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Recipe: Fat Head’s Goggle Fogger
From cofounder and brewmaster Matt Cole and his team at Fat Head’s in Ohio, here’s a recipe for the Bavarian-style weissbier that’s won three gold medals in the past four years.
Photo: Courtesy Fat Head’s
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ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.052 (12.8°P)
FG: 1.011 (2.7°P)
IBUs: 12
ABV: 5.4%
[PAYWAL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
5.25 lb (2.4 kg) German wheat malt
3.2 lb (1.5 kg) pale two-row
11 oz (312 g) Munich
4.5 oz (128 g) Weyermann CaraWheat
3 oz (85 g) acidulated malt
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.25 oz (7 g) Sterling at 80 minutes [6 IBUs]
3 oz (85 g) Sterling at 2 minutes [6 IBUs]
YEAST
SafAle W-68, White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale, or Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen, or your preferred blend of hefeweizen yeasts
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and prepare for a multistep mash: Mash in at 113°F (45°C), rest 10 minutes; raise to 122°F (50°C), rest 15 minutes; raise to 144°F (62°C), rest 35 minutes; slowly raise to 154°F (68°C), rest 5 minutes; then slowly raise to 170°F (77°C) and mash out. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as needed to get about 6 gallons (23 liters), depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, chill to about 62°F (17°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. After 1 day, raise to 68°F (20°C) until fermentation is complete—about 7 days, or until the beer passes a forced VDK test. Then crash to 30°F (–1°C) and condition 2 weeks. Package and carbonate to about 2.75 volumes of CO2.
BREWER’S NOTES
Mash pH: It’s around 5.5, with knockout pH at 5.4.
Yeast: We use a blend of strains and under-pitch. The pitch rate is close to 0.333 million cells/mL/°P.
Fermentation: We use a floatation tank and open fermentation to achieve the classic phenolic and ester profile. While floatation might not be feasible for homebrewers, open fermentation is! The dimensions of a five-gallon bucket or carboy resemble that of our open fermentors. Just loosely set the lid on the bucket without snapping it into place, or place cheesecloth or sanitized aluminum foil over the top of the bucket or carboy. Close up the vessel once fermentation is complete. If open fermentation scares you, another option is fermenting in a vessel twice the size of your batch. All these options help reduce the barometric and hydrostatic pressure on the yeast, allowing full expression of their esters and phenolics.
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ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.052 (12.8°P)
FG: 1.011 (2.7°P)
IBUs: 12
ABV: 5.4%
[PAYWAL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
5.25 lb (2.4 kg) German wheat malt
3.2 lb (1.5 kg) pale two-row
11 oz (312 g) Munich
4.5 oz (128 g) Weyermann CaraWheat
3 oz (85 g) acidulated malt
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.25 oz (7 g) Sterling at 80 minutes [6 IBUs]
3 oz (85 g) Sterling at 2 minutes [6 IBUs]
YEAST
SafAle W-68, White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale, or Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen, or your preferred blend of hefeweizen yeasts
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and prepare for a multistep mash: Mash in at 113°F (45°C), rest 10 minutes; raise to 122°F (50°C), rest 15 minutes; raise to 144°F (62°C), rest 35 minutes; slowly raise to 154°F (68°C), rest 5 minutes; then slowly raise to 170°F (77°C) and mash out. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as needed to get about 6 gallons (23 liters), depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, chill to about 62°F (17°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. After 1 day, raise to 68°F (20°C) until fermentation is complete—about 7 days, or until the beer passes a forced VDK test. Then crash to 30°F (–1°C) and condition 2 weeks. Package and carbonate to about 2.75 volumes of CO2.
BREWER’S NOTES
Mash pH: It’s around 5.5, with knockout pH at 5.4.
Yeast: We use a blend of strains and under-pitch. The pitch rate is close to 0.333 million cells/mL/°P.
Fermentation: We use a floatation tank and open fermentation to achieve the classic phenolic and ester profile. While floatation might not be feasible for homebrewers, open fermentation is! The dimensions of a five-gallon bucket or carboy resemble that of our open fermentors. Just loosely set the lid on the bucket without snapping it into place, or place cheesecloth or sanitized aluminum foil over the top of the bucket or carboy. Close up the vessel once fermentation is complete. If open fermentation scares you, another option is fermenting in a vessel twice the size of your batch. All these options help reduce the barometric and hydrostatic pressure on the yeast, allowing full expression of their esters and phenolics.
