Home Brew Forum

Well it's that time of the year again when hope triumphs over expectation and a Fruit Beer for those long balmy days of Summer is required. My effort last year was really much better than I was expecting for a first effort, but, with hindsight I thought I could do better. So with fingers and body numb from the cold I sallied forth with this in mind.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 30.42 l
Post Boil Volume: 23.92 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 20.00 l
Bottling Volume: 20.50 l
Estimated OG: 1.040 SG
Estimated Color: 15.6 EBC
Estimated IBU: 16.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 86.3 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
3.000 kg Maris Otter (Crisp) (7.9 EBC) 87.0 %
0.250 kg Crystal Malt (150.0 EBC) 7.2 %
0.200 kg Wheat Malt (3.0 EBC) 5.8 %
10.00 g Citra [13.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min 16.3 IBUs
1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056
1.50 kg Raspberries (Secondary 1.0 weeks) -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 3.450 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 11.00 l of water at 74.4 C 65.6 C 60 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 24.88 l water at 75.6 C


First up the grain bill, with a warning to any lurking early spoilers that might be about.



Mash on with insulation hood in place.




Massive hop charge: 10g of Citra




Star cock up of the day; end stop of the sparge arm lost in the mash, improvisation called for.




And here it is.




(Spot the) End stop in the Mist.





Been using Brun' Water mash pH calculator and wanted the final runnings to be below 6 around 5.5.




The really important one, mash pH, wanted 5.3 to 5.4 range.




New (to me) technique of crash cooling the wort from boiling to 30c before letting the wort settle before final run off, trying to avoid reformation of DMS.




The idea is to put the defrosted raspberries in the fermentor. Freezing them helps break the pulp down but I will wait until the brew is 5-7 days into the fermentation before adding because I will not be heating them to kill any bugs as I want the most raspberry hit I can get.

if we have to run the wasp olympics this year then it'll just be a measure of what a lovely summer we're having

i do like the look of this recipe. just read through your thread for the first one to compare
one of the most interesting things for me with rebrews is the changes people make and the reasons why. especially with fruit beers that have so many possible directions. would be very interested to hear what your main aims were for improving on the last one.

jaroporter wrote:if we have to run the wasp olympics this year then it'll just be a measure of what a lovely summer we're having

i do like the look of this recipe. just read through your thread for the first one to compare
one of the most interesting things for me with rebrews is the changes people make and the reasons why. especially with fruit beers that have so many possible directions. would be very interested to hear what your main aims were for improving on the last one.

Impressed you tracked it down. Well the main reason was that I felt I overdid the bittering at 24 IBU and using 2 hops didn't make sense really. This time I decided to use another C hop but at low level and on its own to only 16 IBU. I want the fruit to be the star, backed by a little malt sweetness with the finish towards dry to make it refreshing for those long hot Summer....!

I have to say I enjoyed the last one quite a lot but decided that the wheat was overdone and wanted a clear pink to red colour with this one, and I'm going to up the carbonation to get a whipped cream head, if I can. I have 2 left from last year and suspect they are too far gone but I will open one side by side with the new one to see how they compare. My only misgiving about this recipe is that by only brewing it once a year I could take the rest of my life to perfect it.

the bittering is an interesting one as i guess you have to anticipate the contribution of the fruit to perception of sweetness. just gotta brew it and see, i guess. i think most fruit sugars are pretty fermentable, right?

did you notice any extra carbonation in the later bottles, from slow fermenting fruit sugars?

Well Raspberry has a tartness to it unlike say Strawberry, so this is why I adjusted the malt to have a lot more crystal in it. I did notice more carbonation as time went by but I notice this anyway in beers. The longer you leave a beer in the bottle you also get a smaller "smoother" bubble and it's that that I'm pinning my hopes on to get me the creamy head I'm after, the little touch of wheat is there for an each way bet.

Now 6 days on from brew day. It is down to 1.011 and have decided to add the raspberries. I've put in 1.5k (expensive at £15 ) of previously frozen berries after first liquidising them with a hand blender. Sanitised all the equipment with starsan but have decided against heating the raspberries in an effort to maximise their flavour. I took the same gamble the last time I did this so am happy to ride my luck .

Really interested in this thread.

I want to make a raspberry Belgian this year and I have never done a fruity one, need to do so because:
a) I love making Belgian beers
b) I have an allotment so free raspberries
c) It will make pink beer that SWMBO will like!

So please keep up the updates and picks.

What about a shot of the fermenter with the raspberry mix in it? Did you have a thread for version one or some pics of that one?

I would agree that this is a beer you dont want to over hop given the presumably low FG and delcate flavours. Personally I might have kept the grain bill lighter in colour so as to ensure a lighter/brighter finished beer. Using pilsner and a very light crystal type malt etc.

Thanks,

Dean.

The kind you find in a second hand store?

EoinMag wrote:The kind you find in a second hand store?

If you look at my Sig, you might find something of a theme going on, can you spot anymore?

orlando wrote:

EoinMag wrote:The kind you find in a second hand store?

If you look at my Sig, you might find something of a theme going on, can you spot anymore?

Glass closetted Prince fan...?



Guy

Manx Guy wrote:

orlando wrote:

EoinMag wrote:The kind you find in a second hand store?

If you look at my Sig, you might find something of a theme going on, can you spot anymore?

Glass closetted Prince fan...?



Guy

No not really but I do like that song, hopefully the beer too

EoinMag wrote:The kind you find in a second hand store?

Very good indeed

I am a massive Prince fan, the guy is one of the best guitarists going, a lot don't like him, but I think it's jealousy at all the genius birds he's shagged.

He starts a solo at about 3:30......wow

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xutc5j ... W_wSMr68tZ

dean_wales wrote:Really interested in this thread.

I want to make a raspberry Belgian this year and I have never done a fruity one, need to do so because:
a) I love making Belgian beers
b) I have an allotment so free raspberries
c) It will make pink beer that SWMBO will like!

So please keep up the updates and picks.

What about a shot of the fermenter with the raspberry mix in it? Did you have a thread for version one or some pics of that one?

I would agree that this is a beer you dont want to over hop given the presumably low FG and delcate flavours. Personally I might have kept the grain bill lighter in colour so as to ensure a lighter/brighter finished beer. Using pilsner and a very light crystal type malt etc.

Thanks,

Dean.

Your wish is my command. Next post I will try and remember to get a picture of the sample jar, at the moment it is a very girlie pink the sort you get from pink grapefruits. The aroma is distinctly raspberry and the flavour is a little tart and dry.



This the thread for the first one.



As you can see the yeast cap is still intact so this is where the raspberry has coloured it. I have since given it a rousing to get as much of the raspberry fruit in touch with the wort as I can. I've taken a reading and it is down to 1.008 (day 5 ) so in danger of finishing a little tart and dry. Any thoughts on sweetening it, I was thinking of lactose?

EoinMag wrote:I am a massive Prince fan, the guy is one of the best guitarists going, a lot don't like him, but I think it's jealousy at all the genius birds he's shagged.

He starts a solo at about 3:30......wow

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xutc5j ... W_wSMr68tZ

Just watched it, that was fantastic. Now I love Tom Petty, I loved the Wilbury's (particular fan of Roy Orbison) and that is one great song, but I have to say Prince absolutely nailed that solo. What a video, great post