5/30! Very popular stuff amongst the family...

 

[nilo]

Has anyone tried to add the orange extract after fermentation, when bottling or kegging?
I would think this could keep the aromas from evaporating, what surelly does happen if added to boil or primary.
I'm planning to do a batch that way and see what happen (#5), perhaps 10ml = 2 tea spoons to 5gal batch. Will use same #4 recipe other than replacing the orange zest with extract.

 

[brewit2it]

I brewed a partial mash version recently but just tried it yesterday. If anyone is looking for a PM variation on some of the prior ones listed or simply doesn't want to look through 30 pages to find it, this one came out damn good, I must say.

5 gallon batch:
2.5# White wheat
2.5# american 2 row
14 oz quick oats
2 oz dextrine malt
2# pilsner LME
1oz Sterling Pellets
1 tsp ground corriander
1/2 tsp ground valencia orange peel (McCorrmicks)

I ground the barley, white wheat, and oats together with a medium to fine crush. Mashed in a bag at 155 70 minutes in 2.75 gallons filtered water.
Dunk sparged in that pot 5 minutes then dunked sparged in second pot of 2.5 gallon 170 degree water. 90 minute boil, added hops at 60 minutes. I used Sterling hops since it was the only Noble type hops I had, and had the correct profile and AA. IBU's probably a little high around 21 or so. Corriander added with 10 minutes remaining, orange peel with 5 minutes remaining. Cooled to around 70 and pitch 1 pack rehydrated Notty, fermented in mid-upper 60's 2 weeks (it was pretty much done in 3 days though) then straight to keg. Force carbed/crashed x 4 days or so and drank the first one last night.

The color is really perfect, white/yellow, more like what Wayne describes as the original than what is sold now which has darker yellow-orange color, not a true white. To me the bitterness is also excellent, very subtle, comes on in the finish. The corriander seems right on but the orange is only slightly detectable and I agree with others, it needs to be scaled up a bit unless you are always going to serve with a slice, in which case this amount is probably fine. The body is not nearly as thin as most seem to be reporting, maybe because of the dextrine, or the mash temp? Overall it came out great and I will definitely be making this again. I will probably increase the orange peel to 1 tsp and go 1.25 tsp on the corriander. I think the 3:1 wont get you the orange flavor with the McCorrmicks since it probably isn't that fresh as what Wayne had available.

Anyway, just wanted to keep the thread going and list my version. Thanks much Wayne, I know my ratios are off a little but pretty close to teh original and very good for a PM brewer since you can get white wheat in 5 lbs and use half and save half and the oats come in 42 oz so the 14 oz is a third, then throw in the 2 oz carapils and you have an even 6 lbs grain which is kind of the upper limits for many PM brewers.

Let me know what you all think.

 

[Poobah58]

Batch number 2 getting done tomorrow. 1st batch lasted less than a week (see post #362). It was so good I don't need to change anything except for what I have on hand. Don't have any white wheat so I'm using pale wheat. I only have 1 pack of S-05 yeast. I'm doing 10 gallons so half will get Nottingham. I finished at 1.007 last time so I'm bumping up the mash temp a bit even though it was a great beer!

Batch Size: 10.00 gal
Boil Time: 75 Minutes
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %

8 lbs Pale Malt (Can -2 Row) (2.0 SRM) 39.02%
8 lbs Wheat Malt, Pale (2.0 SRM) 39.02%
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.0 SRM) 9.76%
2 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) 9.76%
8.0 oz Carapils (1.5 SRM) 2.50 %
1.00 oz Liberty [4.30 %] (75 min) (Mash Hop) 2.4 IBU
1.50 oz Crystal [3.20 %] (75 min) (FWH) 8.7 IBU
1.50 oz Crystal [3.20 %] (60 min) 9.7 IBU
1.00 tsp Sweet Orange Peel, Ground (Boil 5.0 min)
2.50 tsp Coriander, Ground (Boil 10.0 min)
1.50 lb Rice Hulls (Mash 60.0 min)
1 Pkg S-05
1 Pkg Nottingham

75 min Saacrification 156.0 F
10 min Mash Out 168.0 F

 

[Geigon]

I'm planning to brew Nilo's #3 today but noticed that the ingredients list for #3 in post #304 lists 4lbs of 2 row, whereas post 328 says 5lbs, I'm guessing that this is a transcription error and that the first recipe listing is correct. i.e. 4lbs not 5lbs of 2 row. Can someone confirm? I 'm planning to grind my whole coriander and will also grind the dried Valencia peels that I bought yesterday using a spice grinder. I'm planning to use just Valencia per Wayne's original recipe.

