Blue Moon Clone

[nilo]

- Base malts => I guess there isn't much to say other than the part wheat will provide a chill haze and promote the cloudiness expected in this beer. So a mix of 2row and wheat malt makes sense. I have brewed beers with 100% wheat malt and it did come out quite good, so that option could also be explored.

I'll take this back. The photo below is the 100% wheat malt beer that I just brewed, and as seen, it is pretty clear (at 40F). So the haze/cloudiness of BM must come from the oats, perhaps from the flaked wheat if used, not from the wheat malt.
I'm not sure about the flavor profile coming from the wheat malt. I'll let someone more experienced speak to that.

 

[Wild Duk]

Nilo, how long had you bottled with the Oragn peel before you drank it....

Also, How long do you normally keep this brew in the primary....I brewed mine up Sunday, and althought I have not checked the gravity, it appeasrss to be close to done...

Thx

 

[nilo]

Nilo, how long had you bottled with the Oragn peel before you drank it....

Also, How long do you normally keep this brew in the primary....I brewed mine up Sunday, and althought I have not checked the gravity, it appeasrss to be close to done...

Thx

2 TO 3 WEEKS.
I leave in primary a week or two after the gravity is flat.

 

[rjsnau]

I just made recipe nilo's #4 this weekend be accidentally boiled 1# of oats for 15 min. Does anyone know if they beer will be too thick or should it still be ok?

 

[nilo]

I just made recipe nilo's #4 this weekend be accidentally boiled 1# of oats for 15 min. Does anyone know if they beer will be too thick or should it still be ok?

You will get some more of the slimy trub from the oats, like seen on the photo below, but it should be ok. Just let it sediment well before racking after fermentation is completed. Also, watch out for a blow-off on your airlock.

 

[wickman6]

Ok, after reviewing my version of #4, I screwed up. I hadn't entered all the ingredients into my software before printing my brewday worksheet.
The result is I left out the caramel malts, so I used only 2row and wheat.
I bought them, but didn't mash em. Ooops!
My color is a bit light, but I'm ok with that. The beer is for SWMBO, so if she likes it, its a success.
Gonna keg tonight, I'll give it a taste.

 

[gregkeller]

Wow, so i just finished reading all 486 posts, and i've got to say there is a ton of info in there. So i'm gonna give it a try because i want to have a nice spring time beer ready to go for that first great march/april day. Probably will brew sometime in late january or early february once i get a fermenter free. There are so many variations in this thread it's tough to figure out where to start. So I think i'm going to start pretty much with the original recipe. 50% base malt (seems like vienna is ideal? or is there a brand of 2-row to look for that lends a little more flavor??? I'm pretty new to this) 40% wheat and 10% oats. 90 minute boil, 1.052 FG and 17ish IBU's from a noble hop. 3:1 ratio of corriander to sweet orange peel, maybe i'll go with .75oz corriander and .25 oz orange peel. I'd think if i adjust this at all i'll add more orange. Maybe i'll just add more peel to a secondary.

It seems like almost everyone has changed this a little bit. Has anyone brewed the standard recipe as written? What can I expect? Something a little lighter than current blue moon?

 

[Wayne1]

Hello gregkeller,

I did quite a fair amount of drinking in Westwood about 40 years ago. There used to be a bar there called What Ale's Ya? Had Ballantine Ale on draft and Lowenbrau Munich in bottles.

I do not suggest using Vienna for the first try at Blue Moon. I made it this summer and at least in my system it had too much body.

Try the "original" recipe using American two row. Briess should be fine for all the grain. This will give a very light color and body. After your first batch on your system, you can then try some variations to match what you perceive as not being to your taste.

 

[wickman6]

First carbonated taste of my version of nilo's #4 I have to say is pretty good. Pitched yeast new years day and I'm drinking a pint as I type.

The coriander is showing, along with a slight hop bite but not too much of either. I'm sure in the coming weeks, it will mellow nicely. Orange aroma is present, but not strong. Pretty nice light golden color.

I haven't had a Blue Moon in a long time, so I can't say how close it is but what I have here is quite enjoyable. I'll try to leave it alone till next week.

 

[nilo]

Gregkeller, there is no straight answer. You will need to try a recipe, like Wayne suggested, and brew on and on and adjust it to your taste.

wickman6, I know, resist the temptation. I suggest you to get a BM from a store and make a blind test. Get few friends to help!

 

[Snake10]

If you were to enter this in a competition, what category would this beer be in? I'm going on month 2 of this beer and it's really good.
snake10

 

[Wayne1]

You can enter it as 16A Witbier. You might get dinged slightly for using a clean yeast. The description says a bit of lactic sourness is optional, but some judges might be expecting it.

The other category would be 21A Spice, Herb Vegetable. If you have enough bottles you might even enter it in both.

