Dom Pérignon, Brut Vintage Reserve Edition, Champagne, FR, 2015

Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Dry, fruity, and wheat mellow blueberry beer. 4.8% ABV

Heat 3.5 gallons of water to about 163°F (72°C). Add the crushed pale malt, wheat malt and crystal malt to your mash tun and stir in the water to reach a mash temperature of 152°F (67°C). Hold for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even conversion.

Heat strike water & mash-in

Raise temperature to 168°F (75°C) for 10 minutes (mash out) to stop enzymatic activity and improve wort flow.

Mash out

Sparge with ~2 gallons of water at 170°F (77°C) until you collect about 5.5–6.0 gallons of wort in the kettle (pre-boil volume). Aim for a pre-boil gravity that will give ~4.8% ABV (target original gravity ~1.044).

Sparge

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil, watching to avoid boilovers.

Bring to a rolling boil

At 60 minutes remaining in the boil, add 0.5 oz of Hallertau or Saaz hops. If using Whirlfloc, add the tablet with 15 minutes remaining.

Bittering hop addition

Boil for the full 60 minutes, removing hot break solids before chilling. No late hop additions are necessary; the beer should be lightly hopped to remain dry and fruity.

Finish boil

If using fresh blueberries, rinse and optionally crush them lightly. To reduce wild microbes, you may place blueberries in a sanitized fermenter bag and freeze then thaw, or soak briefly with a crushed Campden tablet (1 crushed tablet per 2–3 lb fruit) for 24 hours and then rinse with sterile water. If using frozen fruit, thaw in a sanitized container. Puree or mash the fruit to release juices; you can use a sanitized blender or potato masher.

Sanitize and prepare blueberries

Primary vs secondary: For a clean, mild blueberry aroma and maximal attenuation, add the fruit to secondary fermentation. After primary fermentation has slowed (about 4–7 days), transfer (rack) the beer off the trub to a sanitized secondary fermenter and add the pureed blueberries. Alternatively, you may add the fruit to primary right at the end of active fermentation to incorporate flavor while limiting losses to CO2 blow-off. Use a sanitized mesh bag or loose addition. Expect the fruit to contribute color, aroma and some additional sugars; this recipe uses 2 lb for a pronounced but balanced blueberry character.

Add fruit to fermenter

After the boil, chill the wort quickly to ~66°F (19°C) using an immersion chiller or ice bath. Transfer to a sanitized fermenter and top with sterile water if necessary to reach 5 gallons. Aerate or oxygenate the wort thoroughly (shake, splash or use an oxygenation system) to provide enough oxygen for healthy yeast growth.

Chill wort & oxygenate

Rehydrate or prepare the yeast according to manufacturer instructions and pitch at 64–68°F (18–20°C). If using a hefe-type yeast, ferment at the cooler end for a clean profile, or slightly warmer for more esters.

Pitch yeast

Allow fermentation to proceed 5–10 days at 64–68°F (18–20°C) until activity slows and gravity approaches expected final gravity (~1.010–1.012 without fruit; fruit sugars may raise FG slightly).

Primary fermentation

If you added fruit in secondary, allow the beer to condition on the blueberries 5–14 days. Taste periodically; remove fruit when desired intensity is reached to avoid vegetal or tannic extraction.

Fruit contact time

Once desired blueberry character is achieved and fermentation is complete, cold crash to near 35–40°F (2–4°C) for 24–48 hours to help settle fruit solids and encourage clarity.

Stabilize and cold crash (optional)

Sanitize bottles, caps and bottling equipment. Dissolve priming sugar (3.5 oz) in 12 oz boiling water, cool, and add to bottling bucket.

Prepare for bottling

Rack beer from the fermenter into the bottling bucket, mixing gently with the priming solution. Fill and cap bottles. Expect natural carbonation to develop in 10–14 days at room temperature. For kegging, carbonate to ~2.3–2.6 volumes CO2.

Bottle

Condition bottles for at least 2 weeks at ~68°F (20°C) for carbonation and flavor integration, then chill and serve. Blueberry wheat beers are best consumed fresh (within 2–3 months) to preserve bright fruit character.

Condition

Pale Malt (2-row)

Wheat Malt (flaked or malted)

Pilsner/light crystal malt (10L)

Hallertau or Saaz hops (4–5% AA)

Whirlfloc tablet (optional for clarity)

Blueberries (fresh or frozen, unsweetened)

Wheat/ale yeast (English or American hefe-style or 1056/Kansas City)

Yeast nutrient (optional)

Water (brewing or filtered)

Priming sugar (for bottling)

Campden tablet (optional, to sanitize fruit if using fresh)

EBC Blueberry

Small Cheese n' Pep Flatbread

Comes with a pickle spear. Add cheese - $.99

Hamburger

Mac n' Cheese

Chicken Finger

Grilled Cheese

Berry Mascarpone cake

Make EBC Blueberry Recipe in just 16h . Dry, fruity, and wheat mellow blueberry beer. 4.8% ABV

Ebc Blueberry Recipe

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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