redbaron24

Recipes 

I was checking out the New Glarus Brewery website the other day and noticed a description of a seasonal black wheat beer they brew, which they note as having flavors of "roasted chocolate and toasted caramel." They also mention using wheat, oats, rye, and barley. Naturally, I was intrigued and am considering throwing together a blind clone of sorts for my next brew. Does anyone have any opinions on where I should start with the recipe? Im thinking of going for a hearty american wheat recipe and subbing darker specialty grains in but i dont really know what to expect. Any thoughts?

k1v1116

Recipes 

maybe look for a dunkleweizen recipe and switch the yeast?

Ketchepillar

Recipes 

I am also curious about this. New Glarus wheat beers are very distinct and very good. Crack'd wheat and Black Wheat are both particularly good, but I don't know how one would go about cloning them. I don't think your average dunkelweizen recipe is going to come anywhere close.

__________________
Up Next: Coffee Stouts, Brett Beers, More Sours, Quad, Brown
Primary: Sour
Secondary: Sour
On Tap:
Bottled: The Queenella Dugbe RIS, Avlan RIS,

redbaron24

Recipes 

No, Im thinking of going more along the lines of a schwarzbier, but applying it to a wheat base. Does anyone have any experience using chocolate wheat? It seems like a good way to darken the beer without overemphasizing the bitterness of roasted barley.

redbaron24

Recipes 

This is my first hack at a grain bill


Briess 2-Row Brewer's Malt 3 lbs, 0 oz

Weyermann Dark Wheat 2 lbs, 0 oz

Weyermann Rye Malt 1 lbs, 0 oz

Briess 2 Row Caramel 80 1 lbs, 0 oz

Thomas Fawcett Oat Malt 1 lbs, 0 oz

Weyermann Chocolate Wheat 1 lbs, 0 oz

Simpsons Chocolate 12 oz

mkling

Recipes 

Hmmm. . . It's been a while since I last had a Black Wheat, but I do know that NG's other two wheat beers, Dancing Man & Cracked Wheat both use a more traditional German hefeweizen style yeast with some cloves & banana, not a clean American yeast. I want to say that's also true of the Black Wheat -- that it uses a more German hefe style yeast, but I just don't remember specifically well enough to trust my memory on this.

However, my slightly fuzzy memory does tell me that tell me that a combination of a dunkelweizen & schwarzbier will get you kind of close to Black Wheat. If I were trying this, I'd use a hefeweizen yeast.

__________________
Currently On Draft: Bamberger Rauch Dunkel, Belgian Blond, Pilsener Urquell clone, Smoked Porter
Bottled: Concord Pyment, Mi'Apa Sparkling Mead, Chimay Blue, Old Simcoe American Barleywine, Old Cantankerous
Fermenting and Conditioning: Pseudo-Decoction Munich Dunkel, Left Hook Bitter
Recently Kicked Kegs: Fresh Hop Pale Ale, Citra Rye IPA
On Deck: Old Rasputin, Northstar IPA, Ur-bock Dunkel

Windigstadt

Recipes 

Earlier this year I brewed a black Witbier (yes, I know that's an oxymoron) and what I did was start with a basic Witbier grain bill (10 lb. pale and 10 lb. flaked wheat for a 10-gallon batch) and substitute 1 lb. of Carafa III (dehusked) for a pound of the pale and 1 lb. of chocolate wheat for the flaked wheat, so my final grain bill was 9 lb. pale, 1 lb. Carafa III, 9 lb. flaked wheat and 1 lb. chocolate wheat. The end result was actually pretty similar to NG Black Wheat in terms of color and level of roastiness. The chocolate wheat definitely gives it a roasty edge, but nothing like a stout, and the Carafa is smooth enough to keep the beer from getting more astringent while still adding color. Looking at your recipe, I'm thinking the three main suggestions I would have are ditch the 80L crystal (or, if you're sure you want a caramel malt, go with Weyermann Caramunich III), use dehusked Carafa III instead of the 12 oz. of Simpsons chocolate, and cut the oats down to 1/2 lb. Of course, if those are grains you have sitting around that you're looking to get rid of, go nuts.

Oh, and I agree with mkling re: the yeast, though I would ferment on the cooler side (~64°F).

Ketchepillar

Recipes 

Yea, a combo of a dunkelweiz and a schwarz would probably be a good start. I think a pound of caramel is too much. Consider Carafa III Spec maybe. Also, yea, a german hefe yeast. "Lavish spice aromas of clove and cinnamon are promoted naturally by the yeast we import especially for this most individual of brews."

__________________
Up Next: Coffee Stouts, Brett Beers, More Sours, Quad, Brown
Primary: Sour
Secondary: Sour
On Tap:
Bottled: The Queenella Dugbe RIS, Avlan RIS,

Ketchepillar

Recipes 

Good suggestions Windigstadt. I like the fermenting a little cooler idea, this beer isn't huge on the esters. Also, a smaller quantity of Caramunich instead of the C80 seems good. Keep us updated.

__________________
Up Next: Coffee Stouts, Brett Beers, More Sours, Quad, Brown
Primary: Sour
Secondary: Sour
On Tap:
Bottled: The Queenella Dugbe RIS, Avlan RIS,

redbaron24

Recipes 

thanks guys, ill let you know when i decide on a recipe