2016 Orange Summer Wheat Ale Kegged

Tonight (24 February 2016), I kegged my latest orange wheat ale. It had dropped from 1.043 to 1.010 gravity, for 4.3% abv. I added the orange extract (I had filtered out the peel pieces, leaving just the liquid), and it has added a great aroma and flavor. Now it's carbonating, and should be ready to tap in a few days!

Beer Tasting: West Coast Wheat Beer

As my first all-grain wheat beer (and an American wheat beer at that), this batch has been a complete success. Check out the details below!

• The Basics
• Original gravity = 1.049, final gravity = 1.012, abv = 4.8%, estimated IBU = 23
• Appearance
• The head is white, creamy, and fine; almost meringue-like in consistency. It is incredibly persistent, too; even though it thins out some time after pouring, the head sticks around down to the very end of the glass. In fact, if anything the head is a little too dramatic - it takes a slow pour, a steady hand, and a bit of patience before the glass is full and ready to drink. I initially had chalked this up to potential over-carbonation, but now I'm pretty satisfied that it is a happy consequence of an all-grain beer with a heavy percentage of wheat. The beer itself is light gold and modestly hazy (it has clarified some over the 2-3 weeks since tapping the keg).
• Aroma
• Tart and lightly malty, with perhaps a hint of tropical fruit. Delicious!
• Flavor
• Slightly tart taste, balanced against a clean malt backbone. Smooth and light bitterness. Wonderfully balanced! 
• Mouthfeel
• Crisp and light bubbles; it could be carbonated a touch more, but is still within style.
• Would I brew this again?
• I would brew this beer again and again. It's one of the best brews I've made to date, and is quite popular in our household. 
• Overall rating
• 10/10

West Coast Wheat Beer On Tap

Because I didn't have any "summer beers" on tap, I opted to speed-carbonate my West Coast Wheat Beer. This entailed two days at 40 psi and 42°, which did indeed carbonate things quite nicely. If anything, it might have overcarbonated a touch (based on the foaminess when I tapped the keg and poured the initial glasses). My hope is that this will get reduced as the beer sits at the standard serving / carbonating pressure for my system.

In any case, the beer has a positively thick and massive head, almost meringue-like. I guess this is what happens when you do an all-grain wheat beer! I'm quite pleased. The beer itself is quite delicious too, and I'll do a full tasting once it has had a chance to mature a bit more.

West Coast Wheat Beer Update

Today I kegged up the West Coast Wheat Beer, after 10 days in the primary fermenter. During the course of fermentation, I agitated the beer a few times to keep the yeast in suspension and ensure a full fermentation. At the time of kegging, the beer is at a gravity of 1.012 (down from 1.048), which works out to around 4.7% abv. The flavor is delicious, with a nice balance between tartness, citrus aromas, and a touch of fruitiness. This all bodes quite well! I'm "speed carbonating" at the moment (high pressure for two days, then down to serving pressure), with a hope to sample over the weekend.

West Coast Wheat Beer

We're getting low on the summer blonde ale, our easy-drinking summer beer, so before we get in a bad spot I figured it was time to brew up another light-and-tasty ale for the California summers. This recipe is based loosely on the American Wheat Beer recipe provided by Gordon Strong in Modern Homebrew Recipes. I modified it slightly to match my preferred yeast brand (White Labs) and to end up with a smaller quantity into the fermenter. Additionally, I wanted to use up some ingredients I had on-hand, so I used a different hops selection (the American blend of Falconer's Flight, instead of primarily European hops). Additionally, I'm using a straight-up batch sparge technique rather than the step and decoction stated in the recipe.

Of course, this overall departure from "beer scripture" might freak out some...but it's all in the tradition of "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew." I had the good fortune to catch Strong's talk at the 2015 AHA meeting, and he emphasized that his recipes are guidelines, not proscriptions for or against certain techniques. He noted that everyone has different equipment and different preferences, all of which can generate excellent beer. I like this philosophy!

