American Wheat Beer Gumballhead inspired WPA

Shoot for an IBU count in the mid-twenties, just enough to balance the sweetness. It's all about the hop flavor and aroma with this one. As for hop subs. I really feel the Simarillo dry hop combo is what makes this beer. Other hops would work and probably result in good beers but I would be hesitant to suggest anything. YMMV

It seems there are 3 variations in this thread. Could someone put them in one post? And, explain the major differences. I want to brew this next weekend; however, i want it closest to GBH. Any help would be appreciated.

lawnboybrew said:

It seems there are 3 variations in this thread. Could someone put them in one post? And, explain the major differences. I want to brew this next weekend; however, i want it closest to GBH. Any help would be appreciated.

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Lawnboy... I would say this recipe is dead nuts on... I compared mine to a bottle of GBH that I had and I highly doubt anyone could tell the difference. My best brew to date.

Here is the recipe that I used:

All Grain Recipe - Gumball Head Wheat ::: 1.052/1.012 (6 Gal)
Grain Bill (70% Efficiency assumed)
6 lbs. - Wheat Malt
5 lbs. - 2-Row Pale Malt
1 lb. - Caravienne Malt

Hop Schedule (27 IBU)
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - First Wort Hop
1/4 oz. - Amarillo - 60 min.
1/2 oz. - Amarillo - 15 min.
1.25 oz. - Amarillo - 5 min.
1 oz. - Amarillo - 1 min.
1.5 oz. - Amarillo - Dry Hop

Yeast
Wyeast 1056 - American Ale - 1800 ml starter

Mash/Sparge/Boil
Mash at 153° for 60 min.
Sparge as usual
Cool and ferment at 68° to 70°

Notes
Wait til fermentation is finished and then add dry-hop additions for 7 days.
Rack and bottle or keg as normal.

lawnboybrew said:

It seems there are 3 variations in this thread. Could someone put them in one post? And, explain the major differences. I want to brew this next weekend; however, i want it closest to GBH. Any help would be appreciated.

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I guess it depends on what you are trying to make. If you want to attempt to clone GBH you may want to use suggestions posted in this thread to guide you there but you'll have to use your senses and experience to make changes to the recipes listed as your equipment and process is different from others who have commented here. I don't feel that any of the full recipes listed here (including mine) are for an attempt at a clone. I actually had some fresh GBH this weekend and my original partial mash recipe, which I like much better, isn't really close. Hence the "inspired" tag.

If you want to make a really good, hoppy american wheat, see post one.

If you want to make a really good, hoppy american wheat with the all grain process, see post one or the post just before this depending on your efficiency. They are very similar.

If you want to clone Gumballhead, you should read the entire thread and see what I and others have to say. The hops are really predominant in the original. Mine is more balanced with wheaty-breadiness. I honestly can't see more than 35% wheat or a really low temp mash in the real GBH but that's just my $.02:rockin:

Good luck!!

I ended up using the first recipe. Finished primary and hit the final gravity in the first post. In secondary dry hop now--can't wait until it's done. Tastes good from the samples I have had. What pressure should I use for the keg? Thanks!

You know, that's an excellent question!! When I made it I wasnt kegging. I would go the standard 11-12 psi depending on your draft system. Gas it as you would any American pale or IPA. If you have any tricks to get it carbed up quickly definitely employ them as in my experience this beer loses something every day it sits. YMMV.

lawnboybrew said:

I ended up using the first recipe. Finished primary and hit the final gravity in the first post. In secondary dry hop now--can't wait until it's done. Tastes good from the samples I have had. What pressure should I use for the keg? Thanks!

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As CUInRearView said, go with the standard 10-12. My second attempt was kegged and had good carbonation, similar to my original try that was bottled, although my second attempt wasn't as tasty (my own fault, was shy a pound of DME when it was brewed).

If you can, dial it up to 30 PSI for 24 hours (if it is cold going into the keg by crash cooling) or 36 hours (if it is room temp), after initial overpressure, degas the keg, dial down the C02 to serving pressure (10-12) and let it sit for a few days (3-5). It will continue to improve over the next 2 weeks, but by that time, it should have pretty solid carbination.

If you have never force carbed, it will have a perceived "carb bite" the first few days, but it will mellow out in less than a week.

Good luck and post your results if you get a chance.

Made it and kegged it. Fourth day in keg. Bit of a bready flavor at the end. Still too young? Will it mellow out? Followed CUs original recipe. Color is great and the aroma makes me want to jump in the glass.

Made it and kegged it. Fourth day in keg. Bit of a bready flavor at the end. Still too young? Will it mellow out? Followed CUs original recipe. Color is great and the aroma makes me want to jump in the glass.

I'm sure I mentioned the sweet breadiness somewhere when describing this beer. Bottles never stayed around long enough for me to see if it faded. It is a desired character in the beer and IMO compliments the hops. Sounds like it came out as intended.

cuinrearview said:

I'm sure I mentioned the sweet breadiness somewhere when describing this beer. Bottles never stayed around long enough for me to see if it faded. It is a desired character in the beer and IMO compliments the hops. Sounds like it came out as intended.

