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Vandette · 01-23-2012, 08:19 PM

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums and to homebrewing in general.

I've been doing extract brews with my dad for a couple years now, so I recently decided to try my hand at doing a partial mash recipe, which turned out well, I think.

What I'd like to do now is try and come up with my own recipes instead of using others. I went out and got a copy of Beersmith, and I formulated what seems like a useable recipe. Now, because I've never formulated a recipe before, this may seem completely bogus, which is why I've come to you guys for advice.

My friends and I want to try our hand at Honey Wildberry Wheat Ale. Here's the recipe I came up with:

Mash:
2.5 lbs German Wheat Malt (2.0 SRM)
2.5 lbs Pale Malt (2-Row) (2.0 SRM)
1 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)
Mash with 8.5 qts of water @ 161F for 75 minutes
Sparge with 3 gallons of water @ 168F

Boil:
2 lbs Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)
.5 Oz Cascade (5.50%) hops for Bittering (60 mins)
.5 Oz Hallertau (4.80%) aromatic hops (15 mins)

Yeast:
American Wheat Ale (Wyeast #1010) pitched @ 70F

This is where I get a little bit confused. I'm not quite sure how long each fermentation stage should take. I plan on racking to a secondary, which is where I will add my wildberry puree.

Does this make any sense at all? And is there any more information I'd need to provide for feedback? Any help/advice you folks can offer is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Van

android · 01-23-2012, 09:27 PM

everything looks pretty spot on to me, except the mash temp. why are you going to do it at 161? i would shoot more for 154 or so. but i guess anything in the 150-160 range should work OK... but if you have the ability to be accurate, do so and go below 161. also, you don't need to mash for 75 minutes, 60 is plenty.

it's hard to predict how long primary fermentation takes. in general, if you pitch the right amount of healthy yeast and have reasonable temperature control, you will probably be close to terminal gravity within 10-14 days (maybe even less, but don't push it at this point). but really, the only way to be sure is to take hydrometer readings. if it were me, i would just let it go for 10 days, then check with the hydro. using a secondary for the puree is fine and there should be plenty of yeast left in suspension to eat down the sugars contained therein.

**eastoak** · 01-23-2012, 09:45 PM

looks good. i would keep the fermentation temp no higher than 70 degrees. my american wheats i ferment between 64-67 degrees.

**helibrewer** · 01-23-2012, 09:45 PM

This is looking like an American Wheat. I would drop the Cascade and use Hallertau for everything. Shoot for 5-17 IBU and an OG of 1.030-50

The wheat should be 1/2 to 2/3 of the grain bill so it looks like you are OK there. If you need to add any more grain to achieve the OG use more 2-row or light extract, not more wheat.

And I agree, you should mash around 154F. Ferment on the cold side of the 1010's range.

Nice job

**daksin** · 01-23-2012, 10:54 PM

Looks good, mash temp looks way high, and yea, I would drop the cascades- the citrus-y hops will seem out of place with the wheat yeast esters, I think.

If you're fruiting in secondary, don't transfer to the fruit until 3-5 days after your FG is totally stable.

Vandette · 01-23-2012, 10:54 PM

Yeah, I think that mash temp is me not fully understanding how brewsmith works. I mashed around 151-156F for 60 mins for the last partial mash I did.

Will the Hallertau lend itself well to the fruit flavor that I plan on adding? Or am I overthinking this just a tad?

Thanks for your advice, everyone.

**sketerbuck** · 01-23-2012, 10:59 PM

I think 161 is the mash water temp.