Venkman’s Vit

Venkman’s Vit

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.052 FG = 1.013
IBU = 20 SRM = 15 ABV = 5.1%

You can think of this beer as a cross between a wit beer and and a schwarzbier, although it is not quite that dark. Venkman’s Vit is finished with Sterling hops (whose character is seen by some as a cross between Saaz and Mt. Hood hops) and spiced with the zest from an Oro Blanco Grapefruit (which is a cross between a grapefruit and a pummelo) and should appeal to anyone who thinks that “crossing the streams” might be a great idea.

Ingredients
6 lb. 5 oz. (2.9 kg) Pilsner malt
4 lb. 3 oz. (1.9 kg) wheat malt
2.5 oz. (71 kg) dehusked black patent
4.5 AAU Santiam hops (60 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g of 6% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Sterling hops (10 min.)
Oro Blanco Grapefruit zest (1/2 fruit)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit) yeast
1.0 cup cane sugar (for priming)

Step by Step
Mash at 152 °F (67 °C) in 16 qts. (15 L) of mash liquor. Collect 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort, add 1.0 gallon (3.8 L) of water and boil vigorously for 90 minutes. Ferment starting at 70 °F (21 °C). Let temperature rise to 76 °F (24 °C) when fermentation slows. Add zest in secondary and carbonate to around 2.7–3.0 volumes of CO2. (If bottling, use heavy bottles, like the bottles that German wheat beers are packaged in.)