American Wheat Beer Citrus Weizen

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FSR402

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
2,808
Reaction score
30
Location
Jenison, MI
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Nottingham
Yeast Starter
none
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
none
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.25
Original Gravity
1.055
Final Gravity
1.012
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
15.4
Color
7.0
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
7
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14
Additional Fermentation
none
6# Wheat DME (60/40 of wheat and pils)
1 oz. Hallertauer hops at 3.2% for 60 minuts of boil
at 15 minutes left of the boil add the zest (the outer part of the peals) of 4 large orange and lemons

1 packet of Nottingham dry yeast.

This has turned out great and the wife even loves it. A very soft, sweet summer beer with the hint of citrus.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Sounds just about perfect. ;)

Thanks. That clone recipe I got from you is in the fermenter right now and will be bottled either this weekend or next depending on what kind of time I have.
I checked the gravity last night and it was right on and tasted damn good. :mug:
I did change that one up a little though. Did not use the grains you called for but switch it to 1# of crystal 10L and .5# of carpel steeped for 30 minutes in 1.5 gal at 155* then steeped for 10 minutes in 1.5gal (different pot) at 170* . Added the two pots together +3gal and brewed as normal for an extract full boil.
 
Quick question, when you say 4 large oranges and lemons, do you mean 4 oranges and 4 lemons or 2 and 2?
 
Sounds great, I'm going to give this a whirl next weekend. Will be pitching on top of my yeast cake from a hefe I brewed last weekend. I'll let you know how it goes :)
 
No telling where this will end...:confused:

If you use a German Weizen yeast for the banana flavor then add the zest from 4 oranges and 4 lemons, add some raspberry flavoring, then cherry, etc., we can call it a Fruit Cocktail Weizen...:D
 
homebrewer_99 said:
No telling where this will end...:confused:

If you use a German Weizen yeast for the banana flavor then add the zest from 4 oranges and 4 lemons, add some raspberry flavoring, then cherry, etc., we can call it a Fruit Cocktail Weizen...:D
Hmm, now you have me thinking.. :D


The strawberry hefe I have going now is really putting off A LOT of bannana which should go great with the strawberries I'm going to rack it onto.
 
Should the zest be in a brew bag or straight in????

Bottled: Oktoberfest
brewing: Citrus weizenbier
 
ETbury said:
Should the zest be in a brew bag or straight in????

Bottled: Oktoberfest
brewing: Citrus weizenbier
I just dumped it right in. At the time I brewed this I was having to rack it to the bucket. But my gear has been upgraded now so if I was to do it again and I will be later this winter I will use a bag so that it does not plug anything up.

So it will depend on how your brew pot is set up and how you transfer.
 
Brewed my version of this citrus weizen today. Here is the BeerSmith recipe:

Recipe: American Citrus Weizen
Brewer: Roaring Bull Brewery
Style: Weizen/Weissbier
TYPE: Extract

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 3.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 6.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 12.3 IBU
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 83.3 %
0.33 oz Northern Brewer [11.40%] (60 min) Hops 12.8 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.40%] (5 min) Hops 1.5 IBU
4.00 each Orange and Lemon Zest (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 lb Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 16.7 %
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #S-05) Yeast-Ale

Pitched the rehydrated S-05 in 68' wort at 2PM EST. We'll see how long this takes to start and I'll let y'all know how it is when complete. Smelled good though!! :ban:
 
Couple notes on my version. I put it in primary and let it go for 12 days... When I opened the fermenter it must have had one violent ferment! There was krausen to the lid of the 6.5g bucket and even on the end of the airlock!?

Anyway, onto the good stuff. I figured I'd go straight to the bottle with this since it is an unfiltered weizen. I primed it with 4.4oz of priming sugar and bottled - which reminded me why I need kegs SOON - aiming for 2.7 volumes CO2.

The beer bottled was very hazy/cloudy, but I can deal with that. Next time I will try some irish moss and some gelatin after the ferment completes I think though... or maybe a secondary, but not this time.

