Weissbier Honey Orange Hefeweizen

[BakerBeer]

Also, how much honey did you end up using to prime?

 

[TheJasonT]

It's good. A bit of toasty/roasty flavor because I missed my OG something fierce and boiled for two hours hoping to concentrate the wort. That's prevalent in the aroma, which is similar to Budweiser. The flavor is completely different, with a nice sweetness and hints of orange. I'm definitely going to enjoy this one.

 

[TheJasonT]

I used 5.9oz if I remember correctly. I used Northern Brewers priming sugar calculator.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Looks great, Jason! Thanks for sharing :rockin:

 

[BakerBeer]

Nice! I was reading some where a good place to start for priming sugar is around 1 ounce per gallon.... Not sure how true that is but it's a starting point I guess.

I am going to my local brew shop on tomorrow to pick up the ingredients to give this one another whirl.

I think I am going to attempt to make false bottom for my brew kettle. My cooler sucks and I lost so much heat durning my mash... I started out around 170 and a hour later I was down to mid to low 140s...

Trial and error I assume....

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Started at 170? That's way too high of a mash temperature... or do you mean that was your strike water temperature?

And 5oz of priming sugar might be a little high, especially since if you're making 5 gallons you'll likely only end up with 4.5 - 4.75 gallons of bottleable (new word!) beer. I've found I almost always use roughly 4 +/- 0.25 ounces whenever I bottle (rare now.) The only exceptions are when I need low carb or champagne-like carb.

Tastybrew.com bottle priming calculator has you needing 4.5oz to get 2.5 volumes of CO2 if you're priming at 70*F (which you should be )

 

[BakerBeer]

Sorry, that's my strike temp.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Ah gotcha. Are you taking a temperature reading after adding the strike water and stirring well? If not you may just be starting in the low-40's but holding temp the whole hour.

Also, you may just be losing temperature to the mash tun itself. A lot of people pre-heat theirs.

 

[woknblues]

Ahh I see... So instead of rapidly cooling the wart he is letting it cool to room temp before "pitching"

I thought I read some where that we cool the wart as fast as possible to prevent any bacterial from getting into the wart before the fermentation process starts.

I made this very receive in November. Being my first all grain it didn't turn out very well. I boiled down to 3.5 gallons from 5. I didn't know we were to start with a per boil volume of 6.5-7gallons. My bad. Lol I learned from my mistake.

I am going to attempt again in a few weeks lol

Thanks for all the help!

The no chill process is a relatively "new" one, but has been successfully accomplished by aussie homebrewers for a long time now, and of course, others here. So, I did pitch and it has been bubbling away vigorously, just now starting to slow down.


Do you have a fairly wide pot and/or arid conditions? I live in New Mexico, and I add about 10% to calculate my boil off (plus a wide pot to boot) over conventional wisdom. I pretty much hit the marks.

 

[TheJasonT]

Anyone have problems with head retention on this? I'm drinking one now that's been conditioning for 8 days and after an initial rush of bubbles when pouring and then it quickly dissolved to a thin line of nothingness. It also is a bit flat on the mouthfeel. Could it be the CO2 needs a bit more time to get into solution?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Anyone have problems with head retention on this? I'm drinking one now that's been conditioning for 8 days and after an initial rush of bubbles when pouring and then it quickly dissolved to a thin line of nothingness. It also is a bit flat on the mouthfeel. Could it be the CO2 needs a bit more time to get into solution?

That just means it isn't properly carbonated. 8 days isn't really enough. The general rule of thumb is it takes a minimum 3 weeks at 70*F for it to be completely and properly carbonated.

Give it some more time. And be sure you refridgerate the bottle at least 24 hours before you're doing to try it.


Here's a great video that details carbonation over time:

 

[BakerBeer]

nice video!

 

[BakerBeer]

Just an update...

I gave this recipe yet another try. I am very thankful that i have had some great help from all of you guys on this thread and another thread I have started for some more general help.

I mashed on Wednesday evening and boiled very late in the night. I boiled down to 5 gallons only because I had a pre boil volume of 6 gallons not 6.5. My post boil OG was 1.049-1.050. I attempted the no chill method before pitching the yeast the following evening. This morning I woke up to a very lively fermentor! In fact I needed to remove the airlock and install a blowoff valve into a old milk jug with a little Sani water in it.

The aroma of this recipe is amazing! Props to the chef!

I am hoping the FG or the flavors won't be messed since I had to install a blow off.

Thanks again! You guys are the best!

 

[SLCRebellion]

I just tried my fully ready version of this recipe tonight, and baby it is good. Even my SWMBO really likes it. The back end of this beer is my favorite part, between the citrus and the wheat, it's a very good beer. Will be drinking 4 gal. During the super bowl.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

The aroma of this recipe is amazing! Props to the chef!

I am hoping the FG or the flavors won't be messed since I had to install a blow off.

Thanks again! You guys are the best!