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading through this thread and the collaborative nature of the evolution towards achieving a recipe with the current Blue Moon taste. I wonder whether one of the missing steps is that to get it just right one must next brew this on Aug. 31, 2012 ( the next blue moon) perhaps by then we'll be ready. I just can't wait ;-)

Thanks,
-Brad

 

[nilo]

I'm planning to brew Nilo's #3 today but noticed that the ingredients list for #3 in post #304 lists 4lbs of 2 row, whereas post 328 says 5lbs, I'm guessing that this is a transcription error and that the first recipe listing is correct. i.e. 4lbs not 5lbs of 2 row. Can someone confirm? I 'm planning to grind my whole coriander and will also grind the dried Valencia peels that I bought yesterday using a spice grinder. I'm planning to use just Valencia per Wayne's original recipe.

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading through this thread and the collaborative nature of the evolution towards achieving a recipe with the current Blue Moon taste. I wonder whether one of the missing steps is that to get it just right one must next brew this on Aug. 31, 2012 ( the next blue moon) perhaps by then we'll be ready. I just can't wait ;-)

Thanks,
-Brad

Brad, the correct amount of 2 row used in recipe 3 was 5 pounds. I have corrected post 304. Thanks for catching that.
FYI, I have recipe 5 fermenting right now. For some weird reason, I can't stick to one recipe, always plugging in something new to see what happen. Repeating recipe 4 now but will use orange extract, to be added during priming/bottling.
Let us know how your batch turns out.

 

[Geigon]

Thanks Nilo. This batch (brewed on Sat) has 4 lbs of 2 row. O.G. was 1.052. It's bubbling away nicely now. I'm looking forward to the final result. In the next batch I'll go with 5 lbs.

Cheers,
-Brad

 

[nuttzman]

Nilo,

Is your attempt #4 recipe for a 5 or 10 gallon batch?

 

[nilo]

Nilo,

Is your attempt #4 recipe for a 5 or 10 gallon batch?

All my attempts were 5gal batches.

Thanks,

Nilo

 

[nilo]

I have posted a recipe tracker to the link below.
i'll keep that updated as I test new batches.
Let me know if you see anything wrong.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...MGY1YS00YjJjLWE5ZDktMmQ2ODdmMzljNDUz&hl=en_US

Thanks,

Nilo

 

[Wild Duk]

Nilo, nice spreadsheet.....

About how many tbsp/tsp would you say .375 oz. of coriander equals per your #4...

Thx

 

[nilo]

Nilo, nice spreadsheet.....

About how many tbsp/tsp would you say .375 oz. of coriander equals per your #4...

Thx

Duk, that is exactly 2 table spoons of coriander, whole, before cracking it.

 

[BrewBrain]

Holy carp this thread is long. Sorry for the questions here - I'm sure they are in the first 40 pages someplace

My dad is visiting soon and wants me to brew a Blue Moon clone. He doesn't generally like beer, but tried this one and liked it. Unfortunately, I am not a wheat beer fan and know nothing about brewing wits.

1) So, if I brew this, can we drink it in 5 weeks? I think wheats are supposed to drink quicker than standard pale ales, etc., no?

2) Orange peel - do I just zest an orange? The outer skin? Or should I take the entire peel and grind it up?

3) If I keg this, will it be too clear? Should I just bottle it and hope for carbonation in time?

Thanks.

