Berliner Weisse Take III (with Grapefruit Zest)

Being able to make Berliner Weisse at home was one of the major draws of homebrewing for me.  I really enjoyed drinking them but, back in 2014, they were very rare to find (in the Phoenix area at least).  Since then, they've become much more common but I've found that it's still not easy to find good ones - I've tasted quite a few that had some off putting flavors and many that were just bland.  So, I was surprised to see that it's been almost two years since I brewed my last one.  Time to correct that.

For this batch I'll be souring with a culture of Belgian Trappist Ale Yeast and Lacto Brevis that I've been using to primary ferment my Flanders Red and Sour Blonde for the last couple years.  This culture produces a firm but not overwhelming level of sourness that I've felt would be appropriate for a Berliner Weisse (to my tastes anyway).

Some considerations when using this yeast:

• I'll be skipping bittering hops with this batch to avoid inhibiting the lacto
• The beers I make with this culture typically stop at 1.020 with this yeast when Mashed in the high 150s.  I'll mash this beer somewhat lower to allow it to ferment a bit drier.
• I'm going to ferment in the mid 70s to help the lacto develop the right level of acidity

I would like this beer to end up at ~3% ABV.  To this end, I'm going to shoot for ~1.030 OG.  I plan to just heat the collect wort up to boiling to sterilize but will not be boiling to concentrate - I expect my efficiency will suffer as a result of this.  I've chosen my amount of grain so that I'm more likely to undershoot than overshoot my OG.

I'll be using raw wheat in this batch with a cereal mash.  I think the raw wheat produces a really nice wheat flavor and starchiness to the wort that will come through in the final beer.

Finally, I've decided to experiment with Grapefruit Zest in this batch.  The acidity of a Berliner Weisse is often reminiscent of citrus - I think a bit of Grapefruit flavor would be complimentary.  I'm  going to use 1 oz of zest in secondary which I'm hoping will be sufficient to be noticed but not overwhelm the normal flavors.  I've decided to also dry hop this beer with 2 oz of Cascade hops.  I believe these should compliment the grapefruit zest nicely (I believe I often get some grapefruit-like flavors from them).

Recipe Details:

• Grain:
• 4 lb Pilsner Malt
• 4 lb Raw Wheat
• 2 oz Acid Malt
• Hops:
• 2 oz Cascade Pellet Dry Hop for 7 Days
• Yeast:
• Blend of Belgian Trappist Ale Yeast and Lacto Brevis
• Water:
• 9 gal of spring water
• 1/2 tsp CaCl
• 1/2 tsp Gypsum
• Extras:
• 1.25 oz Grapefruit Zest added in Secondary

Process Details:

• Batch Size:
• 6 gal
• Mash:
• 154 F for 90 min
• Boil:
• 5 min
• Fermentation Temperature:
• 76 F
• Primary Duration:
• 2 Weeks
• Secondary Duration:
• 2 Weeks

Results:

• OG:
• 1.026 (Target 1.032)
• Efficiency:
• 53% (Target 66%)
• FG:
• 1.003 (Target 1.004)
• Apparent Attenuation:
• 88% (Target 87%)
• ABV:
• 3.02% (Target 3.68%)

Brewing Notes:

• 3/10/18 - Brewday - 8:00 AM to 1:30 PM - Including setup and cleanup
• Cereal Mash:
• Milled 4 lb of raw wheat and 1 lb of pilsner malt into a 5 gal pot with 2.5 gal of water
• Heated this up to 120 F, stirring frequently, and then let sit with the flame off for 15 min with the lid on
• Heated up to 155 F, stirring frequently again, and then lest sit for 15 min
• Brought to a boil for 15 min
• Let this sit with the lid on to cool down to mid 150 F

• Heated 6.5 gal of strike water to 180 F.  Added 3 gal of  this to the mash tun which got things to settle at 167 F.
• Added the CaCl and Gypsum
• Added the cereal mash and stirred in well.  Mash settled out to 159 F with this.

• Added the remaining grains.  Stirred well to eliminate dough balls.  Temperature settled to 154 F
• Mashed for 90 min
• Moved my yeast out of the fridge to warm up to pitching temps

• At the end of the mash I added the 3.5 remaining gal of sparge water to the mash tun
• Drained the mash tun until I'd collected a little more than 6 gal
• Heated the 6 gal of wort up to a boil
• Added the wort chiller to sanitize.  Stopped the flame once it was back up to a boil
• Chilled down to 80 F
• Transferred to a bucket fermenter.  Pitched the yeast during the transfer

• Measured the gravity of the wort as 1.026.  Collected 6 gal of wort
• Moved it the the fermentation chamber wrapped in a towel and with a reptile heating pad to keep it in the 80s (had cooled down to 74 F during the transfer - hopefully it will warm up a bit)
• 3/24/18 - Zested two red grapefruit to get 1.25 oz of zest.  Transferred the beer onto the zest in a glass carboy for secondary.  Measured the gravity of the beer as 1.003.  It is a cloudy beer and has a pretty nice level of sourness.  I'll give this two weeks of secondary (dry hopping starting next weekend).

• 3/31/18 - The beer has formed a pellicle.  Added the dry hops.

• 4/8/18 - Bottled with 5 oz of priming sugar.  Ended up with 6 gal of beer which netted me 56 12 oz bottles of beer.  It is a really lovely smelling and tasting beer.  The grapefruit comes through strongly and the sourness of the beer and dry hop character are complimentary to it.  Hope it retains these flavor for a good while.
• 5/18/18 - Tasting Notes - Very refreshing beer that is easy to drink in quantity.  I think the sourness is at a really satisfying level and it has a pleasing level of complexity.  The grapefruit is a subtle addition but I think it blends in with the overall flavor profile nicely.  The hops were quite nice but I think I prefer it without them.