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

Brewie B+ Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Fall is here, so it's time for a stout.  I decided to let Brewie have this one and see if I could program my first recipe into the machine and still manage to add the adjuncts at the right time.  For the most part, I had the timing down based on knowledge gained from my previous brewing systems.  It would be nice if you could program a few alerts into Brewie so that your iphone would buzz at certain points during the brew.  I am beta testing the Brewie app and will have to suggest that.  I was too conservative with my water and efficiency calculations based on prior brews so I ended up with a really strong wort at the end (6.1g total water volume split 4.3g mash and 1.8g sparge).  I adjusted with .8 g of water (6 Dasani bottles) to bring the OG down to the target gravity.  I achieved 75% efficiency, which is an all time high for me with Brewie.  I had really fresh grain, a great crush, and used 5.2 mash lock.  I think these things really helped.  Overall, a great brew day for Brewie!

Here is the recipe:

Grains                         Additions                                       Results
9# Marris Otter           1 oz Warrior at 60 mins                 1059 pre boil
12 oz choc malt          8 oz maltodextrin at 60 mins         1063 pre boil with dex
4 oz C-40                   1 oz cocoa powder at 5 mins         1073 post boil
2 oz roasted barley                                                           1058 with .8 gallon adjustment
2 oz black patent
  
mash at 150 for 75 mins

sparge at 170 for 45 mins

wyeast 1098-British Ale at 66 raised to 68
OG 1058
5.2 mash lock
No water adjustments 

Brewie B+ vs Robobrew v3

My brand new B+ arrived last weekend and after a few restarts updated to the latest software, passed the short clean cycle and passed the test brew cycle. I still had one last free Brewie pad so I figured what the heck, let's do this. It was the Rusty Rex pad. I decided to put the B+ head to head with my Robobrew v3 and brew two beers at the same time. I figured my odds were decent that I would get one beer out of the session. After a bricked screen upon start up, and an unplug it "reset", much to my pleasant surprise, the B+ performed flawlessly. As much as I wanted to grab the mash bag and stir it, I let the machine do its thing. Rusty Rex is 8.8 lbs of Munich malt into 6.9 gallons of total water volume. My pre-boil was 1.038 and my post boil was 1.042, so with .12 gal/lb absorption that is 68% efficiency. I am pretty shocked (in a good way) by this result. Based on my CB20 experience, 68-72% is the max one can expect on a two-vessel continuous sparge system.

A few notes:

-Robobrew brew day beat the B+ by over an hour, including cooling. The Robobrew recipe was 13.25 lbs of malt with 70% efficiency at 1.056 pre boil and 1.062 post boil

-B+ boil is very mild; the Robobrew boil is much more of what I would call a rolling boil
-B+ total brew time was 6 hrs, more with clean-up, but it truly was hands off until clean-up
-B+ app worked perfectly and connected whenever I wanted during the brew session - a big upgrade from the first versions
-Clean-up with B+ is much easier than Robobrew
-Robobrew is messier, both during the brewing process and with cleanup
-Robobrew is much more user intensive, mash in, mash out, temp changes, heavy lifting, hop additions, cooling
-I really think a malt pipe will help the B+ with efficiency so that I could stir at mash-in

So, chalk up one successful brew for the B+.  Here are the recipes:

Brewie B+ - Rusty Rex Brewie Pad - American Amber

8.8# Munich malt

60 - Magnum 5 g (0.2 oz), 
30 - Cascade 10g (0.4 oz), 
20 - Cascade 25g (1 oz), 
10 - Cascade 25g (1 oz)

1.042 OG
US-05 yeast

Robobrew v3 - Haze Craze IPA - New England IPA

10# 2-row
1# flaked oats
1# flaked wheat
8 oz carapils
8 oz wheat malt
4 oz honey malt