West Coast Wheat Beer

• 5 lbs. white wheat malt
• 3.5 lbs. 2-row malt (Great Western Malting Co.)
• 0.75 lbs. Munich malt
• 0.75 lbs. rice hulls
• 1 oz. Falconer's Flight hops pellets (9.6% alpha, 4.4% beta; alpha acid adjusted for age), 20 minute boil
• 1 oz. Falconer's Flight hops pellets (9.6% alpha, 4.4% beta; alpha acid adjusted for age), 1 minute boil
• 1 pkg. California Ale V (White Labs WLP051), prepared 24 hours in advance in 0.75 L starter

Procedure

• I mashed in with 13.4 quarts of water at 160.4°. This precisely hit my mash target of 150°. The mash was at 149° after 30 minutes and 146° after 60 minutes.
• I added 1.25 gallons of water at 175°, which raised the temperature of the mash bed to 152°. I let it sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected 3 gallons of wort.
• Next, I added 3 gallons of water at 182°, which raised the temperature of the mash bed to 166°. Once again, I let it rest for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the remainder of the wort.
• I had a total of 6 gallons of wort at 1.045 gravity, which works out to ~73% efficiency. The gravity was a little higher than I wanted, so I added a half gallon of water to bring the total boil volume up to 6.5 gallons.
• I brought the wort to a boil, and let it boil for 40 minutes before I added the first charge of hops. One minute before flame-out, I added the last charge of hops.
• After flame-out, I chilled the wort down to 80° using my wort chiller (couldn't manage much cooler with the warm weather!) and transferred the wort into my fermenter. I pitched the yeast starter and sealed it all up. I placed the yeastified wort into my fermentation chamber, and set the temperature for 68°. I will lower it a touch once fermentation has started, down to 66°.
• All total, I ended up with 5 gallons of wort in the fermenter, with a starting gravity of 1.048.

Beer Tasting: von Meyer Weizen

My von Meyer Weizen has been in the bottles for over three weeks now, waiting for the "official" tasting at the homebrew club meeting tonight. In advance of that, I did my own evaluation. This is cautioned, of course, by the fact that I don't normally drink a lot of weizens, so I'm not entirely up on what makes a "good" or "bad" one. At any rate, here we go!

• Basics
• Starting gravity = 1.047; final gravity = 1.012; abv = 4.6%. Estimated IBU = 10
• Aroma
• Tangy and clove-forward; not much in the way of banana.
• Appearance
• Deep gold, almost orange in color. The beer is fairly hazy with yeast. The head is cream colored and fine in texture; persistent but not terribly tall on the pour. Head retention is quite good.
• Flavor
• Clove-dominant and slightly malty, with a moderate banana flavor on the finish. There's a touch of citrus tang, too.
• Mouthfeel
• Body is modest, but carbonation is excellent, with fine bubbles.
• Would I brew this again?
• I think so! This wasn't the most technically challenging beer to brew, but that's alright...the overall result is pretty tasty; nice and refreshing as the weather starts to warm up. Truth be told, I like having a recipe that is quick turnaround!
• Overall rating
• 7/10

I did this tasting last weekend, in advance of the formal club meeting, and was curious to see how my personal assessment would compare. Somewhat to my surprise (there are some talented brewers in my club!), I placed first out of seven entries (two of which were commercial examples, and another two were good beers but brewed in other styles). If I were to guess, commercial wheat beers are handicapped a bit by long storage. According to most things I've read, this is a style to be consumed quickly, and homebrew might have an edge in this regard. 

My weizen wasn't the most technically challenging brew I've done--not by a long shot--but I am quite pleased with the results. The only minor thing I might change would be to find some way to improve the head; maybe by a partial mash to get some extra proteins into the mix? I'd definitely use the cool fermentation profile again--the balance of clove vs. banana was perfect for my taste. In any case, it's nice to get affirmation that all-extract brewing produces great beer!

von Meyer Weizen Bottled

Tonight I bottled my von Meyer Weizen; it had been in the fermenter for 3 weeks. This was a touch longer than originally intended, following various unexpected interruptions. The final gravity was 1.012, down from 1.047. This works out to 4.6% abv. The beer has the prominent banana and clove aroma/flavor that's expected with this style--I shall be curious to see how these mellow and taste after a little aging and at proper serving temperature under carbonation.

I primed the beer with 2.6 oz. of corn sugar boiled in 2 cups of water, targeting 2.7 volumes of CO2. My final yield was 6 12-oz. bottles, 12 18-oz. bottles, and 3 22-oz. bottles.

von Meyer Weizen

My homebrew club is focusing on German wheat beers for its March meeting, so today I brewed up a batch in preparation. Based on past experiences, I knew that German wheat beers are tasty, but maybe not something I wanted five gallons of (especially given the relatively short shelf life for the style). Given my brewing equipment and available time this afternoon, I decided to go for a 2.5 gallon batch of an all-extract beer. My mash tun holds 10 gallons, so I was worried that a half batch (2.5 gallons) wouldn't hold temperature for a sufficiently long time, and I didn't feel like simultaneously learning BIAB, so extract seemed the way to go. As I read up on the style, I ended up thinking that a simpler brew would be best.

