Razzle Dazzle (Raspberry Wheat 2.0)

Last, but certainly not least, here is the final recipe in the super awesome Wedding Series selection.  This is the second time I've brewed this recipe.  Last summer this was brewed for a friend who had just given birth.  This time it is being brewed for my sisters wedding in Oregon.  You'll notice a pattern here, women seem to enjoy this beer (a lot).  The first time I brewed this recipe I split the batch using an american wheat yeast for half and the other I used champagne yeast.  Naturally, the champagne version was drier.  As requested by the bride, I'm sticking with strictly the american wheat yeast for this batch.

Finally, in the previous batch I used about 10 oz of raspberry puree per gallon of beer.  That resulted in what I called "floaties" in the final product (floaties....a highly technical term).  This time I used slightly less puree per gallon (about 9 oz raspberry puree per gallon).  Additionally, when transferring between fermentations & kegging I made extra efforts to leave the trub in the bottom of the fermenter.  I also reduced the hops based on the smaller batch size.  Other than those minor modifications, the recipe is very similar to the original.

Brew Day: June 15, 2014

Batch Size: 5.5 gallons

Grains:

5.0 lbs US 2 row pale malt
6.0 lbs White wheat malt
1.0 lbs rice hulls
5.0 oz honey malt

Hops:

1.25 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 60 minutes remaining

Yeast:

Wyeast American Wheat Ale

Other Additions:

1.25 tsp coriander seed @ 15 minutes remaining

0.25 oz bitter orange peel @ 15 minutes remaining

1.25 tsp coriander seed @ 1 minute remaining

0.25 oz bitter orange peel @ 1 minutes remaining

3 lbs 1 oz of Vintners Harvest Red Raspberry Puree 

Mash & Sparge:

Mash 3.8 gallons of water at 150 degree F for 90 minutes (strike temperature of 167 degrees F).  I've been using a longer mash lately to ensure full sugar conversion.  See my post on low OG readings for more discussion on this topic.

Sparge 4.6 gallons of water at 170 degree F for 60 minutes.  Collect approximately 7 gallons of wort and boil for one hour.  You may need to adjust how much wort is collected based on your system.

OG = 1.050

FG = 1.012

Of the three wedding series beers (Courtney Chaos Saison, Simcoe Session IPA, Razzle Dazzle), the Razzle Dazzle was the first to disappear at the event.  I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure the bridal party played a significant role in that happening.  All three beers were a huge success at the wedding.  The Saison was both fruity/spicy and the piney, hoppy-ness of the IPA really stood out.  My personal favorite was the IPA, but everyone had their own favorite.  My only regret is that there wasn't enough to go around.  Maybe I need to start brewing 10 gallon batches.....