Fruit Beer Lemon-Lime Hefe Weizen

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Brewed this roughly one month ago with Nottingham because local store was out of wlp hef yeast. It turned out great and is a perfect summer beer. For those of you who used grapefruit juice and have had harpoon big squeeze any similarity? Thanks again for the recipe
 
I have a keg of the grapefruit version on tap now and it's absolutely amazing! It's been awhile since I've tried the harpoon you're talking about so not sure I can do a proper comparison other than to say this one is definitely better. I would have to guess that harpoon uses a substantially different yeast and perhaps even a grapefruit concentrate?. IMO the yeast is really the heart of this beer. I've made it with others and, while they were all good, it just wasn't the same.
 
I brewed this batch on Saturday and the fermentation took off within 12 hours. I noticed the decrease in bubble from my blow off tube yesterday and decided to toss in the Limeade. I was about ready to do so and realized I had it in the fridge for a couple of days and I didn't want the cold liquid to lower my fermentation temp so I put the bottle in a hot water bath and brought it up before throwing it in. I looked this morning and it was fermenting like crazy! I always use a blow-off tube and the krausen is pretty close to the top. Part of me is wondering if I threw the Limeade in too soon (57 hours post pitching) but then I can't imagine any harm if I did, other than a blow-out. Come on fermentation, hurry up. I need to drink this beer!!!
 
Brewed this roughly one month ago with Nottingham because local store was out of wlp hef yeast. It turned out great and is a perfect summer beer. For those of you who used grapefruit juice and have had harpoon big squeeze any similarity? Thanks again for the recipe

That makes me feel much better. After adding this my fermentation took off, enough to need a blow off tube. I did pickup a lot of hefe aroma though. Is this common when one yeast was stalled and adding another? a mix/mild hefe?
 
I brewed this finally after I tracked down some moteuka hops. The hefe was decent, I found it needed more of the limeade. I started putting a splash or two of the limeade in a glass and then topping up with beer and it made it really pop. Next time I would add a second jug of the limeade when I rack into my keg. I also added the first bottle of limeade after 3 days and I was fine
 
I have a keg of the grapefruit version on tap now and it's absolutely amazing! It's been awhile since I've tried the harpoon you're talking about so not sure I can do a proper comparison other than to say this one is definitely better. I would have to guess that harpoon uses a substantially different yeast and perhaps even a grapefruit concentrate?. IMO the yeast is really the heart of this beer. I've made it with others and, while they were all good, it just wasn't the same.

Smit you are correct on the yeast being an essential part of this beer. When I designed this recipe (and my other recipes), I try to match the characteristics and flavors of the yeast and hops to each other and the overall recipe. With Hef IV it has a strong clove/citrus and apricot flavor profile, and it made for a crisp beer...so I looked for hops that would put more of the citrus up front and bring the clove and apricot to the back....I was able to finally push the clove flavor to the background by adding a late addition of the limeade. So I often read how hops, yeast or the fermentation process was altered...and its unfortunate, because I spent months testing variations of this recipe before I came up with (what I believe) is one of the most balanced recipes that I have created...I have some others, but I have yet to share those recipes!
 
I brewed this finally after I tracked down some moteuka hops. The hefe was decent, I found it needed more of the limeade. I started putting a splash or two of the limeade in a glass and then topping up with beer and it made it really pop. Next time I would add a second jug of the limeade when I rack into my keg. I also added the first bottle of limeade after 3 days and I was fine

Ratinator, I would caution you from using 2 jugs of limeade....reason being that there is very small amounts of fermentable sugar in the limeade, and it was mainly used to reduce some off flavors that I did not want present in the beer. I had a brewer (who was a heavy smoker), tell me that he could not taste the lime flavor in the beer either, so I had him double the lime zest and pour in 1 cup of Torani Lime Syrup (not sugar free)....he told me that did the trick, so I would recommend going that route.
 
I just kegged this one today. OG was 1.052 and FG was 1.013 for an ABV of around 5.1%! Perfect summer beer. I tasted it today before kegging and it tasted amazing! The lime taste is very prominent and outstanding. I don't think it's too much. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out just the way I hoped! For anyone on the fence as to whether or not to brew this as a summer beer, DO IT! Thanks @SD-SLIM for a great recipe! Brew on............

Tim
 
Yeah, I'm brewing another batch of this for my neighbors...pretty soon I'm gonna start charging them!