60 - .5 oz warrior
5   - 1 oz citra
0   - 2 oz mosaic whole cone
0   - 1 oz citra

dry hops
2 oz mosaic (days 3-7 primary)
1 oz citra (days 3-7 primary)
1 oz mosaic (days 7-10 secondary)
2 oz citra (days 7-10 secondary)

28L total water, 5 gallons mash in water, remainder reserved for room temp sparge

Mashed at 152 for 60 mins

1.062 OG
Whitelabs WLP095 Burlington Ale

Robobrew v3 - Walter Wheat Ale

Testing out the Robobrew v3 again while I wait for my Brewie to be delivered.  The unit performed perfectly.  I really wish this unit was available to me 10 years ago.  It has everything you need to dive into all-grain brewing and keep it simple, all at a very reasonable cost.  The brewing process is so easy, albeit rather use intensive.  The only true hands-off time is during the mash and during cooling.  But I still highly recommend the unit.

Walter Wheat

5# White wheat
3# 2-row
8 oz C-40
4 oz acidulated
4 oz melanoidin
2 oz brewing bad rocks (flavored candy rocks)

60 - .5 oz cascade
10 -  1 oz amarillo
5   - 1 oz simcoe plus rocks
1   - 1 oz crystal

7 gal total water volume, 5 gal mash in at 150 degrees, 60 min mash, mash out to 170, room temp sparge
25 litres pre boil at 1.038
20.2 litres post boil at 1.041
70% efficiency
US-05 yeast

Brewie 2.0, 3.0 Fail - Robobrew v3 Pliny Brewday

Long time off, again.  Brewie finally recalled my first unit and sent me a brand new second unit that lasted two full brewing sessions, and then broke on the third one with a scorched mash tun.  They promised me a new and improved Brewie+ if I waited.  Many more months of waiting and I finally received the new unit a few weeks.  Unfortunately the third unit broke going through the startup process and I had to send it back.  I am waiting for the repaired unit to be sent to me.  The two brewing sessions that did work were next to flawless, however the efficiency was very low (right around 50%, which is terrible in my opinion).

In the meantime, I went out and bought a Robobrew V3 from morebeer and their Pliny recipe.  The machine worked perfectly right out of the box.  It is a really slick setup.  It is not an automatic brewing machine by any stretch, but it is a very easy to use single vessel mashing and boiling machine.  I am hard pressed to find another machine that offers more bang for your buck for easy all-grain brewing.  I highly recommend the unit and will likely keep mine around even if my Brewie ever works consistently.


For the sake of posterity, here is a recap:

Brewie 1st Brew-Call Me Grainy Brewie Pad-ABV was supposed to come out at 6%, but I ended up around 4.75% because of the poor efficiency.  Beer was watery and I wouldn't buy the pad (it was free with the Brewie).   

Brewie 2nd Brew-Hopus Pocus Brewie Pad-ABV was supposed to come out at 6%, but I again ended up around 4.75% because of the poor efficiency.  Beer was rather unremarkable and I wouldn't buy the pad (it was free with the Brewie).  I think Brewie used too much water in their calculations for the machine.  The grain bags are very tight and likely end up with a lot of dough balls.

Brewie 3rd Brew-Rusty Rex Brewie Pad-Fail, smelled burning during the mash and had to shut down and dump the brew.  The mash tun element scorched.  Brewie recalled the unit and replaced it.

Robobrew V3 Brew Day - Pliny the Elder (Morebeer recipe)

13# 2-row
1# carapils
6 oz C40
1# corn sugar added 10 mins remaining

2oz whole Cascade into mash; mashed into 4.25 gallons for 75 mins at 150, 170 mashout

2oz Magnum at 90
1oz Simcoe at 45
1oz Columbus at 30
1/2 tablet whirlfloc at 5 mins
2oz Centennial at flameout
1oz Simcoe at flameout

2 packs US-05 dry yeast

Dry hop-3oz Columbus, 1oz Centennial, 1oz Simcoe

Results-efficiency was low at around 63% because I mashed too thick.  I sparged with 4 gallons of water and hit my intended volume of 6.6 gallons perfectly, but was low on gravity at 1.051.  90 min post boil volume was 5.28 gallons at 1.068, not bad.

