As another summer comes to a close, these Brew Dudes bring forth a strawberry wheat beer! Interestingly enough, we have never discussed this beer on our site or on YouTube before. I have brewed this beer over the last 3 summers but I guess it never made the content cut. It’s a great beer and I am glad we’re showcasing it now, especially after all of that hard seltzer nonsense. Watch this video as we discuss the recipe and review the beer:

Nearly 4 pounds of strawberries – not that pink!

Strawberry Wheat Beer Recipe

This is the 2021 version of the beer recipe. I have made changes every year so feel free to do the same. I have used wheat malt and oats in other versions of this recipe. This is for a 5 gallon batch.

Ingredients

5 pounds (2.27 kg) of American Pale Malt
5 pounds (2.27 kg) of Flaked Wheat
1 ounce (28g) of Barbe Rouge hops
4 pounds (1.81 kg) frozen strawberries
1 packet of US-05 yeast

Instructions

  • Used 4 gallons (15 liters) of filtered tap water with half of a Campden tablet added
  • Mashed for 60 minutes at 155°F (68°C)
  • Sparged with 5 gallons (19 liters) of the same water to collect 7 gallons (26 liters) of wort for the boil.
  • Boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops at the start of the boil
  • Chilled wort to 68°F (20°C) and transferred to ferment in a bucket
  • Yes, a bucket
  • Pitched the packet of yeast and fermented for 5 days at 68°F (20°C)
  • Added defrosted strawberries into a sterilized (boiled for 15 minutes) fine mesh bag and placed bag into fermentor (a bucket)
  • Fermented for another 5 days as the same temperature
  • On day 10, transferred beer to keg and carbonated

How Did It Taste?

I think the wonderful thing about this beer is that the strawberry flavor is present but not overwhelming. This outcome is a direct function of the amount of strawberries added to the beer. It’s not too much and not too little.

I also like that the fruit doesn’t turn the beer a strange color. There is a hint of pink but it’s fine. I love the balance in every aspect of this beer. Even the hops are there in the aftertaste just enough. The fruit takes the lead in flavor but it’s backed up with hops.

The body on this version of the beer was really light. After fermentation, the strawberries do lighten the body. Next time, I will go back to wheat malt and add a small amount of oats too – because I do think they bring something to the overall experience of the beer.

Hope you dug this post. Brewing fruit beers can be fun if they are done right – with balance!

BREW ON!