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Slim, I brewed this beer last summer specifically to take with me on a trip to the beach and it turned out awesome. Photographic proof:
10599654_10203862564258802_8775446812981204371_n.jpg


I'm brewing a big 11 gallon batch next weekend and went to buy the yeast today to make a starter. My LHBS was out of WLP380 though and the closest they had was WLP320, which is their American hefeweizen yeast. Thoughts? Should I try to find WLP380 online and have it overnighted or something, or might it still turn out pretty well with 320?

Thanks! And thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
 
Great picture, the yeast they are trying to sub is substantially different than the Hef IV....you will not get any clove, apricot or citrus with this yeast, which all play a part of the complexity of the beer, however it will finish off the same and will be a crisp beer, but the flavor profile will change.


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Good stuff, thanks. That was specifically my concern, that I'd miss out on all of the citrus that WLP380 provides.

It looks like the LHBS that's a bit of a drive has WLP380 in stock, so I'll take a trip over there this afternoon and see what I can find. Half of the batch I'm brewing is for a relatives wedding, so I don't want to mess around with the recipe and make something that isn't quite right.
 
This looks like a great recipe so I'm planning on brewing it for the hot summer days ahead of us. A few thoughts...

I wonder how 1/2 limeade, 1/2 grapefruit juice would taste? I thought that could an interesting twist.

Also, I usually split my batches at secondary to test out more variables so I thought I'd do a dry hopped version as well (no juice). Any thoughts on what dry hop would go well with the motueka and sorachi? Perhaps nelson or amarillo?
 
I had a question in regards to the mash temperature. This will be my first attempt at doing an All Grain brew (specifically BIAB) and when I put the ingredients into BeerSmith, it recommended a mash temperature of 148 instead of 158. This may be a dumb question, but which mash temperature should I go with?
 
There is a lot of leeway with this recipe. I have brewed it many times now in different ways. It is best as it is presented here: with the juice and mashed appropriately. I have mashed as low as 150 and it was fine. Shoot for 153-4 and you will very happy. I do like the grapefruit version too for some extra zing but the lemon-lime is so smooth and everyone loves it. A mix of the two would be good, though not really necessary. I have bowed with dry hop, no juice, Cali yeast, american hefe yeast, etc.... All are very drinkable beers and enjoyable. Not as good as the original though. I currently have a one gallon batch with raspberry that I am looking forward to trying.

Anyway, try to follow the recipe as close as you can the first time. You will definitely be rebrewing this beer. That's when you can start playing with things.
 
Just tapped this beer tonight and WOW!! Better than I could have imagined! I followed the recipe to a "T" and it is a wonderful summer drink! I am planning on taking the keg camping with me next weekend and I'm sure it won't last but a day or two. This is a definite brew again!
 
I screwed this up and didn't get to add the limeaid uptil about 12 days after ferm. Ferm did not kick off after it was added. Should I be worried ?? How long should I let it go before kegging??

Thanks!!
 
Brewed this yesterday. My efficiency numbers were horribly bad, but it was my first All Grain (BIAB) attempt; I learned a lot from the experience. I loved the lime smell from the wort once it was finished. Looking forward to kegging this one - hopefully my poor efficiency won't negatively impact it too greatly.
 
I screwed this up and didn't get to add the limeaid uptil about 12 days after ferm. Ferm did not kick off after it was added. Should I be worried ?? How long should I let it go before kegging??

Thanks!!

Try swirling the fermenter to get the yeast back into action, if that doesn't help you may have to add some more yeast.

I would think that if fermentation doesn't restart this will be more like a shandy, still drinkable but probably very sweet.
 
There is a lot of leeway with this recipe. I have brewed it many times now in different ways. It is best as it is presented here: with the juice and mashed appropriately. I have mashed as low as 150 and it was fine. Shoot for 153-4 and you will very happy. I do like the grapefruit version too for some extra zing but the lemon-lime is so smooth and everyone loves it. A mix of the two would be good, though not really necessary. I have bowed with dry hop, no juice, Cali yeast, american hefe yeast, etc.... All are very drinkable beers and enjoyable. Not as good as the original though. I currently have a one gallon batch with raspberry that I am looking forward to trying.

Anyway, try to follow the recipe as close as you can the first time. You will definitely be rebrewing this beer. That's when you can start playing with things.