 

[nilo]

my 2c:
1)5 weeks is fine
2)Zest 2 oranges. Avoid the white underneath that can add bitter taste. You don't need to grind it, just chop, add to 1/2 cup of vodka while you brew the batch or the day before, than throw all into primary before or after pitching the yeast. I find that most aromas would evaporate if you boil the peels, specially the fresh peels.
3)I don't keg, but I don't think it would make any difference on how clear it looks. 5 weeks in bottles will give you plenty of carbonation. Use 3/4 to 1 cup prime sugar for 5gal batch.

 

[BrewBrain]

my 2c:
1)5 weeks is fine
2)Zest 2 oranges. Avoid the white underneath that can add bitter taste. You don't need to grind it, just chop, add to 1/2 cup of vodka while you brew the batch or the day before, than throw all into primary before or after pitching the yeast. I find that most aromas would evaporate if you boil the peels, specially the fresh peels.
3)I don't keg, but I don't think it would make any difference on how clear it looks. 5 weeks in bottles will give you plenty of carbonation. Use 3/4 to 1 cup prime sugar for 5gal batch.

Thanks! I'll do this on Sunday and drink on Aug. 1st.

 

[nilo]

Just tried my #5 and this is how it looked like. A little too dark.
Tasting wise, I didn't like it. The orange extract (McCormick) didn't do its job and it tasted weird, takes a while to figure out what it tastes like. A no go for me.
Updated recipe sheet was posted to
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BxL7TXS8tHPsNWM2YmQ1YTYtMGY1YS00YjJjLWE5ZDktMmQ2ODdmMzljNDUz&hl=en_US

I would stick with #4 for now.

 

[BrewBrain]

OK, just put my first wit into the bucket this morning. I went basically with recipe #4 with small changes based on ingredients on hand. Also drank my first Blue Moon last night just to see what all the fuss is about. Not bad. Still not a big fan of the style though.

 

[AfternoonReview]

I just bottled a 3 gallon batch that I scaled down from the early recipe that Wayne1 posted. I'll chime in on how it tastes in a few weeks... The wort tasted great, but hard to tell if there was any resemblance to Blue Moon.

 

[BrewVegas]

Haven't had time to read the whole thread....but I just printed the PDF with the different recipes. Which one should I brew all-grain this weekend?

 

[nilo]

#4

 

[BrewBrain]

After about a million all barley batches, this is my first wheat beer. Is it normal to have about six feet of trub on the bottom of the fermenter?

 

[mlg5039]

After about a million all barley batches, this is my first wheat beer. Is it normal to have about six feet of trub on the bottom of the fermenter?

Next time try a protein rest for 15 mind, then raise the mash to conversion temps. Also use whirlfloc or Irish moss. Also get a good hot/cold break. Etc etc. Whirlpool and leave the sludge in the kettle.

This all will result in less trunk in the fermenter.

 

[newtobrew5]

Great thread. I have a Northern Brewer Bavarian Hefeweizen extract kit I would like to convert into a BM-esque clone. This is brew no. 3 and the first one to stray from a kit, so I'm looking for a little help. It doesn't need to be a perfect clone, and I would like to use as many of my existing ingredients as possible (6 lbs wheat LME (65/35 wheat to pale malt ratio), 1 lbs wheat dme (same ratio)), and 1 oz tettnang). Here's my proposed recipe, let me know if you have any thoughts (if the abv is a little high, say 6%, I'm o.k. with that):

-6 lbs wheat DME (late addition)
-1 lbs wheat DME (60 min)(needed given the crystal?)
-2 lbs crystal 10L (steeped)(is this too much considering the other me additions?)
-.5 lbs carapils (steeped)
-.5 lb flaked oats (15 min boil)

-1 oz. tettnang (60 mins)
-1/4 oz. coriander (5-10 min)
-3 fresh valencia orange peels in primary (do those go in a nylon bag or loose?)

Wy1056 or WLP001 @ 68

Also, will the orange peels and the oats leave to much of a mess on my yeast cake to re-pitch onto it?

Happy to contribute my results to the project, though clearly you are all operating on a much higher plane.

 

[smagee]

I'd definitely drop at least a pound of the crystal there, especially with all that extract. Regarding the peels, I've pitched loose plenty and had no ill effects, but it does clutter the cake a bit. If you want to use it again for a different batch, I'd bag them.