Brewie + Grapefruit Hefeweizen

The story of Schöfferhofer starts with Peter Schöffer (1425-1503), a sophisticated maverick of his time with a distinctive taste and passion for beer. As part of the printing revolution of his time, Schöffer set a new technological standard. In the same spirit, Schöfferhofer Weizen became the new benchmark in German wheat beer brewing by being the first wheat beer brewed outside of Bavaria.

It is this same revolutionary thinking that led to the launch of Schöfferhofer Grapefruit, the world’s first Hefeweizen grapefruit beer, in 2007. With its unique character and flavor, Schöfferhofer Grapefruit landed in the US, in 2012, at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival at Walt Disney World and was wildly successful. From there, Schöfferhofer Grapefruit spread its reach across the country, making the US the 2nd largest market for the product.

I tasted this one at Epcot for the first time and have been buying six packs for a while now so I thought I would brew a similar beer.  Perfect brew day with my B+.  My assistant brewer NRT helped me again cleaning and breaking down and setting up the Vessi for fermentation.  

Mashed in with 4.5 gallons at 105 for 30 mins, then 140 for 30 mins, then 155 for 30 mins.  2.3 gallon sparge at 168 for 20 mins.  Pre-boil was 1038 and post boil was 1044; nicely done, I want this to be low, low ABV.  Used 5.2 mash stabilizer. 

Great day, lots of fun, again. 

Grapefruit Hefeweizen 

Grains                        Additions                                          Results
5.5# 2-row                 1 oz Norther Brewer at 60 mins        1038 pre boil

.25# Munich                                                                        1044 post boil

4# red wheat                                  .

  

Wyeast Weihenstephan Weizen 3068 liquid yeast pitched at 70, will pressure ferment at 5-8 psi at 62 degrees

Add 64 oz Ruby Red Grapefruit juice at kegging

Brewie B+ Simcoe SMASH

Had quite a bit of free time with everything that is going on right now so I found some inspiration to brew.  Another perfect brew day with my B+.  My assistant brewer buddy helped me throughout the day cleaning and breaking down and setting up the Vessi for fermentation.  

Mashed in with 4.5 gallons at 129.2 with a ramp up to 143.6 for 30 mins, then 152.6 for 50 mins, then 161.6 for 15 mins.  2.38 gallon sparge at 172.4 for 20 mins.  Pre-boil was 1052 and post boil was 1058.  73% efficiency, but I probably need to re-calibrate the machine as it looked a little light on water volume. Used 5.2 mash stabilizer and 1 tsp gypsum. 

Great day, again. 

Simcoe SMASH

20 min pre boil, then first hop addition at 30 mins remaining

Grains                        Additions                                          Results
11.02# Vienna           .35 oz Simcoe at 30 mins                1052 pre boil

                                  .35 oz Simcoe at 20 mins                1058 post boil

                                  .53 oz Simcoe at 10 mins           
                                  .53 oz Simcoe at 5 mins                 

                                  1.41 oz Simcoe whirlpool                                  
                               

S-189 dry yeast pitched at 68, will pressure ferment at 5-8 psi

Brewie B+ Witbier

Another perfect brew day with my B+. Best rolling boil I have achieved to date. 

75 min step mash from 144, 153, to 161 with a 30 min sparge at 168. My recipe was 8.8lbs of pilsner malt and 2.2lbs of wheat malt into 4.6 gal for mash and then 2.4 gal for sparge. Pre boil was 1047 and post boil was 1053. 65% efficiency. Used 5.2 mash stabilizer. 

Great day, again. 

Witbier

Grains                        Additions                                           Results
8.8# pils                    .18 oz Magnum at 60 mins                1047 pre boil

2.2# wheat                .70 oz Orange peel at 20 mins          1053 post boil

                                  .70 coriander at 20 mins             
                                 . 53 oz Hallertau at 10 mins                                                   
                               

mash in at 143, raise to 144 for 20 mins, 152.6 for 30 mins, raise to 161.6 for 15 mins (7 g total water volume split 4.6g mash and 2.4g sparge)

sparge at 168 for 30 mins

T-58 dry yeast at 70, lower to 65 at start of fermentation, 0 psi ferment
5.2 mash lock

Fermentation started within 6 hrs

Brewie B+ Watermelon SMaSH

Flawless brew day with my B+. Boil made it to 209F. I will take it. I haven’t replaced my thermal switch yet or the wires that Brewie sent me so the wires could maybe get me above 209. 