Thanks for the kudos. And no, installing a blowoff has absolutely no effect on FG or flavors. Airlocks and blowoff tubes are simply tools to allow CO2 to escape

I just tried my fully ready version of this recipe tonight, and baby it is good. Even my SWMBO really likes it. The back end of this beer is my favorite part, between the citrus and the wheat, it's a very good beer. Will be drinking 4 gal. During the super bowl.

Ha! And the nice thing about it being a session-ish beer is you can drink to your hearts content.

And if your SWMBO isn't a beer person then that is a huge compliment.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Oops... double post. Silly tablet.

 

[SLCRebellion]

Thanks for the kudos. And no, installing a blowoff has absolutely no effect on FG or flavors. Airlocks and blowoff tubes are simply tools to allow CO2 to escape

Ha! And the nice thing about it being a session-ish beer is you can drink to your hearts content.

And if your SWMBO isn't a beer person then that is a huge compliment.

SWMBO is not a beer person, she is a once a quarter Blue Moon type gal, so Yes big compliment. I make her taste every beer that I bring home, or make, and this one is one of the few that she didn't make "the face".

 

[BakerBeer]

I bottled this beauty last night!

My FG held around 1.008ish giving me a 5.5 - 5.6% abv. The color is amazing and the flavor is off the hook!

I can't wait for this... 30day count down has began

 

[Pixalated]

Should I scale the grain bill if I want to brew in a bag?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Should I scale the grain bill if I want to brew in a bag?

I don't see any reason to unless you get low efficiency. I believe this recipe is set to 75% efficiency. Do you usually scale recipes for BIAB?

 

[Pixalated]

I've only brewed in a bag a few times, and always used a BIAB recipe. I am bad with keeping notes, so I have no idea what my efficiency is. I need to set up an equipment profile in BeerSmith.

 

[TheJasonT]

I usually get 74-76% efficiency with BIAB and a coarse crush from the LHBS crusher. My process looks like this:

-heat strike water
-put bag in pot and stretch over the sides
-scoop in grain and stir continuously (2 people)
-check temps and adjust
-wrap kettle in a blanket and wait an hour
-occasionally I check temps and stir once or twice during that hour
-after the mash, I stir up the grains really well this time, then I collect the bag and pick it up. I let it drain into the kettle until it slows, then I lower it back in the pot, stir, and repeat the draining process.

Usually after the draining has slowed I will put the bag into a fermenting bucket or other vessel and let it continue to drain while I heat up the boil. I let it sit for about 20-30 minutes then I pull out the bag, dispose of the grain (or recycle it for your purposes), and pour that wort into the kettle.

On my last batch with this method I got 74%.

Hope this helps!

-Jason

 

[Pixalated]

@TheJasonT, thanks!
What I've done in the past, is take my grain bag out, and sit it inside a colander over a pot. I sqeeze it from the top with a plate, and leave it alone.
While my wort is coming up to a boil, I let the bag drain. Once it hits boiling, I just dump whatever came out from the bag back into my brew pot.

I'll make sure to keep careful track of my numbers today in order to figure out my efficiency.

 

[Pixalated]

Brewed this in a bag, and hit the OG on the nose. The airlock is already bubbling.
Can't wait to drink this.

 

[jknapp12105]

Yummy

 

[Enf0rc3r]

I am going to brew this on Thursday, only a 4 gallon batch though.

Added By: Enf0rc3r
Method: Partial Mash
Style: American Wheat or Rye Beer
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 4 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3 gallons
Efficiency: 55% (brew house)

1.75 lb Flaked Oats 33 2.2 21.2%
1.75 lb American - Pilsner 37 1.8 21.2%
1.75 lb American - White Wheat 40 2.8 21.2%
1 lb Canadian - Honey Malt 37 25 12.1%
2 lb Dry Malt Extract - Wheat 42 3 24.2%

0.5 oz Tettnanger 60 min 4.5 8.93 Pellet Boil
0.5 oz Tettnanger 10 min 4.5 3.24 Pellet Boil
3 oz Orange Zest 10 min Flavor Boil

I assumed 55% efficiency because this will be my first partial mash. I also bumped up the honey because I love it and wanted the ABV a little higher.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Hmmm, honey malt is kinda like crystal: adds a bunch of non-fermentable sugars (hence the sweetness) so you'll get a higher original gravity but you'll also end up with a higher final gravity. So it won't be a real noticeable boost in ABV.

And as far as the efficiency goes, 55% is really low, even for a first time. You may end up with something much stronger than you anticipated.

 

[Enf0rc3r]

Thanks for the tip. Maybe I'll scale it back to 1/2 pound. That recipe setup is right from brewers friend.

 

[jknapp12105]

Fermenting was 7 days bottles for three. Day 11 it tasted UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Personal Recommendations:
1. a tad more honey malt
2. Hint of orange extract to make it more robust

 

[travis22155]

how much priming sugar