So today I embarked on my second attempt at making beer, my own recipe for a Blood Orange Hefeweizen. All in all, I think it went pretty well. I was very particular about sanitation, and making sure I measured everything as accurately as I could.
The pre-boil gravity was 1.064 (.001 higher than BeerSmith’s estimate). I did a 1 hour boil with 1oz of 5.2% Vanguard hops added with 15 minutes left in the boil. I did not get the amount of boil off I was expecting. I had used a spreadsheet from BeerSmith that estimates the boil off based on the kettle diameter and it estimated my boil off to be 1.12g/hr. I ran a test on my kettle yesterday, and it showed I boiled off 1.5g/hr. I think my test was flawed as I think about it. Instead of cooling the water as I would if I was brewing, I just let it cool on it’s own while I went and had dinner and a beer or two.
Today, at the end of the boil, I had 3 gallons left and not 2.6 gallons I had thought it would be. It turns out that BeerSmith’s spreadsheet was pretty accurate, as my actual boil off was 1.1g/hr. I will be updating my equipment profile to reflect this.
My final volume into the fermenter after top off was 5.5 gallons with a SG of 1.053 (target was 1.049). I’m guessing that this beer will come out just a touch sweeter with a slightly lower ABV. Does that sound right? The estimated final gravity would have been 1.016 and ABV of 4.3% if I had hit the 1.049. What would be a good estimate of what I can realistically expect to see for a FG on this starting at 1.053? It is an extract batch using Briess LME Wheat, Bavarian (65% Wheat, 35% Barley)?
I pitched 1 re-hydrated packet of WB-06 at 63F and have it in the chest freezer with a set temp of 65F. Now it’s time to have a brew and wait.
Even though I did not hit the target gravity, I think it was a much better brew day than my first, and I think this one is going to turn out pretty good (fingers crossed).
I would expect your yeast to perform as projected as far as percentage fermented around 67% attenuation. This would yield an ABV around 4.6-7% a little higher than expected, but likely not noticeable on the first beer, maybe after 3 or 4 though
Thanks. A little extra alcohol wont be a problem. If that’s the only thing that didn’t come out as expected, I will be a happy camper. It is hanging out at getting happy at 65F-66F in my chest freezer. At 6:00AM yesterday it had good airlock activity and about 1" of nice creamy, tan kreausen. This morning, it’s still bubbling away and as soon as I opened the freezer, it was an instant rush of banana aroma. As long as I prime it right this time, I think it’s going to be a good beer.
That’s the plan. I was going to do a breakfast stout next, but I think it is going to be this Hefeweizen again. I am doing this as a tribute to my brother’s band, and named it after them. They just cut their first EP, and are thinking about doing a release party, mentioned that if the Hefe turns out as hoped, they want it for the party as well.
Check the gravity yesterday and today, and was steady at 1.011, down from 1.053. It has been racked to secondary on top of the 3# of puree, and I will let it sit for at least a week before checking gravity again.
I tasted the sample, and it actually tasted pretty darned good. It looked a little darker than what I was thinking, but that could be from the fact is was an extract brew. It definitely tasted like a Hefeweizen to me, and had plenty of yeast in suspension. It was a good balance between clove and banana, though I had hoped for a bit more banana to go with the orange, but I am not disappointed with how it is so far. According to what I have read about the WB-06, the banana is more pronounced when fermenting above 73.4F. I set my controller to 72F so I could hopefully avoid the temperature problems I had with my failed IPA.
As far as the WB-06 goes, the numbers in BeerSmith are definitely wrong. It shows an attenuation range of 66%-70%. With my OG of 1.053 and gravity at 1.011 now, BeerSmith shows an apparent attenuation of 80.3%, which is more in line with what Fermentis shows as a max attenuation of 86% under lab conditions. ABV is at 5.6% instead of <5% that I was going for, but it’s all good.
Planning to brew this again as my next batch, but as all-grain, but that will be another thread.
I took a sample and a gravity reading today after 5 days on the puree. Gravity was 1.012, which is higher than what it was after primary. I am guessing that it could be an error in my reading, or some unfermentable sugars left from the puree. I plan to check again in 2 days before deciding to bottle or not. The color was good, not to dark. Aroma wise, there was definite blood orange present. Taste wise, it was more banana/clove up front and giving way to mild blood orange in the finish. Not bad at all. I may add a bit of zest to the secondary as well the next time I do it, or maybe not, as it seems to have a good balance. I can’t wait to try it once it has been carbonated. It should be a lot better, assuming I get my priming right this time. Accounting for errors in my hydrometer reading and more attenuation from the WB-06 than expected, I should finish around 4.8%-5.4% ABV.