Berliner Weisse Fruitpop in Hell (Heavily Fruited Kettle Soured Berliner with Lactose)

[kingmatt]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

L-Planatarum Probiotic/Wyeast 1007 German Ale

Batch Size (Gallons)

2.5

Original Gravity

1.046

Final Gravity

1.010

Boiling Time (Minutes)

20

IBU

5.5

Color

RED!

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

10

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14

Tasting Notes

Tastes like a melted fruit popsicle (hence the name)!

Recipe for 2.5 gal:

Grain bill:

2 lb (21.6%) German Pilsner
1.5 lb (16.2%) German Wheat

Hops:
.75 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 15 min (5.5 IBU)

Yeast:

1 capsule per gallon wort Swanson L-Plantarum Priobiotic (kettle sour)
Wyeast 1007 German Ale (primary fermentation)

Fruit/Adjuncts:

5 lbs (2lb per gal) frozen red raspberries
.75 lb Lactose (added at kegging)

Process:

Day 1:

Conduct a 60 min (BIAB) mash at 149F shooting for around 3 gal boil volume in kettle.
Chill wort to 90F, add lactic acid to lower PH to 4.5 and sprinkle in 1 L-Plantarum capsule per gallon (3 total). Purge kettle headspace with CO2 and seal lid with saran wrap to avoid oxygen exposure.

Day 2:

Allow wort to sour to your desired level (mine got down to 3.5 PH after about 30 hours). Bring wort to boil for 20 minutes total, adding hops in at 15 minute mark. Chill to 60F, rack to fermentation vessel, aerate, and direct pitch Wyeast 1007 German Ale.

Day 12:

Primary fermentation should be complete by day 10 shooting for a final gravity of 1.010.
In a double boiler, heat frozen raspberries (2lbs per gal) to 170F and hold for 10 minutes to pasteurize. Rack beer onto cooled raspberry puree in secondary. You can use a bad for the raspberries if you want but I just dumped them in commando.

Day 26:

Secondary fermentation should be complete at this point but you can let the beer condition as long as you like on the fruit.
Rack the beer to your keg (you may want to cold crash first) and add .75 lb of lactose (boiled with 1 cup water and chilled).
Carbonate to around 3.0 volumes and enjoy!

Fruited Berliner with Lactose

• kingmatt
• Apr 16, 2019

 

[toddo97]

Looks great! Why did you choose to add the lactose at kegging instead of late in the boil?

 

[kingmatt]

Looks great! Why did you choose to add the lactose at kegging instead of late in the boil?

Thanks, I am really happy with how it turned out!

Since lactose can be added at any point in the process, I usually add it at kegging to taste for any beer I use it in. The amount I used in this beer adds more of a thick mouthfeel and a slight sweetness but you could certainly add more or less to your taste.

 

[toddo97]

Thanks, I am really happy with how it turned out!

Since lactose can be added at any point in the process, I usually add it at kegging to taste for any beer I use it in. The amount I used in this beer adds more of a thick mouthfeel and a slight sweetness but you could certainly add more or less to your taste.

I've never used it except in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil--so when you add it post fermentation it's thicker and sweeter or did just the amount you added do that?

 

[kingmatt]

I've never used it except in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil--so when you add it post fermentation it's thicker and sweeter or did just the amount you added do that?

I'm just referring to what the amount I used did for the beer. When you add it technically shouldn't matter because it won't ferment out. I like to wait to add it at kegging so that I can add a little at a time until I am happy.

 

[Devon Brooks]

Recipe for 2.5 gal:

Grain bill:

2 lb (21.6%) German Pilsner
1.5 lb (16.2%) German Wheat

Hops:
.75 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 15 min (5.5 IBU)

Yeast:

1 capsule per gallon wort Swanson L-Plantarum Priobiotic (kettle sour)
Wyeast 1007 German Ale (primary fermentation)

Fruit/Adjuncts:

5 lbs (2lb per gal) frozen red raspberries
.75 lb Lactose (added at kegging)

Process:

Day 1:

Conduct a 60 min (BIAB) mash at 149F shooting for around 3 gal boil volume in kettle.
Chill wort to 90F, add lactic acid to lower PH to 4.5 and sprinkle in 1 L-Plantarum capsule per gallon (3 total). Purge kettle headspace with CO2 and seal lid with saran wrap to avoid oxygen exposure.

