From Carboy |
The other day, I was preparing to brew a long overdue Raspberry Wheat. When I checked the yeast I had on hand, I noticed that the Wyeast Labs German Wheat was eight months old. This seemed like it might be problematic. So I went to my local homebrew shop to try to pick up another, fresher yeast.
Unfortunately, the only yeast they had in stock was Wyeast's Bavarian Wheat. It, too, was about seven months old. Bavaria is a section of Germany; how different can they be, right? So I decided to try an experiment. Since both yeasts are old, I thought I'd pitch them together and see what happens. I made a large yeast starter the night before and did exactly that.
The yeast turned out to be very active. If my gravity readings are accurate, the Raspberry Wheat should turn be more than 5 percent ABV, instead of 4.5. As for the taste? It'll be a few weeks until I can tell. I've got my fingers crossed it turns out well.
Grains
4.5 lbs Rahr White Wheat
4.5 lbs, Rahr Premium Pilsner
Hops
1 oz. Hallertauer Hersbrucker, 60 mins.
Yeasts
German Wheat, Wyeast Labs 3333
Single infusion mash
Start by adding 9 qts of water @ 172.9°F
Take saccharaficaiton rest for 60 min @ 152.0°F
Add 4.63 qts of water @ 212.0°F
Mash out for 10 minutes @ 170.0°F
Fly sparge with 20.17 qts of water @ 170.00 °F
Stats by iBrewmaster
I added about 2.5 oz of raspberry extract to the beer at kegging. It is just about right, but maybe a tad too heavy. Next time, I might try using just 2 oz.
By Tom on 06/25/2017
Stage: Brewing