Razz Revenge

A shortcut method Berliner Weisse made with hand picked raspberries from a recent trip to Raystown Lake.

http://www.hopstotable.com/2014/02/20/award-winning-recipe-raspberry-berliner-weisse/

Brewer:	Chris Ungvarsky		Email:	chris.ungvarsky@gmail.com
Beer:	Razz Revenge		Style:	Berliner Weisse
Type:	All grain		Size:	5.5 gallons
Color:	2 HCU (~3 SRM)		Bitterness:	12 IBU
OG:	1.034		FG:	1.005
Alcohol:	3.8% v/v (3.0% w/w)
Water:	Tap water
Grain:	3 lb. German Pilsner 3 lb. Raw wheat 1 lb. Rice Hulls 8 oz. Acidulated Malt
Mash:	80% efficiency
	The souring component of this beer is lactobacillus, and given the right conditions it works very fast. This is the same bacteria that produces yogurt, and you wouldn’t want to eat six month old yogurt. Here is my technique for making a fast sour beer, you should be drinking this beer in two weeks if you keg your beer. An added advantage of this technique is the souring is done before boiling, so all souring bacteria is killed off before the beer reaches the fermenter. Mash 3 pounds wheat malt, and 3 pounds pilsner malt. I aimed for 148F. Collect runnings and sparge into the kettle. Chill to 100F. If you use a cooler for a mash tun transfer the warm wort back into the cooler. Add half a pound of acidulated malt. Wait a few minutes for the acid to mix in. Using a pH meter or strips to check the pH. We want to get the pH down to 4.3, lower is okay. You won’t be there yet. I use https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/ to help determine how much liquid lactic acid to add. Stir, wait 15 minutes and check the pH again. Adjust if you need. At this point you need a source of lactobacillus. A handful of malt will give this to you, but if you are really in a rush you can pitch a lacto vial from one of the yeast companies. Cover the cooler well, and try to keep it warm. You need this to stay in the range of 95-100F. Check the pH after 8 hours and see where you are. You really want to get below 3.4, but you can judge by taste, and make it as sour as you want. Be careful, you CAN make it too sour. Once you get the right sourness transfer to kettle for boiling. I like to fill a mason jar at this point, and store in the fridge. This jar is the perfect starter for the next batch, which will sour even faster.
Boil:	90 minutes	SG 1.025	7.5 gallons
	Boil 90 minutes, adding about 8 IBU of hops (any kind will do), chill, transfer to fermenter.
Hops:	.25 oz. Hops (12% AA, 45 min.)
Yeast:	WLP029 German Ale/Kolsch
Log:	68F for two weeks, add 4 lbs frozen raspberries when fermentation initially slows, 4 pounds for a 5 gallon batch, 2 lbs hand picked wild, 2 lbs frozen organic. Let the berries thaw, then refreeze. This breaks down the cells, and makes for bright raspberry flavor in the finished beer. Don’t worry about sanitizing the fruit. Primary fermentation is done, you are not likely to get an infection at this point. sanitize the outside of the bags, cut the corner and pour in. Total fermentation time if kept to 68F should be less than two weeks.
Carbonation:	Keg and force carbonate.

Recipe posted 07/21/14.