Well I’m going to try a very simple wheat beer, with a few elderberries added for color and flavor. The final SRM is only supposed to be about 4 (according to the calculator, lol) but I’m quite sure the elderberries will add quite a bit of color. There are no specialty grains for this one, so it should be quick and easy. I’ll be using Wyeast Bavarian Wheat Yeast on this one, along with a good amount of wheat extract, and some Saaz and Hallertau hops. Easy as pie!
- prepare checklist
- lay out ingredients and equipment
- Bring 4 gallons water and wort chiller to a boil
- add liquid wheat extract and boil one hour
- add 1 oz hallertau at 60 minutes
- add 4 oz dried elderberries at 20 minutes
- add 1/4 tsp Irish moss powder at 15 minutes
- add 1 oz saaz at 10 minutes
- turn on wort chiller and cover at 0 minutes
- sanitize spoon, thermometer, bucket, wine thief
- when wort gets to about 70F, strain into fermentation bucket using sanitized strainer
- take OG reading with sanitized wine thief
- thoroughly aerate wort with sanitized stainless steel spoon
- ensure wort is 70F or a little less before pitching yeast
- pitch yeast
- gently stir using sanitized stainless steel spoon
- install sanitized bucket lid and airlock
- ferment in closet for 12-15 days at 67F ambient air temp.
- use 4 oz corn sugar at bottling
Targets: OG: 1.055 FG: 1.015 IBU: 20 SRM: ? ABV: 5.2
Actual OG: 1.052
Actual FG: 1.018
Notes:
Beer and Stuff 
Comments
Well a few things. First, it wasn’t five gallons, it was about four, with 100% boil and essentially no added water. Got the targets, fine by me.
Next, I am happy to report that just a few hours after pitching, the bucket is bubbling away big time! This starter batch seems to be a real success. The high krausen was obvious and I pitched just a few hours after the high krausen passed, pitched the whole thing.
I hope it comes out good. All indicators say that this one is at least off to a good start.
Bottled today. FG 1/018. Looked kinda brown with a tinge of purple, cloudy. Smelled and tasted like it’s going to come out well!
Day ten after bottling and I just popped one today. It’s friggin’ really good! I’m quite pleased once again! TONS of body, a nice lightly fruity and yeasty smell, flavor is pretty damn good, nice and yeasty, carbonation is already good enough, should be perfect after a few more days! I’m actually quite surprised that this all extract, no specialty grains, low hops brew came out this good. There’s even a light elderberry taste and a tinge of purple to the color, making it a deep copper to slightly purple color, with a slight haze. Truly I am pleased with the results here, cheers to elderberry wheat beer!