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I will begin drinking. Thanks a lot. Good stuff on my first beer in over four years. Going to try the ag recipe above next.

cuinrearview said:

Shoot for an IBU count in the mid-twenties, just enough to balance the sweetness. It's all about the hop flavor and aroma with this one. As for hop subs. I really feel the Simarillo dry hop combo is what makes this beer. Other hops would work and probably result in good beers but I would be hesitant to suggest anything. YMMV

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quick update. i brewed a variation of this 2.5 weeks ago and bottled last night. gravity samples were great and aroma is amazing. recipe i used: http://hopville.com/recipe/1436437/american-pale-ale-recipes/wpa

i dry hopped with citra instead of simcoe and use kolsch yeast. can't wait until they are carbed up.

This beer only gets better and clearer as time goes by. Brewing this again in the coming days. This time I will not be too anxious to drink. I will try the dental floss tied hop bag in the keg this time. Found that keg co2 level was best around 8-9 psi.

Anyone know if dry hopping harms a beer if done for an extended time?

EDIT DUE TO ENGLISH TEACHER IN ME.

lawnboybrew said:

This beer only gets better and clearer as time goes by. Brewing this again in the coming days. This time I will not be too anxious to drink. I will try the dental floss tied hop bag in the keg this time. Found that keg co2 level was best around 8-9 psi.

Anyone know if dry hopping harms a beer if done for an extended time?

EDIT DUE TO ENGLISH TEACHER IN ME.

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If you do it in the keg, let it sit for 4-5 days at room temp. Then, toss it in your keezer or kegerator and it will be just fine.

Going to brew up 10 gals of this over the weekend and try a single decoction at 122 F for 35 minutes with a raise to 154 F for 45 minutes. Got the starters of 1056 going tonight.

I'm also going to try this with all Simcoe. The original is outstanding, but got a good deal on a pound of Simcoe. After playing around on BeerSmith last night, it's sitting at 26.5 ibus.

D_Ranged_Eskimo said:

Going to brew up 10 gals of this over the weekend and try a single decoction at 122 F for 35 minutes with a raise to 154 F for 45 minutes. Got the starters of 1056 going tonight.

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VERY interested to hear if the decoc. helps with the breadiness. Did you make the PM recipe?

cuinrearview said:

VERY interested to hear if the decoc. helps with the breadiness. Did you make the PM recipe?

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The two times I've made this, it was the extract with steeping grains recipe. This first time had the sweetness that's been described, the second, I screwed up and it ended up as a drinkable hop water.

I went all grain and all Simcoe. I kept the hop schedule. Also, used california ale from white labs. Thinking about dry hopping with Amarillo pellets. Any idea as to how much?

lawnboybrew said:

I went all grain and all Simcoe. I kept the hop schedule. Also, used california ale from white labs. Thinking about dry hopping with Amarillo pellets. Any idea as to how much?

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I dry hopped for 7 days with 1.5 oz of Amarillo. Spot on. I also used pellets.

I just entered my first competition with this beer ( I entered it in the American Wheat 6D category) and scored a 40 !!!!
Woot... The only thing I was disappointed with was the fact that I only placed 3rd.... IN MY CATEGORY!!! Stiff competition...

JonGrafto said:

I just entered my first competition with this beer ( I entered it in the American Wheat 6D category) and scored a 40 !!!!
Woot... The only thing I was disappointed with was the fact that I only placed 3rd.... IN MY CATEGORY!!! Stiff competition...

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Congratulations! Did you get notes from the judges? If so, what kinds of comments were given?

cuinrearview said:

Congratulations! Did you get notes from the judges? If so, what kinds of comments were given?

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I haven't gotten the notes back yet. The awards ceremony is this weekend at the brew festival. I can pick up the score sheets and award then or they mail it out next week. Not sure of I can get to the festival though. Almost 2 hours away and me without a DD.

Just got my notes back from the competition. Overall I am happy with the feedback and the scores.

Here they are as followed:

1st judge

Aroma 10/12 - Medium-high citrus aroma up front. Grapefruit skin. Moderately-low fruity esters. No diacetyl or DMS

Appearance 3/3 - Rich gold color. Brilliant clarity. Off-white head pours full and lingers as a ring of small bubbles.

Flavor 16/20 - Medium-high citrus up front. Grainy malt follows. Balanced toward the hops with enough malt to balance. Medium-high bitterness. Finishes Dry.

Mouthfeel 4/5 - Medium-high carbonation keeps it lively. Medium-light body. Low alcohol warmth. Slightly creamy but still crisp. Not astringent.

Overall Impression 7/10 - Crisp and balanced. Refreshing beer. A touch more carbonation would help continued drinkability, but nice job overall. (I kegged this beer and just filled straight from my taps without the use of a beer-gun or counterpressure filler. That may have led to a loss in a little carbonation.)

Overall Score 40/50


2nd judge:

Aroma 10/12 - Strong citrus & piney hop aroma. Moderate pale malt aroma. Hop aroma is pleasant but a bit high for this style. No banana/clove.

