ghpeel

Recipes 

So I really like Hefeweizens and Dunkelweizens. My Hefe's are usually made with Weyerman Pale and Wheat Malt in a 50/50 ratio, and I like the flavors of the White Labs 300 & 380 Hefe yeasts.

I was looking to make a Hefe that was maltier than my Pale Malt versions, which sometimes come out shockingly pale, so I decided to try adding some Munich malt to the grain bill. I could have done a decoction too, but I prefer simpler mash schedules. I'm a single-infusion type of guy.

At the last minute though, instead of just subbing out a pound or two of the Pale for Munich, I decided to replace the Pale malt with Munich entirely, so my grain will was 50% Wheat, and 50% Munich. I also used WLP 380 and fermented right around 64-65F.

And WOW, the results are great!! This beer tastes the most like a imported Hefe of any that I have made. I do still love my paler Hefe's, with Pale malt or Pils, but this combination is fantastic! Its got that malty, rich character of a good German Hefe, while still being pretty dry and very, very drinkable.

I often see recipes with base malts like Munich and Vienna added as if they were specialty grains, like .25-1lb worth. I'm not sure any human on the planet can really pick out .25lb of Munich in an entire 5gal batch. Don't be afraid to use these fantastic grains as your base malt!! I've got a Vienna + Munich lager in a diactyl rest right now, and that beer is one of the best that I brew.

Next time you are planning an Amber, or Scottish Ale, or Brown, think about using Munich instead of your normal base. Its got enough diastatic power to self convert entirely. Good stuff.

__________________
=============================================

Kegged: Golden Pub Ale, Ed's Wit, Scottish ESB, Haggis Broth Braggot
Lagering: n/a
Primary: Bro'hemian Pils
Resting: n/a
No-Chill Tank: n/a
Bottled: Lowland Oatmeal Porter, Adieu Travail!

teucer

Recipes 

Yeah, if I want the maltiness of a Munich, Munich is all I want to use.

Hell, my biere de garde treats pils as a specialty grain and uses pale Munich as the base. (The only reason I used 20% pils is because it was inspired by - though not directly a clone of - Gavroche, which does so.)

copyright1997

Recipes 

Interesting. I wanted to brew yesterday, and didn't have a recipe in mind. I wanted to do a wheat, but also have been enjoying some batches I've done with Vienna. So I did a batch with:
5# Vienna
4# Wheat Malt
1# Flaked Wheat (For head retention)
1 oz Williamette @ 60
.3 oz Williamette @ 15 minutes
S-33 yeast (re-use from a prior batch)

Mashed @ 152.
SG 1.047, expected ABV = 5.1%. Doing primary fermentation @ 66-67 degrees.

It was a bit of a flyer, but after reading this thread I am more encouraged. I will post when done with my impressions. (It's busy fermenting as I type).

[I did a previous SMaSH with Vienna and Northern Brewer and it is quite tasty. ]

__________________
Pri/Conditioning: Brown Ale
In Keg: Cherry Soda, Kabe's Secret APA,Dales
From Keg to Bottle:Clones of: SNPA, Victory Hop Devil, Mirror Pond, Red Rocket Ale, SN Celebration, Blue Moon, Bell's Two Hearted; Centennial Blonde, English Style IPA with EKG, Captain Hooked on Bitters, Vienna/Northern Brewer SMaSH (DeathBrewer Recipe), Nut Brown Ale, Vienna/ Cherry Wheat Ale, Root Beer, Lakefront IPA, Golden Nugget Ale, Pilsner, Shandy Blonde,Cream of 3 Crops,Sculpin Ballast Point IPA!

ghpeel

Recipes 

DeathBrewer' Vienna Northern Brewer SMASH by any chance? I've done that one myself. Delicious. It's where I learned that you CAN use something besides pale or pilsner malt as a base.

__________________
=============================================

Kegged: Golden Pub Ale, Ed's Wit, Scottish ESB, Haggis Broth Braggot
Lagering: n/a
Primary: Bro'hemian Pils
Resting: n/a
No-Chill Tank: n/a
Bottled: Lowland Oatmeal Porter, Adieu Travail!

copyright1997

Recipes 

YEP. In fact, I just saw this post and I have one in my glass!

__________________
Pri/Conditioning: Brown Ale
In Keg: Cherry Soda, Kabe's Secret APA,Dales
From Keg to Bottle:Clones of: SNPA, Victory Hop Devil, Mirror Pond, Red Rocket Ale, SN Celebration, Blue Moon, Bell's Two Hearted; Centennial Blonde, English Style IPA with EKG, Captain Hooked on Bitters, Vienna/Northern Brewer SMaSH (DeathBrewer Recipe), Nut Brown Ale, Vienna/ Cherry Wheat Ale, Root Beer, Lakefront IPA, Golden Nugget Ale, Pilsner, Shandy Blonde,Cream of 3 Crops,Sculpin Ballast Point IPA!

Meshuggah

Recipes 

I'm going to try my first hefe soon and am playing around with a few grain bills. I originally was thinking 50:50 wheat to pils, but now I'm considering 50:25:25 wheat, pils, munich. Do you think it would be pointless to go 25% with those two? Or should I go all out with 1 of them?

teucer

Recipes 

Any blend of 50-75% wheat (get lots of rice hulls if you're going high), with the rest any blend of pils, vienna, or Munich, will get you good results. In the maltier versions, you probably want to use German hops, no additions past the half hour mark, and a German yeast.

ghpeel

Recipes 

I've done all Pils, and now I've done all Munich. My next one will probably be 50/25/25 Wheat/Pils/Munich just to see what half-n-half Pils/Munich will do. However, ANY of the combo's you listed will be DELICIOUS if you like hefe's. The all-Pils version will be drier and lighter in color, whereas the Munich will be a touch breadier.

__________________
=============================================

Kegged: Golden Pub Ale, Ed's Wit, Scottish ESB, Haggis Broth Braggot
Lagering: n/a
Primary: Bro'hemian Pils
Resting: n/a
No-Chill Tank: n/a
Bottled: Lowland Oatmeal Porter, Adieu Travail!