I had a Shock Top raspberry wheat and a Blue Moon while out with some friends the other night. I would love to brew something close to those. I have no programs Like beer smith on the computer to help me build recipes, not yet anyway. Can anyone tell me if there are any kits out there that I can buy that resembles a Belgian White?. I just brewed an American wheat yesterday, but I never tasted one before, there for I don’t know what I’m in for with an American wheat. So I can’t compare the taste between the American and the Belgian wheats.
Thanks
Brad
Here is the host’s wit beer:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/witb ... t-kit.htmlYou could add raspberry flavoring at bottling time. I’m not sure how close to a traditional wit the shock top is so it may not come out close at all.
I made a Witbier extract kit by Brewers Best about a year ago and it didn’t come close to the Blue Moon flavor. That was only the second kit I Brewed. Now that I am doing all grain and learned a little more, maybe I should try it again in all grain.
The American wheat I made yesterday came with a raspberry extract that goes in the beer when I keg it. I bought the kit hoping it would be close to the Shock Top. But then I saw that S.T. Is a Belgian style. So we will see in a few weeks. Just so it is drinkable! 
I have made the American Wheat with the raspberry flavoring. It was “good” but not great. I attribute this to the extract flavoring. From my understanding, real fruit provides a much more complex flavor.
ST Raspberry is my better half’s favorite (she likes those fruity beers). I did a belgian wit and added 2lbs per gal of raspberry. It turned out well. I can’t remember if I even compared it to ST but then she went and got knocked-up (ok ok I might have some part in that too) so she never really got to enjoy it. Will have to try it again for her.
If you decide to go with real fruit, I would also buy some extract just in case you decide you want a lil’ more umph to it.
I brewed the Belgian White extract kit from AHS (Austin Homebrew Supply) awhile back with white Labs Belian Wit 400. It tastes similar to Blue Moon with the coriander & orange. All my friends thought it was great. They have awesome shipping rates also! 
[quote=“Thirstyone”]I brewed the Belgian White extract kit from AHS (Austin Homebrew Supply) awhile back with white Labs Belian Wit 400. It tastes similar to Blue Moon with the coriander & orange. All my friends thought it was great. They have awesome shipping rates also! [/quote][quote=“Loopie Beer”]I have made the American Wheat with the raspberry flavoring. It was “good” but not great. I attribute this to the extract flavoring. From my understanding, real fruit provides a much more complex flavor.
ST Raspberry is my better half’s favorite (she likes those fruity beers). I did a belgian wit and added 2lbs per gal of raspberry. It turned out well. I can’t remember if I even compared it to ST but then she went and got knocked-up (ok ok I might have some part in that too) so she never really got to enjoy it. Will have to try it again for her.
If you decide to go with real fruit, I would also buy some extract just in case you decide you want a lil’ more umph to it.[/quote]
Congrats on the new one on it’s way :cheers: this American wheat came with some kind of a raspberry extract. It says to add the whole thing to 5gallons. Might add 1/2 first then take a sample. I don,t want it too strong. I would have to touch base with you before I would try real fruit, unless it is a purée.
I have Austin on my favorites at work. Being on the East side of the country, shipping the yeast might be a problem when it is warm out?
Brad
Here is the actual original recipe for Blue Moon. I know what you’re going to say, but yes, yes its actually is. This was scaled down from a post by one of the original brewers of the beer at Coors. There is an extensive thread on HBT about it, for more detailed information I would point you over there.
This has been scaled down, but was as close as I could get to maintain the original flavor profile:
Recipe Specifications
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 3.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 16.8 IBUs
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
Amt Name
5.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
4.00 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)
1.00 lb Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM)
1.25 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.00 %] (60 Min)
1.00 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 mins)
1.00 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 5.0 mins)
1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
Name Description Step Temp
Mash In Add 12.50 qt of water at 165.3 F 150.0 F
Brad, it would be a good idea to add a little and sample as individual thresholds can differ greatly.
As far as the yeast, if you order a cold pack with it the yeast will be fine. In addition you could also make a starter to ensure viability.
Thanks for the congrats!
Trimack,
Thanks for the Blue Moon recipe. I never bought individual ingredients before, I would love to brew it before summer is over! I just bought BeerSmith 2 and downloaded it to the PC at home. I seem to be having a little trouble with it. I don’t know how to use it and I cant get the “help” menues to work. I would plug the Blue Moon into it to play around with the features for brewing it but that will have to wait till I figure out how to use BeerSmith.
Just found BeerSmith help files in PDF format and ptinted them off…All 79 pages!
Loopie Beer,
I have a LHBS that might have Raspberry puree. I know they have cans of some sort of fruit. I may look into that before ading the little bottle of extract. You think 10 pounds for a 5 gallon batch would work?
If the yeast gets warm in transit, it will be ok as long as I make a starter? I guess if it is Wyeast and the smak pack swells, it would be OK. I always order the ice pack when buying kits, But coming from Texas, the yeast will be warm before I would get it. 
Brad
I would think 10lbs for 5gals would be a great starting place. You might not even need to add the extract to taste.
If you make a starter this helps with viability and increasing yeast count. Win-win. I ALWAYS make a starter, no matter if the beer I’m brewing is low gravity (1.040).
The problem with the beersmith 2 program not working too well was because I have a PC and an Apple Ipad. What happened had to do with Icloud taking over something in the PC when I linked the Ipad to sync with Itunes on the PC. I took it to the computer shop and that’s what they found. Any way beersmith2 is working now, just wish I knew how to work it.
The Raspberry Wheat was very good. I wound up adding the whole bottle of Raspberry extract to the keg after taste testing it adding about 1/4 bottle at a time. I thought the raspberry flavor was just right.