Day 2:

Allow wort to sour to your desired level (mine got down to 3.5 PH after about 30 hours). Bring wort to boil for 20 minutes total, adding hops in at 15 minute mark. Chill to 60F, rack to fermentation vessel, aerate, and direct pitch Wyeast 1007 German Ale.

Day 12:

Primary fermentation should be complete by day 10 shooting for a final gravity of 1.010.
In a double boiler, heat frozen raspberries (2lbs per gal) to 170F and hold for 10 minutes to pasteurize. Rack beer onto cooled raspberry puree in secondary. You can use a bad for the raspberries if you want but I just dumped them in commando.

Day 26:

Secondary fermentation should be complete at this point but you can let the beer condition as long as you like on the fruit.
Rack the beer to your keg (you may want to cold crash first) and add .75 lb of lactose (boiled with 1 cup water and chilled).
Carbonate to around 3.0 volumes and enjoy!

Fruited Berliner with Lactose

• kingmatt
• Apr 16, 2019

This looks amazing! I can't wait to try this but with local strawberries and rhubarb. Thanks for the recipe!

 

[kingmatt]

This looks amazing! I can't wait to try this but with local strawberries and rhubarb. Thanks for the recipe!

Sounds great, post back on how it turns out! I plan on playing around with different fruit combos but would have never thought of trying rhubarb!!

 

[Devon Brooks]

Grain bill:

2 lb (21.6%) German Pilsner
1.5 lb (16.2%) German Wheat

So I just realized you only have these 2 grains listed at roughly 38%. So I'm assuming your base malt is missing?? Rhubarb is coming in strong at my parents place and I want to brew this soon. I thinking maybe 5.75 lbs of German Pale Malt, based on SG and percentages, but curious what you used. Thanks

 

[Devon Brooks]

So I just realized you only have these 2 grains listed at roughly 38%. So I'm assuming your base malt is missing?? Rhubarb is coming in strong at my parents place and I want to brew this soon. I thinking maybe 5.75 lbs of German Pale Malt, based on SG and percentages, but curious what you used. Thanks

Yeah that was dumb. I had the Brewhouse efficiency at 35% that's how I got those numbers. I hope its not that bad!

 

[kingmatt]

So I just realized you only have these 2 grains listed at roughly 38%. So I'm assuming your base malt is missing?? Rhubarb is coming in strong at my parents place and I want to brew this soon. I thinking maybe 5.75 lbs of German Pale Malt, based on SG and percentages, but curious what you used. Thanks

I copied the percentages right out of BS and just noticed they included the raspberry (54.1%) and lactose (8.1%) as part of the total grain bill. Base malt alone, the grist would be 57.1% Pils and 42.9% Wheat.

Please also note that the recipe as posted is for a 2.5 gal batch...

 

[Juno_Malone]

So I just realized you only have these 2 grains listed at roughly 38%. So I'm assuming your base malt is missing?? Rhubarb is coming in strong at my parents place and I want to brew this soon. I thinking maybe 5.75 lbs of German Pale Malt, based on SG and percentages, but curious what you used. Thanks

Do you have a tested/good method for adding rhubarb to beer? I was thinking about doing a rhubarb strawberry sour as well, but rhubarb seems like a trick one to work with - I was thinking sanitize, freeze, thaw, blend, put into secondary and rack on top of?

 

[sfrisby]

Do you have Trader Joe’s? They sell frozen bags of bite sized chunks.

 

[YostsBrewery]

Have any pics?

 

[zubred]

Hi, creator! @kingmatt.
Please answer to any stupid questions:
1) what is temp of primary & secondary fermentation?
2) "Purge kettle headspace with CO2" - how to make this operation at home?
3) "and direct pitch yeast" - just pour the yeast powder\flask of liquid yeast?
4) "you may want to cold crash first" - did you make cold crash if so, how long? and temp
5) "Carbonate to around 3.0 volumes" - carbonize at room temperature?
Thx so much

 

[Juno_Malone]

