quick update on blueberry wheat

[jimmythefoot]

2 1/2 lbs. of frozen, thawed at racking, private select blueberries from the grocery store down the road. sat in the carboy for 1 week. not all the berries where consumed by the yeast. some were white while others were reddish and some still blue.

i used the auto syphon and boy did that help filter some of the big clumps. most of the berries were still floating on the top but there were some chunks stuck on the outside of the bottom of the syphon.

the brew was a very DEEP blue in the carboy. it is sitting at 25 psi in the fridge which is in the 30's. tomorrow before work i will turn it down to 12 psi and bleed the keg a little. by Wednesday i figure i should be real close if not set with the right carbonation. will keep you all posted. this was not a recipe just winged this one.

 

[Pappers_]

sounds interesting!

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the update. I had a wild idea about making a blueberry ale and found Maine Wild Blueberries in the frozen section and a 100% blueberry juice in a quart jar that I intend to add to the secondary. I will be bottling rather than kegging though. I don't care for the wheat beers so I went with 6 pounds of Golden Light malt extract, plus steeped 1 pound of Victory malt. 1 oz of Cascade for 40 minutes and 1 oz Saaz for 2 minutes. I'm hoping to sample the first bottle about Christmas time.

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

if you ever get a chance to try maine micro brews and you like blueberry wheat beers you GOTTA check out Sea Dog "Blueberry Wheat" SOOOOOOO GOOD!

 

[sakeyfour]

I love Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat. I get some every year, although it is starting to be available more. I tried to make a blueberry beer and quit, never as good as Sea Dog. Think I go dig in the beer fridge I have a few left in the back.

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

yeah my parents still live in Maine thats where I grew up... I got married to a Vermonter though so I am here now.... Turns out they sell Sea Dog here in VT! haha super excited now!

 

[jimmythefoot]

if you ever get a chance to try maine micro brews and you like blueberry wheat beers you GOTTA check out Sea Dog "Blueberry Wheat" SOOOOOOO GOOD!

i've had it and it is delicious.

 

[BasementBrews]

I'd like to know how both of the brews turn out. jimmythefoot & RM-MN please keep us updated. My first try at a blueberry wheat turned out mediocre at best. I used blueberry extract tough. Another good blueberry beer to try is SweetWater Blue. So if you ever find yourself in the south east US give it a try.

http://www.sweetwaterbrew.com/Brews.php

 

[RM-MN]

I had tried earlier to make a blueberry cream ale and a blueberry red ale using just extract flavoring and I'm not satisfied with the flavor/smell from that. I had bought a bottle of blueberry extract from Midwest Supplies and used at the rate they suggested. It had a bite to it that wasn't real pleasant that wasn't present in the other half of either batch that didn't get the extract. That's why I wanted to try it with real blueberries and blueberry juice.

I live in an area where there are sometimes lots of wild blueberries to pick and I know the difference in taste between them and the tame blueberries. That is part of the reason for the Maine wild blueberries that I bought. I probably would have used just them but I had already spent the money on the blueberry juice so I will use that along with the real berries.

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

sorry I didnt mean to hijack your thread with sea dog but all your talk about blueberries made my mouth water lol.

 

[jimmythefoot]

well after force carbing it at 25 psi for 30 hrs. and then purge reset to 12 psi for 3 days the beer was carbed perfectly. it is a little thin to me. i like Guinness and have been drinking that lately so my taste buds are a little on the heavy side. still i want to add a little more body to it. the smell was very faint with 2 1/5 lbs. of blueberries to me. it was in a secondary for a week on the berries. my friend could smell them very well. her sniffer is by far better then mine. the color was a really nice red. weird since it looked deep blue in the carboy. there was great head. up to a 1/2 inch with a normal pour and great lace on the glass after you had one. tall and wide but not thick. i could feel the beer creep on me right after number two. i have no idea the ABV since i racked it on berries but i am guessing between 5% and 6%. a little bit of debris (blueberries) could be seen in the glass when held to the light.

i will try more blue berries. probably 4 lbs but pureed. also will add some body with some dextrine malt or 2 row or something.

did not use any specialty grains this time so i might do something there also.

overall not terrible just not what i was looking for. but this is a good base. i think i know where to go from here.

 

[jimmythefoot]

quick update for anyone interested.

will be opening a bottle that i filled using the keg, wand method.

it has been over a month so i will see what the hiss, carbonation and details are when i open it thursday for my dad and brother.

 

[jimmythefoot]

beer was perfect. thanks bobby from NJ.

 

[birvine]

Thanks for the update - interesting thread.

B