Weissbier Simple Wheat

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Justibone

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2010
Messages
2,022
Reaction score
32
Location
Indianapolis
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Danstar Munich German Wheat (dry)
Yeast Starter
Not necessary
Batch Size (Gallons)
2.5
Original Gravity
1.049
Final Gravity
1.010
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
14
Color
3+ SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14-21
Tasting Notes
Phenols depend on fermentation temps, subtle if brewed at room temp (~74F)
Transitioning from Mr Beer? You can try my "Simple" recipes without steeping or mashing.

Really, though, steeping and mashing is pretty easy. I'd encourage you to make the leap. :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Recipator:

Category #1: Weizen/Weissbier
Category #2: American Wheat

Simple Wheat

This is an extract + hops recipe. Super simple, really good beer.

Brewer: Justin
Beer: Simple Wheat
Style: Weizen/Weissbier
Type: Extract
Size: 2.5 gallons
Color: 3 HCU (~3 SRM)
Bitterness: 14 IBU
OG: 1.049
FG: 1.010
Alcohol: 5.0% v/v (3.9% w/w)

Water: Use water that tastes good. Distilled water is an option since it is an extract recipe.

Boil: 60 minutes, 2.75 gallons

3.3 lb. Briess Liquid Wheat extract (60% barley, IIRC)

I boiled the extract for 60 minutes which darkened the color slightly. Beware of scorching.

Hops:
.25 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfruh (5% AA, 60 min.)
.25 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfruh (5% AA, 15 min.)

Yeast: Danstar MUNICH German Wheat Yeast, dry packet

Fermented at room temp during the summer. If done cooler it will get a little bit more of a clove taste rather than banana, but the banana wasn't anywhere near overwhelming in this recipe. You don't need a swamp cooler -- this is the easiest recipe ever.

Carbonation: Bottle carb or keg carb, whatever you usually do.

Tasting: As brewed and at normal temperatures it turns out pretty clean and tasty. Slight banana phenol taste, you could get more if you turned your AC down (made it hotter) while it fermented.

If you want to turn it into a Shandy, one packet of Country Time Lemonade (the kind without any sweetener in it, comes in little foil packets) per gallon makes a pretty refreshing version. This is easy, cheap (for extract) and quite tasty.
 
I noticed you said the size was 2.5 gallons. Is also see that you suggest a boil with 2.75 gallons. Is the 2.5 the total batch size. I am looking to make five gallons. I assume just doubling the ingredients. I boil all my wort in 2.5 gallons and then add 2.5 when after it has cooled. then I pitch my little alcohol making friends:drunk:
 
Questions from another thread (that I answered there and am copying here):

-------------------------------------------------------------------

BTW. will be trying your simple wheat this weekend. sounded great with the shandy idea. i will let you know

If you want, only add half the lemonade packet, taste, then see if you want the whole packet. Also, I haven't experimented with adding actual cloves, but my keg is sitting empty(!) at the moment, so I need to get back to brewing beer...

-------------------------------------------------------------------

do you pour through a strainer before primary or leave the hops in it?

I use a hops bag.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

I am looking through my hops collection and i have Hallertau AA-3.5% the wheat in your recipe calls for Hallertau Mittelfueh AA-5%.

do you think this will cause a big difference in aroma? i am not completely sure what the "AA %" mean.


The AA% means "alpha acid" percentage. The alpha acids are what give the bitterness. Basically, you multiply the percentage, times the ounces, to get the equivalent bitterness. Another calculation based on how long you boil gives you the bitterness in IBUs (international bitterness units, I believe) -- but that's best done by software.

So, if you have 3.5%, and the recipe calls for 5%, then you can just divide 5 by 3.5 to get how many ounces to use for the same bitterness.

5 / 3.5 = 1.4 oz.

The way to test whether you put the right number in the right spot is that if you have a lower percentage hop, you should need more of it, not less. So if you did the calculation backwards it would come out with 0.7 oz. or so, which doesn't make sense if you think about it. If you have hallertauer at 7.5 AA% then you would obviously need less than one ounce because you have more powerful hops, etc. So, it's no mystery, just algebra.

