| No Boil Berliner Weisse |
| Home Brewing Recipes Baker Street Ales Associate Brewer Arny Lands |
| Beer Nexus the crossroads of the beer world |
I just saw that we have an article on BeerNexus about Berliner
Weisse this month so I thought you might be interested in my
take on it for home brewing. II'm going to give you a no-boil
Berliner Weisse method that is easy to do, but it is inherently
more susceptible to infection than a standard recipe. I only
recommend this recipe for home brewers who look for a sense of
adventure and experimentation.
This recipe also makes use of a brewing method called
decoction: a portion of the mash is removed prior to sparging,
and it is boiled separately. After boiling, the decoction is added
back into the mash. Here we go but first remember my three
golden words of brewing: sanitation, sanitation, sanitation.
Ingredients
3.25 pounds German Pilsner Malt
3.25 pounds German wheat malt
0.5 pounds rice hulls
0.75 ounces Hallertauer hops (added to mash)
1 package Safale US-05
2 packages Lactobacillus (Wyeast 5535 or Whte Labs WLP677
1. Line the 7.5 gallon kettle with mesh grain bag, fill with 2.1
gallons tap water and bring to 159°F. Remove from heat.
2. Mash-in by slowly adding Pilsner and wheat malt into the bag.
Stir for 2 minutes to prevent grain from clumping together. The
temperature should equalize to about 149°F
3. Remove 3 quarts of the mash for the decoction, including a
good mixture of both the grain and liquid. Add the Hallertauer
hops to mixture and boil in a separate pot for 15 minutes. Stir
frequently, and as foam rises to the top, skim and discard.
4. Add the entire decoction back into the mash. In a separate
container, heat 3.7 gallons of water to 185°F.
5. After about 60 total minutes of mashing, mash-out by carefully
pouring the 185°F water into the mash, stirring to equalize
temperature to about 170°F.
6. Slowly raise grain bag out of the liquid, allowing wort to drain
from the grain. Hold grain bag above the kettle for 5 to 10
minutes as the wort drains.
7. DO NOT BOIL. Cool the wort to under 80°F and transfer to a
sanitized fermentation vessel.
8. Use a sanitized auto-siphon racking cane to remove enough
wort to take a gravity reading with your hydrometer. Make a note
of this number, since you will be using it to calculate the actual
alcohol content when it's done fermenting. The reading should
be around 1.035. Cover fermentor with a sanitized stopper and
airlock.
9.Add 1 package of Safale US-05 and 2 packages of Lactobacillus.
Ferment for 3 to 5 days at a temperature around 75°F.
10. Condition by allowing the beer to rest for at least a month.
Taste samples weekly to determine sour flavor development.
11. Bottle when desired level of sourness and flavor have
developed, up to 6 months, using enough priming sugar for a
high level of carbonation.
That's it. Hope you give it a try - it's perfect for the hot weather
this summer. You'll find this tart, crisp brew most refreshing!
-----------------------------
Good Brewing and Cheers!
Arny Lands
Weisse this month so I thought you might be interested in my
take on it for home brewing. II'm going to give you a no-boil
Berliner Weisse method that is easy to do, but it is inherently
more susceptible to infection than a standard recipe. I only
recommend this recipe for home brewers who look for a sense of
adventure and experimentation.
This recipe also makes use of a brewing method called
decoction: a portion of the mash is removed prior to sparging,
and it is boiled separately. After boiling, the decoction is added
back into the mash. Here we go but first remember my three
golden words of brewing: sanitation, sanitation, sanitation.
Ingredients
3.25 pounds German Pilsner Malt
3.25 pounds German wheat malt
0.5 pounds rice hulls
0.75 ounces Hallertauer hops (added to mash)
1 package Safale US-05
2 packages Lactobacillus (Wyeast 5535 or Whte Labs WLP677
1. Line the 7.5 gallon kettle with mesh grain bag, fill with 2.1
gallons tap water and bring to 159°F. Remove from heat.
2. Mash-in by slowly adding Pilsner and wheat malt into the bag.
Stir for 2 minutes to prevent grain from clumping together. The
temperature should equalize to about 149°F
3. Remove 3 quarts of the mash for the decoction, including a
good mixture of both the grain and liquid. Add the Hallertauer
hops to mixture and boil in a separate pot for 15 minutes. Stir
frequently, and as foam rises to the top, skim and discard.
4. Add the entire decoction back into the mash. In a separate
container, heat 3.7 gallons of water to 185°F.
5. After about 60 total minutes of mashing, mash-out by carefully
pouring the 185°F water into the mash, stirring to equalize
temperature to about 170°F.
6. Slowly raise grain bag out of the liquid, allowing wort to drain
from the grain. Hold grain bag above the kettle for 5 to 10
minutes as the wort drains.
7. DO NOT BOIL. Cool the wort to under 80°F and transfer to a
sanitized fermentation vessel.
8. Use a sanitized auto-siphon racking cane to remove enough
wort to take a gravity reading with your hydrometer. Make a note
of this number, since you will be using it to calculate the actual
alcohol content when it's done fermenting. The reading should
be around 1.035. Cover fermentor with a sanitized stopper and
airlock.
9.Add 1 package of Safale US-05 and 2 packages of Lactobacillus.
Ferment for 3 to 5 days at a temperature around 75°F.
10. Condition by allowing the beer to rest for at least a month.
Taste samples weekly to determine sour flavor development.
11. Bottle when desired level of sourness and flavor have
developed, up to 6 months, using enough priming sugar for a
high level of carbonation.
That's it. Hope you give it a try - it's perfect for the hot weather
this summer. You'll find this tart, crisp brew most refreshing!
-----------------------------
Good Brewing and Cheers!
Arny Lands
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