 

[Snake10]

Wayne1,
Thanks, I'm going with the wit. My orange flavor has subsided a bit. My wife is begging me to brew this again. Ill post results again. awesome recipe to say the least.
Snake10

 

[Paxsman]

I have a quick question. I am going to attempt to brew Nilo’s Blue Moon #4 this weekend. I noticed Nilo has an efficiency of 65%. My typical efficiency runs around 75-85%. If I brew the recipe and hit 75% my SG will be at 1.057. So my question is…Will this recipe typically hit a lower efficiency or do I need to adjust the grain bill to match my typical 75%. Or do I need to change my process in an effort to hit a lower efficiency. I am sorry if this is a ridiculous question.
Also I want to thank everyone for the effort put into this thread. There is excellent information and this gives a great head start towards making a great beer. Thank You!

 

[wickman6]

I would have to say my version was a success. SWMBO says it tastes like a lighter variation of the real thing.

Win #1: She actually likes it better than the authentic beer. The lighter mouthfeel makes it more of a thirst quencher.

Win #2: since I forgot the caramel malts, I now have them to use for something else, like a free experiment.

Win #3: easy to drink=nice little buzz=happy me=quick to go=brew more often with 'permission'=happy me!

Also, I said before I would report on the sweetness level. It is not overly sweet, FG ended up 1.012.

 

[wickman6]

Oh, almost forgot.

Thank you everyone here, this is a great thread!

Especially Wayne1, I used your grain bill and mashed my oats as well.

Also nilo, I used your spice schedule and amounts.

The combination of these 2 recipes yielded me a very enjoyable brew.

 

[nilo]

I have a quick question. I am going to attempt to brew Nilo’s Blue Moon #4 this weekend. I noticed Nilo has an efficiency of 65%. My typical efficiency runs around 75-85%. If I brew the recipe and hit 75% my SG will be at 1.057. So my question is…Will this recipe typically hit a lower efficiency or do I need to adjust the grain bill to match my typical 75%. Or do I need to change my process in an effort to hit a lower efficiency. I am sorry if this is a ridiculous question.
Also I want to thank everyone for the effort put into this thread. There is excellent information and this gives a great head start towards making a great beer. Thank You!

Good question. Yes, adjust the 2row, wheat and crystal malts by the same % to get the OG that you are looking for (perhaps 1.050 is a good target), with the efficiency that you have in your system.

 

[jwalker1140]

Wonderful thread, and special thanks to Wayne1 and nilo for their invaluable contributions. I would like to do a partial mash that features Wayne1's grain % and Nilo's #4 spice additions. I'm something of a noob at this so could someone with more experience take a look at this and tell me if I'm on the right path?

1.5 lbs 2 row
1.0 lbs white wheat malt
1.0 lbs flaked oats
3.5 lbs wheat LME (65% wheat/35% base) @ flameout
1.5 lbs pilsner LME (LHBS carries this rather than pale) @ flameout
1.0 oz hallertauer mittlefruh (4%) @ 60 min.
2.0 oz sweet orange peel @ 10 min.
1.0 oz bitter orange peel @ 10 min.
0.375 oz coriander @ 10 min.
Safale US-05

Batch size: 5.25, efficiency: 75%, OG: 1.053, IBU: 15.6, SRM: 3.4, est ABV: 5.4%

I tried hard to hit Wayne1's %s (i.e., 50% 2row, 40% white wheat, 10% flaked oats) but I may have miscalculated. I basically multiplied the amount of LME by 1.33 to get a grain equivalent (the reciprocal of using .75 to convert grain to LME). This gives me the equivalent of 5.1 lbs of 2row, 4 lbs of wheat malt and 1 lb of flaked oats, I think.

Again, any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Jason

 

[brewit2it]

Wonderful thread, and special thanks to Wayne1 and nilo for their invaluable contributions. I would like to do a partial mash that features Wayne1's grain % and Nilo's #4 spice additions. I'm something of a noob at this so could someone with more experience take a look at this and tell me if I'm on the right path?

1.5 lbs 2 row
1.0 lbs white wheat malt
1.0 lbs flaked oats
3.5 lbs wheat LME (65% wheat/35% base) @ flameout
1.5 lbs pilsner LME (LHBS carries this rather than pale) @ flameout
1.0 oz hallertauer mittlefruh (4%) @ 60 min.
2.0 oz sweet orange peel @ 10 min.
1.0 oz bitter orange peel @ 10 min.
0.375 oz coriander @ 10 min.
Safale US-05

Batch size: 5.25, efficiency: 75%, OG: 1.053, IBU: 15.6, SRM: 3.4, est ABV: 5.4%

I tried hard to hit Wayne1's %s (i.e., 50% 2row, 40% white wheat, 10% flaked oats) but I may have miscalculated. I basically multiplied the amount of LME by 1.33 to get a grain equivalent (the reciprocal of using .75 to convert grain to LME). This gives me the equivalent of 5.1 lbs of 2row, 4 lbs of wheat malt and 1 lb of flaked oats, I think.