You can taste the hallertauer in the recipe, but it isn't a prominent feature of the beer. If you use a slightly lower AA% version of the hop, there will be more of that flavor present, but like I said, nowhere near overpowering. Traditional German wheat beers are not really hop-a-licious beers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
 
I made a simple wheat, except-i used light dme,steeped white wheat grains 45 min,used amarillo and for 10 beers equaling a gallon i used about .5 oz of hops, and ibu's came to around 58. Bad idea? trial and error i guess.looking forward to the turnout. I was trying for a minmash with the wheat so i hope i didnt need to do 60 min.+ steep. I only boiled 20 min also.
Is the only reason to boil 60 for hops? I want a lighter colored beer and i felt this long would give extract darker color?
 
I made a simple wheat, except-i used light dme,steeped white wheat grains 45 min,used amarillo

Amarillo is not a "noble" hop, so your wheat beer - although it sounds tasty - is not a German wheat.

and for 10 beers equaling a gallon i used about .5 oz of hops, and ibu's came to around 58. Bad idea? trial and error i guess.looking forward to the turnout.

Half an ounce of high AA% (8-11?) hops into only one gallon of beer... wow. That's gonna be a wheaty li'l hop bomb! It sounds closer to an IPA than a wheat beer. ;)

I was trying for a minmash with the wheat so i hope i didnt need to do 60 min.+ steep. I only boiled 20 min also.

Most of the conversion is done in the first 15 min., according to what I've read on this site. That being said, you probably didn't get the full amount of sugars out of the grain by mashing such a short amount of time. If you weren't counting on those sugars to convert, then you'll be fine -- you basically did a "steep" instead of a "mash". (Steep = yields flavors, mash = yields flavors + fermentables).

Only boiling 20 minutes means you didn't get the full IBU's out of your hops. That's a good thing, because that much bitterness would erase the wheat. Basically, I have no idea what your beer is going to taste like, except I suspect it will have 1) grapefruit flavors from the hops and 2) good mouthfeel from the wheat.

Is the only reason to boil 60 for hops? I want a lighter colored beer and i felt this long would give extract darker color?

Boiling 60 minutes is how you extract bitterness (as opposed to aroma) from hops. Boil long = bitter, boil short = aroma.

Boiling extract for a long time does change the color to a bit darker. If you want to avoid that in the future, just add half of the malt extract at the very end of the boil (last 10 minutes).

Since you don't seem to understand some of the features of this process, I recommend doing a few kits (or recipes like this one) exactly as written, for at least a few times, before you try to go out on your own.

The beer you made might be very good... it's got me curious at the least. :)
 
oh,ok. i didnt know a simple wheat was a german wheat. i was thiking simple american wheat. It actually tasted decent @ botteling although i bottled at 11 days.Im doing 3 weeks min. now after spending alot of time on this site.
I was kinda going for ipa but got over my head a little I knew if i did a 60 min,Id probably be screwed,i was paying atttention. Wanted to push the boundry alittle.Easier to do with a 2 gal batch. I got a 1.047 and i bet if i did a 60 min mash and 10 min sparge i would have gotten a 1.05+.
I hope i get a kit for Christmas because i really dont plan on buying them i just look at the recipe and use what i got. Thanks for giving me hope about my 2nd beer im going to give it a 3 week test on Christmas. cheers.
 
oh,ok. i didnt know a simple wheat was a german wheat. i was thiking simple american wheat.

There is no "simple" wheat style... I just like 'em German! There's nothing wrong with an American wheat. SWMBO prefers 'em. Also, they make nicer shandies, because you can use citrus-y hops like citra and amarillo.

It actually tasted decent @ botteling although i bottled at 11 days.Im doing 3 weeks min. now after spending alot of time on this site.

Yeah, bottling can really change the flavor of the beer. I say try one at one week and at two weeks, but it won't be it's best until three weeks.

I was kinda going for ipa but got over my head a little I knew if i did a 60 min,Id probably be screwed,i was paying atttention. Wanted to push the boundry alittle.Easier to do with a 2 gal batch.

Experimentation works best when you start simple and ramp up from there. :)

I got a 1.047 and i bet if i did a 60 min mash and 10 min sparge i would have gotten a 1.05+. I hope i get a kit for Christmas because i really dont plan on buying them i just look at the recipe and use what i got. Thanks for giving me hope about my 2nd beer im going to give it a 3 week test on Christmas. cheers.

Eh, don't worry about a few points here or a few points there. You won't really notice until you start looking at the difference between a 4% and a 5% beer. How much you had for dinner (and how long ago) makes a bigger difference in your buzz than a few brewer's points plus or minus.
 
