Strawberry wheat base

The strawberry will dry your beer out, I would mash higher, and maybe up the ratio of wheat to base malt.

 

I agree with @SFACRKnight on the wheat malt percentage. I would not call it a wheat beer unless it had at least 40% wheat malt in the grist.

 

I think people are just responding to the title that you gave to the thread. If you're not trying to make a wheat beer, then you can probably ignore the advice about dialing up the wheat.

Speaking personally, I wouldn't make such a big beer in this situation. It sounds as though you're worried about fermentation temperature, and a lower-gravity beer will ameliorate that somewhat. I might also sub out the wheat and throw in some oats, plus maybe some crystal malt for sweetness.

But that's just me, you should take the beer in whatever direction makes sense to you.

 

Belle saison yeast. And maybe use Belma hops instead, all late to get the IBUs that you want and hopefully a little strawberry aroma/flavor comes through as well

 

I would not use late hops, strawberry flavor is slight, I would be afraid of losing that berry flavor. mash temp looks good with the addition of oats.

 

I like the idea of a light crystal malt for sweetness and body. One thing to consider is that the fruit will add water content to your beer. It might be clever to try to account for this in some way. google water content of strawberry to inform adjustments

 

Raspberries do the same thing. Between the extra water and sugar I had a wit that has a medium body turn into a no bodied fruit bomb. I think the oats and a higher mash should counter that while the higher gravity should counter the water addition.

 

Looks like they use concentrates and extracts, wheat, and two different yeast strains. If that's your intention is to clone that beer, you're probably way off the mark at this point. Without the extract I believe you won't get the same in-your-face strawberry flavor, regardless of how much strawberry you add.

 

Are you going to freeze the strawberries before putting them in the beer? I've had good results with 1 lb per gallon when freezing the fruits for a few days.

 

This is a method if sanitation, yes? I've never actually tried it.

OP, don't forget some rice hulls with that much wheat in your updated recipe. Good insurance if nothing else.

 

Won't sanitize it but it will break down the cell walls which makes it easier to transfer flavor. If you're adding the fruit to the secondary the PH of the beer and alcohol in the beer make for a poor environment for bacteria so the risk of infection is small.

 

I have a raspberry and a cherry sour that seem overdiluted by the fruit water content

 

I'm late on this one, sorry. #1 I'd say that the wheat is not an issue if you're talking about making a fruit beer for your wife, and in general it will up the "beer" flavor and thus I'd personally take it down. #2, I'd also not up the mash temp to get more malty sweetness out of it, I'd rather... #3, drop the IBUs to 9-12. #4, I prefer a strawberry puree - specifically Oregon Fruit - because it's aseptic, the flavor is concentrated/consistent, and you have at least a specific range of sugar and gravity that it will fall within. Strawberry itself is difficult to work with because all of the flavor is actually right on the skin. That white flesh inside has no flavor. Everyone has made a good point about freezing, excess water, etc. I'll also note that although it may seem like cheating, extracts can work really well. As a professional even though I was working with real fruit, I'd add a tiny bit of extract to take it up a notch without going into "artificial" territory. The one drawback is that it takes seemingly forever for that pulp to drop out, and if you filter it'll clog it right up unless you've given it extended aging.