Crop Circle Wheat Clone

cactusgarrett · 05-13-2008, 11:52 PM

Recipe Type: Extract
Yeast: WY3068
Yeast Starter: 2qts at 1.040
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.053
Final Gravity: 1.016
IBU: 8
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 8 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 10+ at 65-70F
Additional Fermentation: None
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): None

15A Weizen/Weissbier
Tastes identical to The Great Dane's (Madison, WI) Crop Circle Wheat
ABV = ~4.8%

6lbs weizen DME
0.25lbs Cara-Pils
0.25lbs Munich
1oz Hallertauer (4.2%AA) for 60min

Boil Volume = 2.5gal
Total Volume = 5gal

Mash Cara-Pils and Munich in 0.625qts (1.25qt/lb) for 30min at 150-155F. Filter into brewpot and rinse with ~2.3gal 170F water to bring boil volume to 2.5gal.

Boil for 60min, adding the 6lbs DME with 10min left to minimize darkening. Do not use any finings to retain cloudiness to match style.

Chill, filter, and transfer to primary. Bring to 5gal with water, mix and take OG reading. Pitch yeast and hold around 65-70F during primary fermentation.

If you can allow it, serve with a slice of lemon.

Let me know if there are any questions.

marshman · 05-20-2008, 01:12 PM

I have a couple--

Are you adding the entire hop schedule at the beginning of the boil?

Are you only boiling the DME for 10 minutes? Isn't that a bit short?

jacksonbrown · 06-26-2008, 02:28 PM

Marshman - yes, the hops go in at the start of the 60 min boil. As for the late addition of DME, it's pretty common with wheats to help keep the color light. Generally it's good to do 25% for the full boil and 75% in the final 15-10 min. You can make that 50-50 or 40-60, also.

As for me, I just sampled m A version of this recipe and it's pretty good. I'm looking forward to a side-by-side, but it had a great aroma, crisp flavor, and a bit of tartness. SWMBO likes it, and that's what really counts.

5.3 Gallons --
6 lb Wheat Malt (German)
4 lb Pale Malt 2-row (Belgian)
0.25 lb Cara-Pils
0.25 lb Munich
Rice hulls as needed

1 oz Hallertauer (60 min)
Wyeast 3068

Mash @ 154 for 60 min (although I might go for 156-158 next time for a bit more mouthfeel).
OG 1.052 - FG 1.011
IBU 11
SRM 4.5
Enjoy!

jacksonbrown · 06-27-2008, 01:13 AM

And for reference this had more head when I brought it up. Guess I'll need more Cara-Pils next time.

cactusgarrett · 06-27-2008, 05:47 PM

I've found the head hangs around pretty good, but i carbed the sh!t out of mine in the keg. But, if you're looking for more mouthfeel, as your mashing comment suggests you could go higher with the cara-pils and kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone.

jacksonbrown · 06-28-2008, 01:52 AM

Did the side-by-side tonight, and it's pretty dang close. The Dane's is a bit sweeter, and that's about it. I think mashing 2 deg higher should set that straight. Good work on a clone well done!

jacksonbrown · 05-18-2009, 04:06 PM

I just rebrewed this with Pilsner malt instead of the Pale, and ended up with a lame efficiency. Got an OG of 1.044. Changing the malt was an excellent decission, and I must say I'm pleased with the lower gravity. It makes it a bit smoother, takes out the bit of over sweetness that was present and makes it entirely quaffable. Those are my suggestions for now.
And, fwiw, two days ago we were at my sister-in-law's and had a blind beer tasting night. This recipe (one of four homebrews out of 16 beers), was a big favorite. It is yummy.

jescholler · 08-06-2009, 03:42 AM

I brewed a scaled down version of the all-grain recipe a couple of months back. It's been in the bottle for 3 weeks now. When I first tried Crop Circle Wheat at the Great Dane, it was my favorite wheat beer. I must say that this beer is my favorite homebrewed beer to date (only out of 4). My OG was 1052 and my FG was 1013. This is a very good beer. Well done.