I tasted the last bottle b/c it was only 1/3 full. I know it had the priming solution in it, which sweetens it up a bit, but it tasted great. Very light in body/mouthfeel - understandable considering it was 5lb. DME, no steeped grains like crystal for body, and 1 lb. honey which lightens it even mroe. Should feel a little better on the tongue with carbonation though. Either way, it was VERY refreshing and just the perfect touch of citrus flavor at the back of the toungue. This would have been PERFECT when the 90 degree summer days were here.

Ah well, I'll drink it down in fall. This should be a great session wheat...

If i had to make any changes nex time it would be something to clear it a tad and maybe some sort of steeped 10L crystal or something, but I'll check back once its carbed b/c I'm not even sure thats necessary... Also, the next time I may go with .75 oz Cascade to end...

EDIT: Forgot to add, the beer started at 1.050 and ended at 1.010... Right around 5.2% ABV, 12IBU...
 
SilkkyBrew said:
Couple notes on my version. I put it in primary and let it go for 12 days... When I opened the fermenter it must have had one violent ferment! There was krausen to the lid of the 6.5g bucket and even on the end of the airlock!?

Anyway, onto the good stuff. I figured I'd go straight to the bottle with this since it is an unfiltered weizen. I primed it with 4.4oz of priming sugar and bottled - which reminded me why I need kegs SOON - aiming for 2.7 volumes CO2.

The beer bottled was very hazy/cloudy, but I can deal with that. Next time I will try some irish moss and some gelatin after the ferment completes I think though... or maybe a secondary, but not this time.

I tasted the last bottle b/c it was only 1/3 full. I know it had the priming solution in it, which sweetens it up a bit, but it tasted great. Very light in body/mouthfeel - understandable considering it was 5lb. DME, no steeped grains like crystal for body, and 1 lb. honey which lightens it even mroe. Should feel a little better on the tongue with carbonation though. Either way, it was VERY refreshing and just the perfect touch of citrus flavor at the back of the toungue. This would have been PERFECT when the 90 degree summer days were here.

Ah well, I'll drink it down in fall. This should be a great session wheat...

If i had to make any changes nex time it would be something to clear it a tad and maybe some sort of steeped 10L crystal or something, but I'll check back once its carbed b/c I'm not even sure thats necessary... Also, the next time I may go with .75 oz Cascade to end...

EDIT: Forgot to add, the beer started at 1.050 and ended at 1.010... Right around 5.2% ABV, 12IBU...

Sounds great. Maybe next time steep a half pound of caripils for some more body. But I would not do anything to "clear" this beer. It's a weizen, it should be cloudy.
I only have like 4 or 5 of mine left and I had one last night. Still a great summer hot day wowing the lawn beer... Will make some more this winter so I have it for the summer.
 
I only have two bottles of this stuff left now. I had 4 that I have been saving to see how it ages and I took two of them to a party two nights ago.
I have got to say... Let this age a good two months maybe three and the orange and lemon really comes thru GREAT.. I will have to work in a brew day this winter and do this up again so I have it for the summer. WOW...:rockin:
 
If I wanted to stick with lemon citrus notes and eliminate the orange, how many lemons would you suggest using? Go all eight? Stick with the four? Or split the difference with six? Thanks.
 
tagz said:
If I wanted to stick with lemon citrus notes and eliminate the orange, how many lemons would you suggest using? Go all eight? Stick with the four? Or split the difference with six? Thanks.
That would depend on how much lemon you want. 6 would not be bad but 8 may be to much.
 
Sounds like some orange peels might make a nice addition to my BB Weizen I plan on getting going later this week (once my damn pot comes)
 
Glad I stumbled across this recipe it sounds D-Lish. Im getting ready to brew it tonight, im using cascade hops instead of the halertau. Im also going to add probably a quarter ounce of hops at the end of the boil. Cant believe how simple this recipe is, this is my first weizen I cant wait!
 
