Verkenbrau 2.0

Verkenbrau 2.0
Weizen? Why not? From FH Steinbarts recipe
5 gallons
OG 1.050
FG 1.012
Recipe recommends starter yeast culture– don’t have the time or equipment at this time. Some ingredients are more than recommended in recipe…guys at store said it was ok.
Ingredients used:
6.6 pounds Muntons Wheat extract
Approx 1.75 lb crystal malt (caramel 60) (recipe called for 1.0 lb)
Approx .75 lb toasted barley (flaked) (recipe called for .50 lb)
1.5 lb blackberry honey (recipe called for 1 lb)
2 oz (boil) Cascade hops
½ oz (finishing) Cascade hops
1 package Wyeast #3333 German Wheat yeast (liquid)

First ingredient purchase from Steinbarts. Overall impression, the malt was expensive. I probably could’ve gone w/ out the honey from there & used cheaper bulk stuff or just sugar. The grains were nice though. Lots of advice (albeit most of it was over my head for now).

Steeped grains in approximately 3.25 gallons water as it came to a boil (40-45 minutes). Boiled 2 cans of malt extract & honey with 2 oz hops for 1 hour 10 minutes. Pulled off heat, covered & added ½ oz hops for finishing (about 5 minutes). Sparged into fermenter that had two 1-gallon Fred Meyer Spring Water containers that were frozen into ice. Closed fermenter & shook every once in a while. After about 2 ½ hours the thermometer read 72-74. First impressions, the wort smells a little more bitter than I thought. I’m a little worried about the yeast, I wish I would’ve taken the time to do a starter. For the future I think I’ll do the starter process.

First time using Wyeast package. I slapped the package per instructions & let sit for a couple of hours at room temperature. When the wort was down to 72-74 I opened the fermenter, fished out a small chunk of ice that was left w/ some sanitized tongs, took a hydrometer reading of 1.050 & pitched the yeast.

3/1/09 – Lots of activity in the fermenter. Moved the fermenter upstairs to the second bedroom & closed the door & window to keep temperature up. Wort still measuring at 72 degrees & fermenting rapidly.

3/5/09 – fermentation activity slowed to a bubble every 70-90 seconds in airlock. Racked to secondary. There was significant yeast on the surface of the beer as well as the expected ‘pancake’ at the bottom. Siphoned smoothly to secondary, took a hydrometer reading of 1.020 from what was left in the primary. Drank the sample afterwards, it was very yeasty & had a bit of a sour taste on the back of the tongue. Last thermometer reading on the side of the primary showed approximately 70 degrees. Fermented in upstairs bedroom to this point, plan to keep in secondary five days upstairs then move to the hall closet downstairs (much cooler) for a few days prior to bottling. Hoping secondary clears the beer a little bit & smooths out the flavor.

3/14 – fermentation activity was very low, time to bottle. I boiled ¾ cup corn sugar with one pint of water for approximately 10 minutes while I boiled the bottle caps & sanitized equipment. Bottled with Banessa’s help. Was able to bottle 48 12 oz. bottles & 2 22 oz. bottles that I’ll give to Alex. Had enough left over for a hydrometer reading of approximately 1.012(?) and have a drink. The hops are prominent but overall the taste has mellowed nicely & is not too yeasty. No residual sour taste as I thought before. It should condition well in the bottles & I’m excited to try it in a week or so.

3/22/09 – opened beer. Carbonation hasn’t fully developed yet. Probably a result of aging in the colder closet. Will let it age another week or so before opening the next bottle. Taste was very good. Hops were prominent but not overpowering. Aftertaste was clean.

3/27/09 – second try at the beer tasting. Carbonation has developed nicely, although not uniformly throughout each bottle. Taste is very good. Hops are strong, but nice. Medium body, the carbonated bottles have a very nice mouth feel. Brought several bottles to Nick’s for a BBQ. Feedback from Nick, Jimmy, Heather & Jamie was very good. Nick also gave some to his sister who said she liked it.

4/8/09 -- Alex emailed & said the following: Wow! I finished the first bottle of Verkeweizen this evening with dinner. This is very impressive. You're right. The hops did come through really prominently. I like it. You should go down to the store and buy a bottle of Franziskaner, a german hefe. It tastes similar. The banana / clove notes. Your beer is more balanced, and therefore more delicious.

I’m truly flattered.