Bare-bones Berliner Weisse

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by RichardMNixon, Jul 18, 2014.

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  1. RichardMNixon

    RichardMNixon Maven (1,431) Jun 24, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I have a friend working in India for months at a time who wants to take a crack at brewing over there (not many beer choices in West Bengal). Unfortunately there's not a whole lot of brewing equipment or refrigeration either and it's silly hot over there.

    A berliner weisse just occurred to me, but I'm wondering how stripped down you could make it. I saw some people apparently don't even bother to boil it after a sour mash. Is yeast a necessity or would filtering after the sour mash leave you with something good when carbed, especially with some fresh mango thrown in?

    I guess the question is, if you were stranded on a desert island with 50 lbs of flaked wheat and pilsner malt and a couple ounces of hops, how would you make your Berliner? Which processes could you leave out and which are essential?
     
    #1 RichardMNixon, Jul 18, 2014
  2. RichardMNixon

    RichardMNixon Maven (1,431) Jun 24, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Related question - if you have a "mash" of malt extract in water, is there a good way to "sour mash" it? I'm guessing the extract probably doesn't have it's own lactobacillus, but a cup of wheat or barley thrown in perhaps?
     
    #2 RichardMNixon, Jul 18, 2014
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  3. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    If you're brewing in heat, the best recipe you can pull off is a Saison. The Belgian yeast love that stuff. As for ingredients, you wouldn't need many more.
     
    #3 inchrisin, Jul 18, 2014
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  4. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    I wonder how a sour mash saison would turn out...
     
    #4 jivex5k, Jul 18, 2014
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  5. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    I'd encourage it.
     
    #5 inchrisin, Jul 18, 2014
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  6. FATC1TY

    FATC1TY Pooh-Bah (2,564) Feb 12, 2012 Georgia
    Pooh-Bah


    Probably tasty. Don't get it full on berliner sour, but get it with a nice layer of tartness, it would be fantastic.
     
    #6 FATC1TY, Jul 18, 2014
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  7. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Done it. It's great. Dryhop it with nelson to add a juiciness to it and it tastes like fresh citrus fruit.
     
    #7 SFACRKnight, Jul 18, 2014
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  8. patto1ro

    patto1ro Pooh-Bah (2,084) Apr 26, 2004 Netherlands
    Pooh-Bah

    I'd suggest using Saccharomyces Thermantitonum. It's a yeast which works best over 75º F and was used in India 100 years ago to allow brewing without refrigeration.
     
    #8 patto1ro, Jul 19, 2014
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  9. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Ron, that is an interesting suggestion. Do you know how a homebrewer could obtain this strain? For example, does Wyeast sell this yeast strain?

    Cheers!

    Jack
     
    #9 JackHorzempa, Jul 19, 2014
  10. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    IIRC correctly there is/was only one brewery, which is in India, using it. No, Wyeast doesn't sell it.

    ETA: That may be old info (i.e. historic) from one of patto1ro's blog posts.
     
    #10 VikeMan, Jul 19, 2014
  11. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    Google couldn't find much for me about buying it...maybe an e-mail to white labs/wyeast would provide info on where to obtain it even if they don't sell it themselves.
     
    #11 jivex5k, Jul 19, 2014
  12. minderbender

    minderbender Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2009 New York

    Correct, here is the blog post. No info on where to get the yeast.

    Honestly a Berliner Weisse finished off with a saison strain sounds pretty interesting.
     
    #12 minderbender, Jul 19, 2014
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