Skunkyhops said:
Glad I stumbled across this recipe it sounds D-Lish. Im getting ready to brew it tonight, im using cascade hops instead of the halertau. Im also going to add probably a quarter ounce of hops at the end of the boil. Cant believe how simple this recipe is, this is my first weizen I cant wait!
I would not do that last hops. With a weizen you don't want to smell the hops like you would in a Pale.
 
Oh ok I see. Well I brewed this up on Monday night, using 6# wheat DME (55/45), .5oz whole cascade 7% (60 min), 4 oranges and 4 lemons zest added with 15 min. left in boil, then at 5 minutes to go i added .25oz santiam pellets 4.6%, cooled to 70 in 25 min. w/ ice bath and pitched 1 packet Nottingham's. Its weird the wort was a lot darker than I was expecting it to be almost as dark as my brown ale, but as i started cooling it after the boil it began to slowly get lighter in color. Now after 2 days in primary it has lightened dramatically and looks more like a Weizen. When I was done brewing it up the wort smelled like a box of fruit loops! Thanks for posting the recipe FSR!
 
Skunkyhops said:
Oh ok I see. Well I brewed this up on Monday night, using 6# wheat DME (55/45), .5oz whole cascade 7% (60 min), 4 oranges and 4 lemons zest added with 15 min. left in boil, then at 5 minutes to go i added .25oz santiam pellets 4.6%, cooled to 70 in 25 min. w/ ice bath and pitched 1 packet Nottingham's. Its weird the wort was a lot darker than I was expecting it to be almost as dark as my brown ale, but as i started cooling it after the boil it began to slowly get lighter in color. Now after 2 days in primary it has lightened dramatically and looks more like a Weizen. When I was done brewing it up the wort smelled like a box of fruit loops! Thanks for posting the recipe FSR!
Yeah it's funny how much thw wort changes as it ferments and becomes beer.

I have 10 gallons of a spiced Wit fermenting next to 10 gallons of an APA. Both brewed the same day and right now they look the same. When brewed the APA was dark. With every day they get lighter.
 
Should I pull out the orange and lemon zest before the primary or leave it in thoughout fermentation? I don't want the lemon to overpower everything.
 
crazy_piump said:
Should I pull out the orange and lemon zest before the primary or leave it in thoughout fermentation? I don't want the lemon to overpower everything.
Filter it out as you rack to the fermenter.
 
My pot is only 7 gallons, I'm not gonna risk it.
I wonder what adjustments would need to be made.
 
can i substitute the yeast you specify with Wyeast Bavarian Wheat yeast i'm gonna wash from my current hefe? or will the flavors be off?
 
I just Brewed this Citrus Weizen on St. Patty's Day and I think it's gonna come out very nice. I had to put a blow tube on my pale after about 12 hours and 24 hours after that it's gurgling away. Just a quick question though. Did you rack to a secondary or just go straight to bottle?
 
crazy_piump said:
I just Brewed this Citrus Weizen on St. Patty's Day and I think it's gonna come out very nice. I had to put a blow tube on my pale after about 12 hours and 24 hours after that it's gurgling away. Just a quick question though. Did you rack to a secondary or just go straight to bottle?
At the time I made this I was big into the "always secondary". But if I did it again I would just let it sit an extra week on the yeast and then bottle.
 
I brewed this last Saturday.
I added about 2 lbs of Light DME, an extra 1/2 oz. of hops, zest of 2 limes and did a 3 Gallon Boil.
I just felt like experimenting i guess.

My OG was a little low, 1.041
I'm hoping I just didn't have the wort and water mixed well, and got a diluted reading. I guess I'll know when I taste it.
 
Just a note. I brewed something similar to this thread (may have even posted my recipe in here) and used skins of 3 lemon and 3 orange. Next time I'd cut lemon all together or use 1 less of each. Too much zest IMO. Gave it a strange aroma actually and the taste is just so-so... this was my last extract batch and I have made some good wheats since AG, so maybe that is the problem too.
 
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