Brewferm Tarwebier Review

[Rivvo]

You can just make your own if not, it's pretty straightforward, just try not to get the white pith on the peel from the oranges and then dry it out in the oven for 30 minutes on a low heat.

 

[serum]

You can just make your own if not, it's pretty straightforward, just try not to get the white pith on the peel from the oranges and then dry it out in the oven for 30 minutes on a low heat.

Sounds good. I might have a go at that. I can only find the peel on homebrew sites where I'll have to order quite a bit to justify the postage and I already have a decent backlog of kits. Should have bought it at the same time as the kit but didn't think to do that at the time.

 

[Rivvo]

You have to use unwaxed oranges as well, otherwise it affects the brew, can't recall if it destroys head retention or affects the yeast, but you don't want it.

 

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Hello all. 5 days in and took a sample of this while my beer thief was sanitised. It's down to 1014 and tastes pretty good if a bit sweet. Not getting much taste of the additional curacao or coriander seeds. Any thoughts on adding them in secondary to try and get some extra flavour?

 

[Rivvo]

I would wait until it has fermented completely and then have another taste, the flavours may well develope more.

 

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Cheers will leave it for the moment. See how it goes.

 

[serum]

It took me a while to get round to doing this kit so I had time to pick up some curacao orange peel and brewed this up with 750g brewing sugar and 15g each of curacao and crushed coriander in a muslin hop bag.

I sterilised it by putting it in a pan of boiling water in which I also dissolved the brewing sugar. I chucked the hop bag into the FV where it's currently sitting. I got a gravity of 1.052 which is very slightly above what the instructions said it would be.

The yeast went in at about 10 last night and it was bubbling away when I woke up this morning.

Should I leave the hop bag with the coriander and peel in there or should I take it out?

 

[serum]

This got down to 1010 so I've bottled it. I left the bag with curacao and orange in the FV and it seems to have picked up quite a strong flavour from the taste of the trial jar, maybe a bit too much but hopefully that'll die down. More to follow!

 

[Madjules]

I'm new to brewing (have 3 kits in different stages), wanted to be adventurous and try a wheat beer to be ready in time for summer so got the Tarweiber.
I saw a recommendation for Candi sugar, so bought 500g (white crushed). I know the instructs say 750g, but they didn't sell that amount, I figured I would try and make 250g of my own but am thinking now that it might be too much as it also includes more purchases (jam thermometer/citric acid) and just spent another £70 incl getting a bottle rinser and tree, if I keep spending I think my missus will go mad.
Is it possible to use 500g Candi Sugar and say 250g Brewing Sugar mixed?
I also saw Golden Syrup as a good alternative, could you combine Candi sugar and that for a better mix and does the syrup apply to the same rules i.e. 250g of it (I noticed that Bowl sprayer on page 2 did a ratio of about 1.4:1 for golden syrup, so am guessing it needs more, is he about right?)
Thanks for any help!

 

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Is it possible to use 500g Candi Sugar and say 250g Brewing Sugar mixed?

I would keep the sugar colours light for this beer rather than use any darker fermentables. I only had 500g of white candi sugar and I topped up with some dark candi sugar I had and although it tastes good (just carbed and needs conditioning) - it looks like pi$$ rather than Witbier.

Not sure about ratios to be honest but there should be something in the Brewferm Review threads if you don't get an answer here. I think the instructions mention something about ratios though - not sure.

 

[serum]

I've now moved my bottles into the garage to mature.

Despite not putting these in a second FV and the extra additions the beer is very clear in the bottle. I'm not sure why.

I had a half bottle of the dregs so thought I'd give it a bash. It tastes very interesting although not what I was aiming for. The orange and coriander come through stronger than I wanted but that may die down.

I have to say that, having tried quite a few Brewferm kits, they all seem to have a similar taste. Maybe it's the yeast but it's not really as complex as a lot of Belgian beers. I've got an Abdij kit and I'm tempted to whack a different yeast in there just to see what happens.

 

[Monte Cristo]

I've done a few Brewferm kits also but mine tasted quite different from one another especially the Oranje bock, maybe the ones you have done are a similar style?:hat:

 

[serum]

I've done a few Brewferm kits also but mine tasted quite different from one another especially the Oranje bock, maybe the ones you have done are a similar style?:hat:

I've done quite a few now and I'm not saying they're identical, just that I could detect a particular flavour in all of them. Although they're pretty good they don't seem to have that spiciness I like in a lot of Belgian beer.

I found the Oranje Bock was quite similar to the Oud Bruin and also the Abdij my brother had made. The strengths varied but the overall taste seemed quite similar.

I've got an Abdij kit kicking around and I'm wondering if I can improve it. I can't see that dry hopping or adding more malt will do much good with that style so maybe yeast could be the way forward to get a bit of extra spice in there.

 

[Monte Cristo]

Yes i agree they don't seem to have the spiciness of the Belgium ales, I made the Grand Cru which i had high hopes for but i am still waiting for it to hit the mark it just tastes quite alcoholic to me, while the strong Belgium ales i have bought don't taste all that alcoholic.
I dry hopped the Tarwebier kit with some cascade and that turned out pretty good.:hat:

 

[Dronnybrewer]

I am wanting to try and brew a wheat beer and am interested in giving this one a try. It will be obly my second brew though and wondered if this might be a bit tricky for a beginner like me? Any advice?

 

[Coups]

Hi dronnybrewer, the brewferm kits are really easy to make and if you have a local home brew store you can always ask if you ever need advice.
I made a triple back in october, i brewed to 9l and used 500g of light spray malt, when it finished fermenting (according to gravity readings) i bottled in old grolsch bottles with a tspn of demerera sugar. Saved 16 bottles till xmas and it was superb! Deffinately easy to make, have a read through the pages of the reviews, you should pick up some ideas about wether to use any additionals or not, and even to use candi sugar or not. I didnt use that, but if you do the brewferm instructions suggest using 5% more rather than if you were using usual brewing sugar.
I guess in the end its all trial and error...have fun!

 

[TitanicStruggle]

Quick question, I bottled my Tarwebier last night after leaving it 10 days in Primary, it went from an OG of 1.047 to a very low FG of 1.005/4. I wasn't expecting it to go that low. Will this mean it will have a lot less body once ready?

 

[TitanicStruggle]

Tried a tester bottle last night, says wait 6 weeks but this is the 3 and a half week mark. lovely carbonation and a really smooth lovely taste already. Incredibly easy to drink. One thing I will say, and I don't know if it's specific to my brew or just that the brew isn't mature enough yet. There's a very very faint wheat taste, it's lovely but not quiet the wheat beer I was expecting it to be.

 

[Rickster]

Planning on getting this in the FV this week. I now have an eBay brew fridge, but unsure on conditioning temps once brewed and carb'd at around 20. When leaving this for 8 or so weeks, what temp is recommended? In the past the shed was the only option, so fluctuating in the summer months between 10 degrees and 30! With the fridge, can I leave it at x degrees for a couple of weeks and then stick in the shed, leave at x for the 8 weeks then put in the shed? Any tips appreciated!

 

[clym]

I just finished doing this kit, I made it to 15l with:

I gave it two weeks in the fv, then bottled 6 litres and kegged the remainder to condition, using 75g white sugar. Initial taste while bottling was very Hoegaardenish.

how long does beer keep if kegged? Is it noticeably longer than if bottled?
I am not a big beer drinker and don't want my brews to go off before I can drink them.