Because I was using all-extract, I elected to use distilled water to keep the mineral concentrations down. In my reading, it became apparent that extracts already have the minerals from the mash. For a lighter beer like this, using my (already heavily mineralized) tap water to rehydrate might ding the flavor a little bit. We'll see how it works out!

The recipe itself is named after Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer, a nineteenth century German paleontologist who studied Plateosaurus, perhaps one of the best known dinosaurs of Germany. I was using a Bavarian malt extract, and Plateosaurus are plentiful in Bavaria, so all of the elements add up!

von Meyer Weizen

• 3 lbs. Bavarian wheat dry malt (Briess, 8.0 SRM; 65% malted wheat, 35% malted barley)
• 0.35 oz. Hallertauer hops pellets (4.3% alpha, 5.6% beta)
• 3.5 gallons distilled water
• Hefeweizen Ale Yeast (White Labs WLP300)

Anticipated statistics

• 1.047 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 4.6% abv
• 10.3 IBU
• 6.4 SRM

Procedure

• I heated 3.25 gallons of distilled water to a boil, turned off the heat, and added the dry malt extract.
• Once the mixture returned to a boil, I added the hops pellets and boiled for 60 minutes.
• After 60 minutes, I cooled the wort down to 70° using my chiller and transferred it into my carboy. The gravity was a little high (1.052), so I diluted the wort slightly by adding another 0.25 gallons of water. This brought my starting gravity exactly where I wanted it to be.
• I pitched the yeast directly from the vial into the wort (no starter needed for this small of a batch), agitated the mixture, and set it in my fermenting chamber. I plan to ferment at 64°. Based on what I read, this temperature can result in a more balanced clove/banana aroma than fermenting at a higher temperature.
• Starting gravity was 1.047, with ~2.67 gallons in the fermenter.
• After 10-14 days, I will bottle the beer.

This project reminded me of one of the great pleasures of extract brews--rapid brewing and short clean-up! I spent maybe 2.5 hours max on this, for everything from pulling out the equipment to washing the brew pot.

Andy's Orange Wheat Ale Bottled

Yesterday (March 24), I bottled up the orange wheat beer, skipping a secondary fermentation stage. The beer had fermented for 11 days and reached a final gravity of 1.013. With a starting gravity of 1.042, the ABV is 3.9%. Because my sources suggest a higher amount of carbonation for the American Wheat style, I used 1 cup + 2 tbs. of corn sugar boiled in 2 cups of water for the primer. I ended up with 35 12-oz. bottles, 7 16-oz. bottles, and 2 22-oz. bottles.

The beer has much of what I'd expect for a wheat ale and the strain of yeast that I used. The appearance is pretty cloudy, and when tasted at room temperature there is a distinct banana finish, with no clove or citrus flavor apparent. When I cool the beer down, however, the banana is much diminished and a distinct citrus note pokes through. The color is perhaps a little darker than I anticipated, but this may be due to the fact that I used liquid rather than dry malt extract. In any case, I think this is going to be a nice warm-weather beer!

Andy's Orange Wheat Ale

The brew season really is nearing its end; as my hectic spring schedule looms and the temperatures continue to rise, it's time for one final(?) batch. Of course, I want something that will be refreshing and thirst-quenching in the coming warm months. What's better for that than a light and flavorful wheat beer?

One of my favorite local brews is Hangar 24's Orange Wheat Beer. According to their web page, whole oranges are used in every step of the brewing process. The result is a slightly citrus aroma and flavor in every sip. . .although I couldn't find any clone recipes out there (Hangar 24 isn't very widely distributed yet, which is probably part of the reason for the lack of clones), I decided to try and put something together that approximates it. Various blood orange weisen recipes provided direction for how to treat the oranges.

The result is my Orange Wheat Ale. It's probably one of the most experimental beers I've ever brewed, so here's hoping the end result works!

Andy's Orange Wheat Ale

• 8 oz. 10°L crystal malt
• 6 lbs. Bavarian Wheat Liquid Malt Extract (3.3 SRM; 65% wheat, 35% barley)
• 2 oz. Liberty hops pellets
• 1 package American Wheat Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1010)
• 8 fresh Valencia oranges