Again, any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Jason

Looks good!! I personally would boil the LME for at least a the last 5 minutes just to make sure you get full mixing, and would start with a lot less sweet orange peel and no bitter orange peel since you can always add an orange slice, and can add more next batch if you feel it wasn't enough, but you can't take any out if you find it is too much for you.

 

[jwalker1140]

Looks good!! I personally would boil the LME for at least a the last 5 minutes just to make sure you get full mixing, and would start with a lot less sweet orange peel and no bitter orange peel since you can always add an orange slice, and can add more next batch if you feel it wasn't enough, but you can't take any out if you find it is too much for you.

Brew2it, thanks for the feedback. The amount of orange peel seems like a lot to me too. It's much more than most other wit or Blue Moon 'clone' recipes I've seen, but people on this thread seem to really like it.

 

[gregkeller]

Alright, gonna brew this next weekend. Going with the very basic recipe from page 1.

5.5 lbs of 2 row
4 lbs white wheat
1 lbs oats

.75 oz german tradition (didn't have hallertauer hops)

1.0 oz ground corriander (gonna grind the seeds myself
.5 oz ground sweet orange peel (getting this from austin home brew, looks like i've got to grind it myself also)

Question on the yeast. This is what i've got, what would you use:

S-04
S-05
S-33
WB-06

right now i'm leaning towards S-05, but i keep coming back to the idea of using the WB-06 and fermenting low (like 62-64). From what i can find, it seems like a lot of people have had good results with this yeast in american wheat style beers. Also don't want to overpower the corriander and orange, but thought the cooler fermentation temps would keep the esters in check. Ideas?

 

[shadows69]

So5 is what I use, also .08 lbs for the corriander dry hopped with the sweet orange peel. No need the grind the orange peal. Thats the way I do it, someone else may do it at boil. It just the way I prefer has a better taste to me.

 

[gregkeller]

How do you find the flavor "better" is it stronger? More fresh? I could see the boil and fermentation causing you to lose some of those fresh flavors. If I "dry spice" do you grind the coriander or smash it up or put it in whole? Also how long should I dry spice?

 

[shadows69]

Dry spice for 5 days and grind it. Seems to have more flavor. Soak in voka 24 hrs before hand.

 

[brewit2it]

So5 is what I use, also .08 lbs for the corriander dry hopped with the sweet orange peel. No need the grind the orange peal. Thats the way I do it, someone else may do it at boil. It just the way I prefer has a better taste to me.

Do you really use .08 Lb corriander? That's a full 1.25 OZ spice bottle per 5 gallon batch, and about 5 times as much as I would use.

 

[bassballboy]

Which Wyeast strain do you guys use with this recipe? I'm assuming the witbier strain, but I personally want to avoid the "spice" flavor as I'm going to skip the orange and coriander and use blue berries and a small amount of lemon... Maybe the American Wheat strain?

 

[gregkeller]

Dry spice for 5 days and grind it. Seems to have more flavor. Soak in voka 24 hrs before hand.

OK, last question. Do you put the spices in for the whole of the fermentation, or maybe just the last 5 days before i rack it into a keg?

 

[gregkeller]

Which Wyeast strain do you guys use with this recipe? I'm assuming the witbier strain, but I personally want to avoid the "spice" flavor as I'm going to skip the orange and coriander and use blue berries and a small amount of lemon... Maybe the American Wheat strain?

From the start of this, the guy who worked on developing this recipe originally, said a neutral yeast like S-05, then i think later on he mentioned S-04. Not sure what others are using, i'm going back and forth between s-05 and WB-06. I'd like a little spiciness, but no cloves or bananas, I really want the orange and coriander to shine through. I think i'm going to us S-o5 first, and then maybe i'll do another batch with the wb-06.

 

[bratrules]

I got a recipe that am doing this week. i want to know if anybody has use T-58 with this type of recipe and what was there experience.

here is my recipe
5 lbs Pale malt
4 lbs flaked wheat
1 lbs rolled oats
1/2 lbs carapils

how do you think that will work with Safbrew t-58?

 

[bassballboy]

From the start of this, the guy who worked on developing this recipe originally, said a neutral yeast like S-05, then i think later on he mentioned S-04. Not sure what others are using, i'm going back and forth between s-05 and WB-06. I'd like a little spiciness, but no cloves or bananas, I really want the orange and coriander to shine through. I think i'm going to us S-o5 first, and then maybe i'll do another batch with the wb-06.

S-05 is their American Ale... Looking at Wyeast they have the same thing, but from their descriptions I think I might just give the Wyeast American wheat a try. Thanks!