So, if you have 3.5%, and the recipe calls for 5%, then you can just divide 5 by 3.5 to get how many ounces to use for the same bitterness.

5 / 3.5 = 1.4 oz.

I just wanted to point out that this would ONLY be true if the recipe called for 1oz of 5%, and you were subbing with 3.5%.

What you found is the ratio you would use to substitute, 1.4oz of 3.5%AA hops per 1oz of 5%AA hops called for.

In the case of this recipe, it calls for .25oz of 5% at each addition, so you would multiply that by your ratio of 1.4, and get .35oz of 3.5% at each addition.

I just wanted to point that out before someone adds 1.4 oz to this recipe blows their taste buds out :mug:
 
Good point!

Yes, it's algebra, which everyone should be able to manage, but you're right, with staged additions you have to add proportionally... etc. Thanks!
 
I just did this brew and it has been in the primary for 5 days. My OG was 1.048 and I did a hydrometer reading today which read 1.018. It had a really good banana taste so I can't wait for it to be finished. Mine fermented kinda violently on the first day but I also used a whole container of liquid yeast. Overall, I would definitely wanna do this one again but maybe as an all grain batch
 
All grain would be easy. Just divide the extract by 1.1 to get the dry malt equivalent:

3.3 / 1.1 = 3 lb dry malt equivalent

Then divide the dry malt equivalent by your efficiency, say, 70%:

3 / .7 = 4.28 lbs grain equivalent at 70% efficiency

Multiply that by .6 to get your two-row value, and by .4 to get your wheat value:

4.28 * .6 = 2.57 lbs two-row
4.28 * .4 = 1.71 lbs wheat

There you go, an all-grain version (assuming 70% efficiency).

BTW, the yeast used in this brew is very important. Wet yeast would probably be best, but dry yeast still makes a tasty brew. I made it again recently, and I didn't care for the non-Danstar dry yeast I used quite as much as I liked the Danstar dry wheat beer yeast. YMMV. :)
 
So, my latest batch of this beer wasn't as good as the others. I think it's partially because I didn't boil on a burner, but in an electric pan, so the whole thing was much more work for not good effect. Nothing wrong with electric brewing, but that experiment didn't work out so great for me.

Also, I didn't use the Danstar dry wheat yeast... I can't recommend the Danstar enough, compared to the stuff I used. Furthermore, make sure you keep the wheat beer nice and warm if you want to get banana esters... the clove ones aren't the tastiest IMO.

Cheers, and enjoy!
 
Brewed this just to give it a try today.

Used almost the exact ingredients LHBS only had hallertau hops.Probably should have adjusted for that, oh well. Partial boil, ended up with an OG of 1.045

Let's see how it tastes eh?
 
Bottling this today, as it has reached the proper FG.

Tasted the hydrometer sample, not so enthusiastic.

Two things, didn't dechlorinate my tap water, and it was flat and warm, so we'll see how it tastes after carbing.
 
The chlorine could be an issue. There are pretty straightforward ways to fix that (Brita, metabisulfite?) so for next time maybe.

A beer isn't a beer until it's cold and carbed, though! :)

Give it plenty of time to cold-condition in the fridge, if you are worried.
 
It will sit in the dark in a corner for three weeks, then I'll probably stick a few in the fridge for a week or so before trying it.
 
What size packet of the lemonade? The packets that make 2qts? It seems the packet sizes can all vary so I want to be sure.
 
Well, I tried a carbonated sample of this the other day.

Rather sweet wheat beer, but I like it.

And yes, I know, I tried it earlier than three weeks.

I'll be making this one again, but 5 gallons next time.
 
Helping a friend brew this right now. It's his first brew and he said he wanted to do a wheat beer so we picked this because of its small batch size and simplicity... Taking some flavor liberties with a little flaked wheat and some sweet orange peel though...
 
Brewed this up and bottled in begining of feb.. i used Safbrew WB-06 and have to say it turned out surprisingly well after it carbed up for 2 weeks. one or two and you got a good buzz, and the flavor is on point. the only thing i did not relaize was the color of the brew. i put the whole can of extract in for the whole 60 minutes...it surned out dark, so next time i may do a quarter or half in teh begining and the rest during the last 10 or 15 minutes of teh boil, over all good easy recipe.
 
Glad you liked it!

It's easy and fast. If you can do this one well, then you are well on your way towards doing any partial mash recipe out there.
 
Back
Top