The name of the beer comes from Becky not having a clue what I was saying when I first told her I was brewing a Berliner Weisse..."a what? Berlin Termites?"
This is also a beer that you can turn around pretty damn quick. The first monthly meeting that I had brought this to, I had just kegged it that day - it was 7 days from the day I had brewed it. It was still pretty murky, but the taste was there. I'm brewing it again this weekend and doing a triple batch for the first time.
Stats:
OG:1.031
4.5 IBU
2.8% ABV
Mash:
56.8% Pilsen Malt
40.3% Wheat Malt
2.9% Acid Malt
-Mash @ 150*f for 60 minutes
-Remove grain, and raise wort temperature to 180*f for ~15 minutes
-Chill wort to ~110-115*f
Souring:
-Add unmilled malt to wort (I use a stainless mesh tube to easily remove the malt later. A mesh bag would work as well). I use a ratio of .5 lb Acid Malt & .5lb 2 Row per 5 gallons of wort.
-Run CO2 through wort to purge O2 from wort & vessel. You want to eliminate as much O2 during the souring phase as possible.
-Hold at 110-115*f until desired pH has been reached. Most information you read will suggest something like a pH of 3.2-3.6..the lower you go, the more sour it will be and the harder it is on your yeast. I normally aim for somewhere around 3.3. Expect to hold at this temperature for 24 hours or more to reach the desired pH.
Boil:
-Once you've reached your desired pH, remove the grain and boil for 15 minutes
-4.5 IBU of Spalt Select @ 10 minutes
-Chill to 68*f
Fermentation:
-Ferment with US-05 @ 68*f
Raspberry Variation:
-Brew exactly the same as the recipe above, but on day 4 of active fermentation, add frozen raspberries at a ratio of .85lbs/gallon. I use a mesh BIAB bag to add the raspberries to the fermenter
-Leave the raspberries in the fermenter for 1 week
Standard Berliner Weisse
Raspberry Berliner Weisse
