I’ve made a Peach Wheat Beer the past two years in the spring and they have turned out absoutely fabulous. The grist is typically 50% pale malt and 50% wheat. I add a buttering addition at 60 that equates to roughly 15-20 ibus. It ferments for 2 weeks, and then I usually add either 1.5 or 2 lbs of peach per gallon of beer. After a week the beer is crashed and kegged with just a small amount of peach extract being added to the keg to round out the flavor.
This year I’m looking for a peach wheat beer with just a bit more body and sweetness. The previous two have finished very dry. I’m thinking of mashing in the 156 range and adding to the grist .5 lbs of C60 and .5 lbs melanoiden.
What do you all think? Fruit is typically frozen and mashed up within in the bag and added directly to the primary, where a very small secondary fermentation occurs.
Sounds very similar to the fruit wheat beer I make every summer, but I vary the fruit. Last year I used Sea Buckthorn, which made for a nice sour tang. This year I’ll go back to raspberries, which I haven’t used in a few years, but is probably my favorite. I’d try peaches but I can’t get good ones here.
I use 50% wheat, 1/2 lb of light Munich, and the rest pilsner malt, with a 152F mash. It comes out dry but not too dry, which is how I like it. I’d be worried about mashing too high, and would think C60 might be too much caramel. Perhaps a half pound of C15 or C20 to add some light sweetness instead?
Another option is to use a less attenuative yeast. I concur with the others about avoiding C60 in this one. C20 seems like a good choice. I would strongly advise against using melanoiden malt in any quantity in this beer. That’s potent stuff in my experience and I think it would clash with the flavors you want to stand out.
What yeast do you typically use? US-05 throws off a peach/stone fruit ester if fermented at 60*-62 for the first few days of fermentation. I never picked it up until I read about it, but its definitely there. Works great for certain beers, not so great for others.
May just add another layer of flavor to your recipe.
[quote=“rebuiltcellars”]Sounds very similar to the fruit wheat beer I make every summer, but I vary the fruit. Last year I used Sea Buckthorn, which made for a nice sour tang. This year I’ll go back to raspberries, which I haven’t used in a few years, but is probably my favorite. I’d try peaches but I can’t get good ones here.
I use 50% wheat, 1/2 lb of light Munich, and the rest pilsner malt, with a 152F mash. It comes out dry but not too dry, which is how I like it. I’d be worried about mashing too high, and would think C60 might be too much caramel. Perhaps a half pound of C15 or C20 to add some light sweetness instead?[/quote]
rebuilt, this sounds really good. Regarding the raspberries: do you rack to secondary before adding? Do you add real fruit, puree, or some kind of extract?
Peaches sound good too but I’d like to try the raspberry wheat first.
I use fresh or frozen fruit (quantity depends on the fruit, with raspberries I use 4lbs for a 5 gallon batch) which I thaw, crush and put in a clean bucket, then rack the already fermented beer onto it. Because I don’t make any effort to sanitize the fruit, I leave it at least a month in the bucket before bottling or kegging. That gives any possible bacteria time to finish their work so there is no risk of bottle bombs. If I do get an infection from the fruit (has happened maybe 20% of the time), it gives it a bit more complexity, but so far hasn’t ever had a major impact on the beer. The fruit flavor pretty much overrides everything else.
[quote=“rebuiltcellars”]I use fresh or frozen fruit (quantity depends on the fruit, with raspberries I use 4lbs for a 5 gallon batch) which I thaw, crush and put in a clean bucket, then rack the already fermented beer onto it. Because I don’t make any effort to sanitize the fruit, I leave it at least a month in the bucket before bottling or kegging. That gives any possible bacteria time to finish their work so there is no risk of bottle bombs. If I do get an infection from the fruit (has happened maybe 20% of the time), it gives it a bit more complexity, but so far hasn’t ever had a major impact on the beer. The fruit flavor pretty much overrides everything else.
Picture of one from a few years ago:[/quote]
Thanks rebuilt! Awesome color! Now we know how to make a real red ale!
OP, sorry to highjack your thread. Carry on… :cheers:
Also, it wouldn’t hurt to give Glacier hops a try. I get a subtle and pleasing peach/apricot aroma from them. Probably my favorite obscure hop variety. They should be more popular than they are.
They’re also one of the rare hops I enjoy in a single-hop application.
They’re probably not very popular because they are a low oil, low alpha hop. But they’re also a very low cohumulone hop.
No worries. My philosophy on fruit beers is the same. I’ve used melanoidrn before and it Wally helps improve body, but I do see how it can get in the way. Based upon suggestions and personal taste, I’m going with the following grist:
45% pale
45% wheat
5% c20
5% light Munich
Mash at 154 for 60 minutes
Ferment at 62 for 10 days and ramp up to 70 for 3 days
Add 10 lbs fresh or frozen peaches for 10 days
Crash, keg and add extract
Was planning on using 05. Never gotten the peach flavor but it would obviously work well here.
FWIW I used appricot puree with great success once. At that time I had read up a little bit and found a consensus that appricot comes through as a more robust flavor, but very similar to peach. But if you’ve already used peach you may just want to stick with what you already know.
IIRC, I used roughly 50% 2 row, 40% wheat, 10% C20 and in 2ndary added 2 cans of Oregon puree. It was definitely a crowd pleaser.
[quote=“rebuiltcellars”]Sounds very similar to the fruit wheat beer I make every summer, but I vary the fruit. Last year I used Sea Buckthorn, which made for a nice sour tang. This year I’ll go back to raspberries, which I haven’t used in a few years, but is probably my favorite. I’d try peaches but I can’t get good ones here.
I use 50% wheat, 1/2 lb of light Munich, and the rest pilsner malt, with a 152F mash. It comes out dry but not too dry, which is how I like it. I’d be worried about mashing too high, and would think C60 might be too much caramel. Perhaps a half pound of C15 or C20 to add some light sweetness instead?[/quote]
How about posting the full recipe? Sounds like a winner.
Boil 90 minutes
1/2 oz Williamette or any neutral bittering hop to 12 IBUs, 60 min
1 oz Williamette, 20 min
Irish moss, 10 min
Chico yeast, fermented at 62F for 1 week, then slowly raising temp to 68 during second week.
After 2-3 weeks in primary, place fruit in a nylon bag in a clean sanitized bucket, crush it, then rack beer onto fruit. Leave at least one month before bottling or kegging. Fruit can be removed after 1-2 weeks if you wish, or left the entire time. For me it pretty much depends on the fruit.
That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Thanks. Other than the raspberries, I have all of that on hand. That’s the kind of recipe I like - something not too complicated. I’ll put this one on the mental brew schedule for the summer. Rock on.
I brewed this year’s batch it a couple weeks ago with the plan to put it on tap for June. Like I said above, pretty close to the OP’s recipe overall. Hope you like it.
Both of these recipes look fantastic. Thanks to the OP and to rebuiltcellars for inspiration!
Now I just have to find time to brew. My schedule all of a sudden got jam-packed. I’m trying to juggle maple syruping, quilting, major seedling startage and garden planning, hops transplanting, work, and father duties! And here I am, dinking around on the web.