Vessi Test Brew II - Kolsch

Brewie continues to be a 77 lb paper weight in my basement, but I am holding out hope that it will one day work.  My friends from Hungary are reportedly scheduling my unit to be picked up and sent back to Taiwan to be fixed.  I am rather disappointed that the entire machine has to be sent back for a software issue.  It baffles me why Brewie didn't think to create a startup or install disc that can simply install the software.  That concept has been around since the dawn of the computer era, but I digress.

I completely refreshed my 3-tap kegerator with new seals for the leaky Perlick taps and all new beer lines. The rebuilt Perlicks are perfect again and do not leak.

I was eager to test out the transfer mechanism that is built into the Vessi.  Vessi has a transfer port that can be directly connected to your kegs so that you can transfer your beer under pressure.  If you purge the keg with CO2 before initiating transfer, no oxygen can come in contact with your beer during transfer. This is a pretty cool feature and worked flawlessly for me.

With the Vessi on rollers, I was able to wheel it over to my slop sink and cleanup went smoother than I expected.  The sediment removal system (SRS) removes all of the yeast and sediment after fermentation so there really wasn't much left in the Vessi to clean out.  I cleaned and sanitized everything and Vessi was ready for its next brew day.  One thing I did notice however is that my Bev-Air kegerator gets the beer a lot colder than the Vessi.  I set Vessi at 35 degrees but serving temp is definitely higher.  The serving temp is still acceptable in my opinion though.

I decided to brew a simple Kolsch for my next Vessi test brew.  Out of season I know, but I will enjoy it as fall comes around and it should remind me of summer again.

Vessi Test Brew II - Kolsch

6# Pilsen malt syrup

20 min boil
1oz Perle at 20 mins  
1oz Tettnanger at 20 mins

2.5 gallon boil, topped up to 5 gal going into fermenter

Target OG-1042
OG-1045
FG-TBD

ABV: TBD

US-05 yeast fermented at 64 degrees
Carbon filtered tap water, no adjustments

Vessi Test Brew - American Pale Ale

Hello?  Is this thing on?

So, uh, yeah, it's been a while.  Over two years ago, I sold my electric brew system and invested in an Indiegogo campaign for a brew system called Brewie.  I have been patiently waiting for the Brewie and while I have finally taken delivery, it is currently broken.  The latest software update doesn't work and it just sits there looking pretty, but totally useless.  I also invested in another Indiegogo campaign for a temperature and pressure controlled fermentation and serving vessel called Vessi.  Whirlpool backed Vessi, so that one has been a much better experience from start to finish.  With Brewie broken I could not wait any longer and had to brew a beer to test out the Vessi.  This APA came out much better than I expected.  The Vessi is a really cool gizmo and I highly recommend the product.  Using Vessi is a much easier process to ferment and dispense.  With a closed system, no oxygen can get into the beer and I no longer have to lift or move any carboys.  I have only dropped and cracked one carboy in my brewing career, but alas it was full of beer and ended up entirely on my basement floor.  No more risk with Vessi.  It is a really slick product.

Vessi Test Brew - American Pale Ale

6# gold malt syrup
1# amber dry malt extract

20 min boil
1oz Summit at 20 mins
1oz Cascade at 15 mins
1oz Cascade at 10 mins

1oz Centennial at 5 mins

3 gal boil, topped up to 5 gal going into the fermentor

Target OG-1052
OG-1048

FG-1007

ABV: 5.38%

US-05 Yeast
Carbon filtered tap water, no adjustments

Biere de Garde

I received a recommendation from my sister to brew a Biere de Garde for the fall.  I have never made one and thought it sounded like a fun beer.  Saisons get a lot of attention but this style seems to be rather under the radar. Biere de Garde is a farmhouse beer from the border areas of France and Belgium.  It uses lager yeast at room temperature to impart a mildly sweet and fruity flavor.  It should have a low bitterness and excellent smoothness with spicy hops for flavoring and aroma.  I am looking forward to sampling this one. 