Hi, creator! @kingmatt.
Please answer to any stupid questions:
1) what is temp of primary & secondary fermentation?
If you use Wyeast 1007, I'd try to keep it between 58-65F for both.
2) "Purge kettle headspace with CO2" - how to make this operation at home?
I've never bothered with this when kettle souring (purging with CO2 or using saran wrap) and never had issues. It certainly doesn't hurt, but I wouldn't view it as required. Just make sure you bring your wort to a boil after mashing/sparging, and before cooling and pitching your Lactobacillus. Not doing that is almost a guaranteed infection in your kettle sour.
3) "and direct pitch yeast" - just pour the yeast powder\flask of liquid yeast?
Since the OG is only 1.046, if your Wyeast is relatively fresh (<2 months old) you should be fine just pouring it in, without making a starter.
4) "you may want to cold crash first" - did you make cold crash if so, how long? and temp
I wouldn't say cold-crashing is necessary; I've seen plenty of commercial Berlinerweisse that are a bit cloudy. If you want to, you'd generally do it 3-4 days before bottling, bringing the beer down to 40F or so.
5) "Carbonate to around 3.0 volumes" - carbonize at room temperature?
Generally you want to carbonate your bottles at a minimum of 65F, but 70F-75F is ideal.
Thx so much

See my answers in bold

 

[kingmatt]

Hi there. To answer your questions:

1) what is temp of primary & secondary fermentation?
-I fermented around 60F for both but the secondary temp is less important.
2) "Purge kettle headspace with CO2" - how to make this operation at home?
- I just stuck my CO2 line into the top of the kettle with the lid cracked and blew in CO2 for a minute or two...not sure how effective it actually was but it made me feel better
3) "and direct pitch yeast" - just pour the yeast powder\flask of liquid yeast?
- This was only a 2.5 gallon batch so I just pitched 1 pack of liquid yeast right into the fermenter. If you are doing a bigger batch you should make a starter or pitch an additional pack of yeast.
4) "you may want to cold crash first" - did you make cold crash if so, how long? and temp
- I usually cold crash around 40-45F for 2-3 days.
5) "Carbonate to around 3.0 volumes" - carbonize at room temperature?
-You can force carbonate at room temp but if it will carbonate faster if you do it cold. If you are priming the keg to carbonate you will need to do it warm.

 

[YostsBrewery]

Brewed this up yesterday. Bumped up grains .5 lbs each. Want to try and add fruit post secondary to keep the thick puree feel. Anyone do this yet?

 

[YostsBrewery]

Here she is after 2 LBS per gallon of strawberry puree. Emailed Andrew at Dancing Gnome for some direction on their Underscore Sour series and he gave me some helpful insight into their process. Tastes like sweet strawberry candy with just that perfect tartness behind it. Brewing this again with ABV of 7% and 4.5LBS of strawberries per gallon next time

 

[kingmatt]

Here she is after 2 LBS per gallon of strawberry puree. Emailed Andrew at Dancing Gnome for some direction on their Underscore Sour series and he gave me some helpful insight into their process. Tastes like sweet strawberry candy with just that perfect tartness behind it. Brewing this again with ABV of 7% and 4.5LBS of strawberries per gallon next time View attachment 635924

Looks great! 4.5 lbs per gallon is a TON of fruit, but I have heard Strawberries don't impart as much flavor as some other fruits so that is probably a solid plan.

 

[pfish83]

Here she is after 2 LBS per gallon of strawberry puree. Emailed Andrew at Dancing Gnome for some direction on their Underscore Sour series and he gave me some helpful insight into their process. Tastes like sweet strawberry candy with just that perfect tartness behind it. Brewing this again with ABV of 7% and 4.5LBS of strawberries per gallon next time View attachment 635924

So did you add puree direct add kegging or did you add secondary fermentation and then keg?

 

[YostsBrewery]

Added right into keg when racking beer

So did you add puree direct add kegging or did you add secondary fermentation and then keg?

 

[Shwagger]

Im doing a similar brew this weekend except using blood oranges and adding them to the boil at 15 min left and the zest to primary

My grain bill is much larger for a 2.5 gal batch. Should I reduce it to account for the orange sugars?

 

[Steven Barrett]

Thanks for the inspiration. Trying a riff on this with some leftover 2 row. 1 gal batch: 1.75 lb 2 row, 0.5 lb rolled oats. Currently souring with 2 oz of Goodbelly Blueberry shake. Will ferment with some second generation S-05, top cropped from a previous batch.

Not so much a Berliner Weisse as a what-I
I-had-on-hand fruited sour.

 

[fun4stuff]

I'm just referring to what the amount I used did for the beer. When you add it technically shouldn't matter because it won't ferment out. I like to wait to add it at kegging so that I can add a little at a time until I am happy.

is it difficult to dissolve? Do you remove a quart, heat to pasteurize and dissolve the lactose, then add back to the keg?

