Raspberry Wheat - Fruit Advice

[liamw]

Hey Guys,

I've recently made the plunge to all grain and have done a couple of IPAs. So far, I've been very pleased with the results, but I want to take a little break from IPAs. I have 2 taps at the bar, and I usually like to have a crowd pleaser in addition to a me-pleaser (usually a very hoppy IPA). My first all grain crowd pleaser, I've decided, will be a raspberry wheat. I had a couple questions about it however.

First, here's the basic grain bill:

5lb 2-Row
4lb Malted Wheat

Mash @ 153-154ish for 60min (want to keep a little sweetness/malt to balance out the tartness of the raspberries)

1oz Hallertauer @60min in boil

My questions are as follows:

1) I've been debating using either US-05 vs WB-06 dry yeast for this one. Anyone have any thoughts?

2) My thought was to use thawed frozen raspberries (3lb or so) in secondary. Does anyone have a method of getting the seeds out? Or should I just toss the seeds in there as well.

3) I've been toying with the idea of a late addition of hops, probably at 5 or 0 min. What about something like Galaxy or Sorachi Ace?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[fantomlord]

Hey Guys,

I've recently made the plunge to all grain and have done a couple of IPAs. So far, I've been very pleased with the results, but I want to take a little break from IPAs. I have 2 taps at the bar, and I usually like to have a crowd pleaser in addition to a me-pleaser (usually a very hoppy IPA). My first all grain crowd pleaser, I've decided, will be a raspberry wheat. I had a couple questions about it however.

First, here's the basic grain bill:

5lb 2-Row
4lb Malted Wheat

Mash @ 153-154ish for 60min (want to keep a little sweetness/malt to balance out the tartness of the raspberries)

1oz Hallertauer @60min in boil

My questions are as follows:

1) I've been debating using either US-05 vs WB-06 dry yeast for this one. Anyone have any thoughts?

2) My thought was to use thawed frozen raspberries (3lb or so) in secondary. Does anyone have a method of getting the seeds out? Or should I just toss the seeds in there as well.

3) I've been toying with the idea of a late addition of hops, probably at 5 or 0 min. What about something like Galaxy or Sorachi Ace?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

1) use any yeast you want...the raspberry will likely dominate the flavor profile anyway. I've used both WY1968 and WY3711 in fruit (strawberry/rhubarb) beers, and the difference was pretty much negligible.

2) throw 'em in whole

3) I think that might cover up or clash with the raspberry aroma you're going to get...but I can't speak from experience on this

 

[DanMyers]

I think a late addition of sorachi ace would be great. im thinking raspberry lemon? Also be careful on your mash temps and the amount of raspberries you add, an early all grain brew that i did turned out like watery pink soda.

 

[JR_Brewer]

Here's what I've done in the past, and it's been successful.

I've put the frozen raspberries in the food processor, and pulsed them to break up a little bit. I wasn't looking to puree them, just break them up into frozen BB sized pieced. Then I dropped into the fermenter. I didn't worry about seeds, and all but the last 2 beers or so were bottled without any seeds or pulp.

If I remember right, I used 1 pound in a 3 gallon batch, and the resulting beer had a nice subtle raspberry character. 3 pounds will give you a more pronounced flavor, so if that's what you're going for, I think that's about right.

As far as your other questions, either yeast should be fine.

I didn't late hop, so I don't really have an answer for you on #3.

 

[IslandLizard]

+1 on all the above.

Regarding your yeast, you can use whatever you have in reserve or stock, but if you have to buy anyway, think of using WY3944, it is Belgian Witbier yeast and among my favorites. Yes, the fruit will mask some of its characteristics but you'll be surprised how much it adds to the complexity. Make sure to pitch a good size starter. If you harvest yeast, you'll have enough for more wheat beer batches. And/or just make a larger starter and save some out for the next time.

Are you brewing a 5 gallon batch? 3 pounds of fruit will dilute your beer somewhat, so compensate by brewing a bit higher gravity. I use the rule of thumb that 70% of (pureed) fruit is basically water, and adjust for that.

For a bit more body add .5# of light crystal (10-20L), or Honey Malt if you like.

 

[airdog_47]

If this is your first wheat beer, think about putting some rice hulls in the mash. Wheat beers are my only enemy when it comes to stuck sparges. That's if your using a traditional mash tun method. I typically just cut the raspberries up enough to get into my fermenter and add in secondary.

 

[liamw]

Thanks for the advice guys! I think I will try the wb-06. Good point on the raspberries diluting, I'll watch for that. I'll be using frozen raspberries, so I'll toss them in whole. Good thought on the crystal malt as well. I plan on picking up some rice hulls too. How much for a 5gal batch?

 

[IslandLizard]

1/2 pound of rice hulls is plenty for 4# of wheat.

Make sure the wheat gets really milled. The berries are smaller than barley and if the gap is too wide (typical LHBS) most will pass through whole, giving you 0 efficiency and 0 wheat there. They really should be milled separately with a finer gap setting (.024-.028"). Running through 2x does not alleviate that problem.

Macerated fruit gives higher extraction than whole/sliced berries, but since yours have been frozen they are pretty much pulp anyway.

Let me rephrase the C10/C20 part. Adding some Carapils (1/2#) will add just body, leaving you at a higher FG. If you want some extra residual sweetness too, the light crystal will do both.