Directions

• I heated 3 gallons of water to ~164°, and steeped the crystal malt for one hour. The temperature dropped pretty quickly to around ~158°, and easily held there. Then, I sparged with a half gallon of water.
• I heated the brew kettle to a boil and added the liquid malt extract. I rinsed out the malt container with another half gallon of water, to bring the total volume in the kettle to four gallons.
• Meanwhile, I zested the peel of eight medium-sized Valencia oranges (fresh-picked, without the nasty wax coating you get in the grocery store), resulting in 1.1 oz. (wet) of peel. I was very careful not to go down to the white part of the peel, which is too bitter. Then, I peeled and sliced up three of the oranges (the remainder went to make fresh juice - delicious!). I put those oranges and orange peel in a hop sack and placed them in a saucepan with 1/2 gallon of water. I heated this to just boiling, and turned off the heat to let it soak (~45 minutes).
• Once the wort mixture came to a boil again, I added 1 oz. of the Liberty hops. After 55 total minutes of boil, I added another ounce of Liberty hops. After 60 minutes, I chilled the wort.
• I poured the wort into the primary fermenter and added the hot mixture of orangey water, slices, and peel. I topped the fermenter up with cold water to ~5.25 gallons, and pitched the yeast. The temperature was ~84°, a little hotter than I hoped for, but I figured it would be best to pitch the yeast immediately (especially because any extra esters and phenols would be in character for a weizen). Starting gravity was 1.042.

My plan is to let this ferment for 10 days and then bottle immediately.

Postscript: The simple ingredients for this one mean it's also one of the cheapest I've brewed this year - total ingredient cost equals $25.37. Assuming a typical yield, that's about $4/six-pack.

Wheat Beer Bottled and Drinkable

Ok, so it's been a long time since the last post. The All-American Porter has been brewed and will get bottled later today. Also, the wheat beer got bottled two weeks ago--we ended up with 41 bottles, if I remember correctly. Some of these were the larger pint-sized bottles, too. I cracked the first bottle earlier this week, and it has carbonated up nicely. It's pretty drinkable, although in hindsight the normal fruity aroma associated with the German wheat beers is not quite to my taste. A little slice of lemon really rounds out the flavor, though. Next time, I think I'll try an American strain of yeast--these seem to lack the fruity aroma/flavors seen in many of the European strains.

Wheat Beer Update

Tonight I transferred the wheat beer (which has been fermenting for six days now) into the secondary fermenter. The beer has a nice yeasty-sour aroma, which is about what I would expect. Plus, it's tasting pretty good. The gravity at present is 1.010, putting alcohol at right about 3 percent. Can't wait to see what this will be like once it's settled and matured a little!

Wheat Beer

I don't have a clever name for this one yet. . .it's based off of the recipe for Bert Grant's Hefeweizen (by Yakima Brewing and Malting Co.) in the North American Clone Brews book by Scott R. Russell. I brewed it up last night (January 17), with some able assistance from my friend Todd.

Here are the basic ingredients:
1 lb. malted wheat (crushed)
8 oz. light crystal malt (40°L)
8 oz. carapils malt
2 oz. Hallertau hops pellets (3.8% alpha; 1 oz. for the bittering, 1 oz. for the aroma)
4 lbs. wheat dry malt extract
German wheat beer yeast (Wyeast 3333)

Here's what I did:

• I steeped the malted wheat, crystal malt, and carapils malt in 2 gallons of water for 45 minutes, at 150°F. Then, I sparged the grains with half a gallon of water at about the same temperature.
• I added the wheat malt extract, and heated the whole thing to boiling.
• Once the wort was boiling, I added 1 oz. of the hop pellets and boiled for 45 minutes.
• For the final 15 minutes, I added the last ounce of hops.
• At the end of the boil, I cooled the wort down with an ice bath in the sink, decanted the wort into my fermenter, and topped the whole thing up to about 4.5 gallons.
• I pitched the liquid yeast, and now everythings sitting in the closet and hopefully fermenting.

The initial gravity is 1.034, which is quite a bit lower than I expected (1.045 is what the recipe gives). In the end, this will probably give me an alcohol content a little over 3 percent, assuming that it all ferments out as my previous batches have. Part of the low gravity "problem" might be that my grains were bagged too tightly, and so I didn't get as good of utilization out of them. I don't think this explains everything, though. Next time (assuming I like the results), I'm going to go ahead and use a full five pounds of malt extract.

The color on the finished wort is a nice straw-color - the lightest I've brewed to date.

Next up. . .

Sarah has requested a wheat beer, so I'm going to try my hand at one of these next weekend (if everything arrives by then, that is). I'm basing my recipe around a clone of Bert Grant's Hefeweizen, which from the description in my recipe book looks to have all of the characteristics that Sarah likes (citrusy, yeasty, wheaty). Unfortunately, my local homebrew store didn't have any wheat malt. . .so, I placed my order with William's Brewing, and it should all ship out tomorrow afternoon.