 

[fun4stuff]

Added right into keg when racking beer

Do you get more fruit flavor this way (as opposed to doing a secondary fermenttion with the fruit and letting it ferment out)?

 

[kingmatt]

is it difficult to dissolve? Do you remove a quart, heat to pasteurize and dissolve the lactose, then add back to the keg?

No, it dissolves pretty easily. I boiled a cup of water, dissolved the lactose in that, cooled it down and added it to the keg.

 

[Steven Barrett]

I don’t have a pH meter. My plan is to let it sour until I find it pleasantly tart. Because the wort is so sweet is there a risk I will over-sour, since the sweetness could mask the sourness?

 

[sfrisby]

Any reason you can’t pull a cup or so of fermented beer, boil and dissolve the lactose and add it back?

 

[homebrewtalk_DrS]

I don’t have a pH meter. My plan is to let it sour until I find it pleasantly tart. Because the wort is so sweet is there a risk I will over-sour, since the sweetness could mask the sourness?

Yes, I can't taste any sourness in my current kettle sour at 3.6. I've done a lot of reading and most recommend going by the hours depending on what you use to inoculate your batch. Good read up is on milkthefunk if you google Alternative Bacteria Sources and look under General Tips and Experiences on Using Probiotics. I don't have an account so I can't link as it gets caught by spam filter.

 

[Steven Barrett]

Yes, I can't taste any sourness in my current kettle sour at 3.6.

I hope you’re right. I boiled to kill off the lacto and pitched yeast. I was right around 30 hours at 95 deg F which seems typical for most people.

I noticed a darkening in color. What’s very strange to me is I measured no change in gravity. What is the lacto eating?

 

[kingmatt]

Any reason you can’t pull a cup or so of fermented beer, boil and dissolve the lactose and add it back?

I guess you could, though I wouldn't boil already fermented beer.

 

[sfrisby]

I guess you could, though I wouldn't boil already fermented beer.

That’s what I was wondering as I haven’t found anything on it. Is there a downside to boiling a cup out of a full batch vs diluting a full batch with a cup of water.

 

[fun4stuff]

That’s what I was wondering as I haven’t found anything on it. Is there a downside to boiling a cup out of a full batch vs diluting a full batch with a cup of water.

I swear I’ve done this before without issue. Can’t remember the exact scenario.

 

[kingmatt]

That’s what I was wondering as I haven’t found anything on it. Is there a downside to boiling a cup out of a full batch vs diluting a full batch with a cup of water.

I guess as long as you were careful with your sanitation and didn't boil for too long, I don't know that there would be an issue (expect maybe added chance for oxidation). Unless you are making a very small batch (like less than a gallon) 1 cup of water isn't going to dilute your beer in any discernable way.

 

[Steven Barrett]

Hazy Sour

• Steven Barrett
• Feb 19, 2020

It’s all the rage these days

2 days into yeast pitch and we are going! I used 20% oats, hence the haze. No hops.

Hazy sours, all the rage these days.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I noticed a darkening in color. What’s very strange to me is I measured no change in gravity. What is the lacto eating?

The darker color is from grain and/or break material settling out of the wort.

Lactobacilli consume sugars in the wort. Keep in mind that a hydrometer measures density, not sugar content. Lactic acid density is not considerably different than the density of the sugar it replaces.

 

[Steven Barrett]

Has anybody had issues with fruit refermentation with this recipe? After a 14 day fermentation, I double boiler pureed the fruit and added to fermenter, gave it 2 weeks then bottled. 2-3 weeks carbonation was great. Weeks 4 and onward they were all gushers. I'm thinking next time copitching yeast and fruit and giving it 14-21 days.

 

[kingmatt]

Has anybody had issues with fruit refermentation with this recipe? After a 14 day fermentation, I double boiler pureed the fruit and added to fermenter, gave it 2 weeks then bottled. 2-3 weeks carbonation was great. Weeks 4 and onward they were all gushers. I'm thinking next time copitching yeast and fruit and giving it 14-21 days.

You could let it ride longer next time but 2 weeks should have been plenty of time. You may also have picked up some wild yeast from the fruit if it wasn't completely pasteurized.

 

[Steven Barrett]

Thanks for the reply @kingmatt I pasteurized at 170F for 10 minutes (even took the temperature to verify).

 

[Steven Barrett]

Brewing another batch. Just tossed in the Goodbelly. Going to give it 2 days or so.