difference between white wheat and pale wheat?

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zodiak3000

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im gonna be doing my first AG. its gonna be an ipa. ive seen some recipes online i like that use 1lb of wheat malt for the ipa's. i order from northern brewer and came across they have white and pale wheat malts. what one should i use or would be most appropriate? remember, its just a 1lb and its for an ipa, thanks..
 
im gonna be doing my first AG. its gonna be an ipa. ive seen some recipes online i like that use 1lb of wheat malt for the ipa's. i order from northern brewer and came across they have white and pale wheat malts. what one should i use or would be most appropriate? remember, its just a 1lb and its for an ipa, thanks..

The pale wheat is slightly darker and has a bit more of a bready flavor. For an IPA I would go with the white wheat malt.
 
The pale wheat is slightly darker and has a bit more of a bready flavor. For an IPA I would go with the white wheat malt.

according to northern brewer pale wheat has a 1.5 lovibond, while white has a 3 lovibond. wouldnt that mean the pale would be lighter not darker?
 
according to northern brewer pale wheat has a 1.5 lovibond, while white has a 3 lovibond. wouldnt that mean the pale would be lighter not darker?

According to those numbers, yes. The white wheat from my LHBS is lighter than the pale wheat though. Either the LHBS has mislabeled or Northern Brewer made a typo.
 
According to those numbers, yes. The white wheat from my LHBS is lighter than the pale wheat though. Either the LHBS has mislabeled or Northern Brewer made a typo.

damn, i already ordered the pale. no harm i guess since its only 1lb. im gonna contact NB and see whats up. thanks for the advice..
 
I've also noticed that the White Wheat is higher in Lovibond than the Pale Wheat, even though the Pale Wheat appears darker. I am not completely certain, but I believe that the difference is the variety of wheat that the malt is made of. Pale Wheat is made from a naturally darker red wheat, and the Rahr White Wheat is made, obviously, from a variety of white wheat. Lovibond measures the amount of roastedness. The White Wheat is kilned slightly more than the Pale Wheat.
 
At that ratio you probably won't see much flavor characteristic between the two. I'm guessing the 1# is mostly for head formation/retention.
 
There's also Red Wheat which is the same Lovibond as White Wheat. Chances are you're only using 1/2 lb. to 1 lb. and you won't detect any flavor from the wheat. It's mainly there for head retention and mouthfeel in those amounts.
 
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