I appreciate this feedback, one of the things I love about this site is the access to tried and true recipes. You've convinced me to follow the recipe exactly (for half my batch!). I'm still new enough to brewing that its worth it for me to split the batch and experiment, getting two beers for the effort of one and learning more about how tweaking variables affects the end result. I'll probably use cali yeast and dry hop the other half.
 
Was it ever stated what the ideal fermentation temp should be?

Are people getting typical hefe clove and banana flavors?

Mine did not. Due in large part to fermenting at 62 degrees most likely.
 
Was it ever stated what the ideal fermentation temp should be?

Are people getting typical hefe clove and banana flavors?

Mine did not. Due in large part to fermenting at 62 degrees most likely.

I fermented around 64 and when it was cold it was very lime/citrus forward but as it warmed up you'd get more of the bananaclovehefeness.


Its about time for me to brew this again, though I'm going to throw in Simply Grapefruit instead of the lime this time. Maybe!
 
I see there are several comments or questions about yeast....so an old trick that I learned when designing recipes (before I was familiar with a lot of yeast), was to go on the manufactures website and review the flavor notes and fermentation range. For this yeast, the manufacture recommends fermentation temperatures between 65-69 degrees for the internal temperature....which depending on your fermentation vessel, could be 3 to 5 degrees higher if you are using an exterior stick on temp gauge. I always ferment this beer right at 67 because I have a fermentation fridge and an internal thermometer, so I know it will not fluctuate.....should you be using a ice bath or just a dark cool room, I would shoot for 65 degrees, because it will still ferment out (all though slower) with very few side effects like you would get if you spiked in to the 70's.
In regards to using Cali yeast, of course you can use it....but it will change the flavor profile, you will not have the smooth lemon lime taste as you do with Hef V, but some people are in love with Cali Ale yeast and use it in a lot of recipes.
Now I'm sure I'm too late on this one, but I would never recommend that you shake up the trub on the bottom of the beer to reactivate your yeast....while the limeade is an essential part of the flavor profile, you can kinda get close by bottling this with Torni lime syrup, using it as your priming sugar....I don't remember the ratio I used due to the fact that I always keg this beer....but a little experiment with 1 or 2 should get you spot on.
 
As a follow-up to the SD-SLIM's post, I brewed this about three weeks ago and followed the directions precisely. The beer is just as expected, with that traditional Hefe taste and a nice balance of lemon lime tartness. It's not a "punch in the face" tart, but a smooth tartness that balances nicely with the clove/light banana flavor. I fermented at the upper end of the range, and would probably bring the temp down a few degrees next time in search of a bit more smoothness at the front end of the taste, but all in all its a great beer and perfect for summer.

Personally, I think the yeast makes this beer. I am not saying that another yeast will not be good, maybe even better, but it would not be the same beer as the original, not even close. The difference in flavor profiles between WLP380 and a WLP001 or WLP090 is significant, and that difference is an important, if nto the most important, aspect of this recipe.
 
Thanks for wonderful recipe and insightful thread of discussion!

This was my 3rd all-grain batch. It turned out fantastic!

I modified the recipe a bit - mostly in terms of hops.

6 lbs Pale Malt 2-row US
4 lbs White Wheat (used 4 instead of alb)
1 lb Vienna Malt
Yeast - Hefeweizen IV Ale WLP380
0.5 oz Saaz 60min
0.5 oz Saaz 20min
0.5 oz Cascade 20min
0.5 oz Cascade 5min
added Lime Zest (0.5oz) soaked in vodka, 1.65L Limeanade.

OG: 1.056. FG: 1.013 (after 2 weeks fermentation)

Turned out very well. Great recipe for the summer!

HeFe.jpg
 
I just brewed this recipe (the original) for the first time 3 weeks ago and am set to bottle this weekend. I read through all 170+ pages some time back and remember there being some chatter about priming this recipe.

Should I prime at recommended rates (I usually use brewersfriend) or does this one need to be underprimed due to the limeaid addition? Any insight is greatly appreciated.
 
Bottle as you would normally do for a Hefeweizen....limeade will not be any impact during bottling, due to the fermentable sugars already being eaten by the yeast.
 
just FYI -this is also very good as a raddler - mix in some limeanade or lemonade, I like 50-50 or maybe 20-30% lemonade and the rest beer mix, for a more refreshing summer drink.
 
2 weeks in primary. Took sample it's done. Not near the lime I was thinking would be. Lots of banana with hefe 4. More than I thought also. Give it 1 more week and keg up to see. Followed 1st recipe
 
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