Grains:
6# Extra light DME
1# Sparkling Amber DME
1# Aromatic malt
8 oz Pilsen malt
4 oz Special B malt

Grains mashed in with tap water and removed at 170 degrees.

6.4 gallons post mash and pre DME addition.

60 min boil:
.5 oz Hersbrucker at 60
1 oz Saaz and 1 oz Spalt at 15 min
1 tablet Brewvint yeast fuel at 15 min
1 whirlfloc tablet at 15 min

Wyeast 2042 Danish Lager Yeast
Ferment at 65

Water adjustments: 1 tsp gypsum

Target:
O.G. = 1.064 
F.G. = 1.012 
Approximately 6.8% ABV 

Results:
1.0656 OG

Belgian White

I made this one for my wife and brewed it with my little guy.  He named this beer Nolan's Turbo Happy Birthday Nancy beer.  Her birthday is this weekend, remember, buy a big present.....

Grains:
5# Wheat LME
2# Wheat DME
1# Flaked Oats

8 oz Maris Otter malt

8 oz White Wheat malt


Grains mashed in with tap water and removed at 170 degrees.


5.77 gallons post mash and pre DME addition.


30 min boil:
.75 oz Hersbrucker and .5 oz Saaz 30
1 tablet Brewvint yeast fuel at 15 min
.25 oz Hersbrucker and .25 oz Saaz at 5 min

Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier Ale Yeast
Ferment at 68, 70, then 65


Water adjustments: .5 tsp epsom salt, .1 tsp chalk


Target:
O.G. = 1.056


Results:
1.0592 OG

Double Extract>Kolsch>Raspberry Wheat

I decided to brew two easy summer beers and settled on a Kolsch and the Raspberry Wheat that I made last year.  I went with extract for the time saving and knocked out both brews at the same time.  My little guy woke up at 5:23am so he got to help.  It was a really easy morning brew.
 
Kolsch

Malt
6 lbs lme German pils extract (two row Moravian pilsner malt with a touch of Vienna malt)

Hops
1.12 oz hallertau at 60
.75 oz hallertau at 5

2565 Wyeast Kolsch at 65-68 for 12-14 days, then keg condition for 3 weeks

Results
1.036 pre boil, 6.25g before malt
1.043 post boil

Water Adjustments
None


Raspberry Wheat

Malt
6 lbs lme 60% wheat 40% German two row

Hops
1.12 oz hallertau at 60
3056 Wyeast Bavarian Wheat Blend at 65-68 for 12-14 days, then keg condition for 3 weeks
4oz Williams Raspberry flavoring at kegging

Results
1.037 pre boil, 6.25g before malt
1.042 post boil

Water Adjustments
.5 Epsom
.1 chalk

Ca=36

SO4=61

Mg=17

Na=27

Cl=70

Carb=67

Hard=162

Alk=59

Pliny!

It has been a really long time since an AG brew so I had to get some Pliny into the fermenter.  Brew day was easy, easy, easy.  I hit all my numbers and had cleanup done in 5 hours.

Grains
12.25# Pale Ale malt

10 oz c-40
10 oz carapils

1# corn sugar

Mash at 150 for 45 mins, 15 min sparge

90 min boil
3.5 oz Columbus at 90
.75 oz Columbus at 45
1 oz Simcoe at 30

2 oz Chinook at 0

1.25 oz Centennial at 0

.5 oz Simcoe at 0

1.5 oz Simcoe dry for 7 days

1.75 oz Columbus dry for 7 days

1.75 oz Centennial dry for 7 days

Target og 1072

Target fg 1011

US-05 at 68

Results

1048 pre at 7.62 without sugar

1056 pre at 7.62 with sugar

1068 post at 6.12

76.9% efficiency

Water Adjustments
2 tsp gypsum