90 min step mash from 144 to 153 with a 45 min sparge at 168. My recipe was 8.8lbs of marris otter into 4.7 gal for mash and then 2.1 gal for sparge. Pre boil was 1046 and post boil was 1053. 79.15% efficiency. Used 5.2 mash stabilizer. 

Great day. I did so many other things during this brew, I almost forgot I was brewing. 


Watermelon SMaSH

Grains                         Additions                                           Results
8.8# marris               .53 oz Amarillo at 60 mins                  1046 pre boil

                                 .53 oz Amarillo at 15 mins                  1053 post boil

                                 .53 oz Amarillo at 10 mins             
                                 .53 oz Amarillo at 5 mins                                                   
                                  Dry hop: 1.41 oz Amarillo 5 days

1 dram Lorann watermelon candy oil at pitching.

mash in at 129.2, raise to 143.6 for 40 mins, 152.6 for 50 mins (6.7g total water volume split 4.7g mash and 2.1g sparge)

sparge at 168 for 45 mins

US-05 at 72, lower to 66 at start of fermentation, 0 psi ferment
5.2 mash lock

1 tsp gypsum

Brewie B+ Brevienna

Another perfect brew day for Brewie, and I fixed the weak boil issue.  I by-passed the thermal switch in the boil tank and now I get 100% power.  Brewie sent me new thermal switches, heating elements and wires to install at a later date.  I tweaked the parameters of the original Brewie recipe for this beer a bit:





Brevienna

Grains                         Additions                                           Results
7.72# vienna               .18 oz Magnum at 60 mins               1050 pre boil

1.1# munich                .18 oz Magnum at 30 mins               1059 post boil diluted to 1057
                                   .35 oz Amarillo at 20 mins                 92% eff, but volumes likely
                                   .35 oz Amarillo at 10 mins                 off due to calibration                                     

mash in at 129.2, raise to 143.6 for 30 mins, 156.2 for 45 mins, 161.6 for 15 mins (6.7g total water volume split 4.6g mash and 2.1g sparge)

sparge at 168 for 45 mins

W-34/70 at 66, lower to 50 at start of fermentation, 0 psi ferment
5.2 mash lock

no adjustments

Brewie B+ Mill's Row II

Perfect brew day for Brewie, except for a really weak boil.  After re-insulating the connections to the boil element, the thermal switch is limiting a full boil.  I am waiting for Brewie to figure out a solution.  In the meantime, I have ordered a Hot Rod Heatstick to supplement the next boil.  I tweaked the parameters of the original Brewie recipe for Mill's Row - a simple pilsner that I can lager for the next 3 months.  The tweaked specs hit the target numbers spot on.


Mill's Row II

Grains                         Additions                                           Results
9.92# pils                    .53 oz Magnum at 60 mins               1048 post boil

                                   .7 oz Saaz at 30 mins                        70% efficiency
                                   .7 oz Saaz at 20 mins               
                                   .7 oz Saaz at 10 mins                                                      

mash at 156 for 75 mins (7.0g total water volume split 4.4g mash and 2.6g sparge)

sparge at 168 for 40 mins

W-34/70 at 66, lower to 55 at start of fermentation, 0 psi ferment
5.2 mash lock

no adjustments

Brewie B+ Blind Pig IPA

I have 5 beers on tap that I am proud to serve, so it is time to start a decent pipeline.  I figure the Blind Pig will replace Pliny or my NEIPA, whichever goes first.  Brewie performed perfectly.  70% efficiency on this one.  When this machine works as it is intended, it is really magical.  What wasn't magical was the fact that I forgot to connect the chill dump hose and ended up with several gallons of water all over my basement floor.  I hard plumbed a line so that won't happen again.

Here is the recipe:

Grains                         Additions                                            Results
10.5# 2-row                1 oz Chinook at 60 mins                    1053 post sparge
.5# C-40                     .5 oz Cascade at 30 mins                  1056 60 min boil
.5# wheat                   1 oz Cascade at 15 mins                   1060 post boil
.5# carapils                .5 oz each Apollo/Amarillo at 5 mins                                                      
  
mash at 150 for 75 mins (6.9g total water volume split 4.3g mash and 2.8g sparge)

sparge at 168 for 40 mins

US-05 at 72, lower to 68, 10 psi ferment
OG 1060 (1.058 target)
5.2 mash lock

1.5 tsp gypsum

Dry hops:
Primary: 1 oz French oak chip, 1 oz Centennial, .5 oz each Apollo/Amarillo
Secondary: 1 oz Centennial, 1/2 oz Cascade, 1 oz French oak chips