Appearance 3/3 - Medium gold color with good clarity. Medium white head with fair retention.

Flavor 14/20 - Strong citrusy/piney hop flavor. Med-high hop bitterness. Med-low biscuity flavors as well as wheat character.

Mouthfeel 4/5 - Medium body with a slightly dry finish. Medium carbonation is a bit low for the style. Very slight warming.

Overall Impression 8/10 - Very pleasant beer. Tweak the hop profile down a bit. No off flavors. Good balance with the wheat character.

Overall Score: 39/50

Brewed this up a week before Christmas. Bottled two weeks ago, but couldn't wait. Tried it last night and... Wow! Great beer. Much more than I was expecting. This beer really does a great job of showcasing the hops. I think Amarillo may be my new favorite. Thanks for the recipe. Definitely going to brew again.

Brewed this in early January and put it in Babble Brew Off where it scored a 35 and took silver in American Wheat/Rye. Thanks for the great recipe.

Made this with el dorado instead of amarillo. This is my first time using el dorado hops, so i chose this recipe to really put the hop flavor on display. After 2 weeks in bottles, I tried my first today. Tremendous beer, although a bit green. Obviously, not gumballhead, but just as good.

We made this one 2 weeks ago. It was our first all-grain batch using BIAB. I can't remember if the recipe came from this thread, but the one I used called for 6 lbs white wheat, 5 lbs 2 row, and 1 lb caravienne. My dyslexia kicked in and I actually had 5 lbs of white wheat and 6 lbs of 2 row. Mash started at 153 and dropped to about 150 after 75 min. OG was dead nuts at 1.054. Used S04 dry yeast.

Curiously, took a gravity reading today before dry hopping and FG is 1.006. This attenuated a lot more than I expected. The gravity sample tasted good, but not surprisingly it had a lot of alcohol warmth. I don't have any software to easily calculate what OG and FG should have been with the extra 2 row. Do you guys think the FG was so low because of the extra 2 row, or was it more likely something to do with the mash temp/time?

Really looking forward to drinking this in a few weeks after DH and bottling. Thanks for the recipe and any help.

I've got 9.5 pounds of damn fine smelling grist in my office. Making this Sunday as my first BIAB/all grain venture. Really looking forward to it.

Just made the "updated" extract version of this, today. REALLY looking forward to having a viable summer beer ready soon while I wait for my big IIPA to carbonate. I was shooting for an OG of 1.057 and hit 1.055 which is the closest I've been to hitting my target yet.

Just brewed a very similar clone a couple of weeks ago. I used Red Wheat (per 3Floyds) and I couldn't find the Caravienne at my LHBS, but they had a Cara-Amber (which after the fact found out it is somewhat like Victory/Biscuit)., so that is what I went with. Hope that doesn't change the flavor profile too much. It smells great!

Has anyone used WLP051 (California V) with this type of beer?? (That's what I went with, my 1st time using this yeast. If so, how were the results??

marvinsjunk said:

We made this one 2 weeks ago. It was our first all-grain batch using BIAB. I can't remember if the recipe came from this thread, but the one I used called for 6 lbs white wheat, 5 lbs 2 row, and 1 lb caravienne. My dyslexia kicked in and I actually had 5 lbs of white wheat and 6 lbs of 2 row. Mash started at 153 and dropped to about 150 after 75 min. OG was dead nuts at 1.054. Used S04 dry yeast.

Curiously, took a gravity reading today before dry hopping and FG is 1.006. This attenuated a lot more than I expected. The gravity sample tasted good, but not surprisingly it had a lot of alcohol warmth. I don't have any software to easily calculate what OG and FG should have been with the extra 2 row. Do you guys think the FG was so low because of the extra 2 row, or was it more likely something to do with the mash temp/time?

Really looking forward to drinking this in a few weeks after DH and bottling. Thanks for the recipe and any help.

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Not your process' fault it looks solid. SO-4 is beast and will munch through sugars, especially if your temps drifted up.

Bump

How long do you DH? Is 2weeks to long?

miked597 said:

How long do you DH? Is 2weeks to long?

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Two weeks is too long. Typically 7-10 days. Otherwise you may get grassy flavored if you leave it too long on dry hop. Mine was great after 7.

I just brewed this the other day with the reviews i've read. Pulled the dry hops after 9 days and it still in the ferm as its currently sitting at 1.020, gonna check next week if it goes down to about 1.016. Had to taste it as it smelled awesome when i opened the fermenter. its a bit watery flavored now, is that normal for this stage in the fermenter? about 12 days in.

Hi everyone, I'm a brewer here in Taiwan and just finished 8 days in Primary. Will now do DH for 5 day with 1 oz of Amarillo
Sampled the beer today and have hit FG of 1.010, so I think I can call this done and rack to secondary to DH for 5 days. The smell is Tangerine. I think this will knock the socks off all my friends. LHBS was really helpful
The carboy on the right is my GBH Clone the carboy on the left is an All-grain Honey Ale(WH clone)

Here is my grain bill and proportions:
Boil Size: 29.47 l
Post Boil Volume: 25.83 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 22.00 l
Bottling Volume: 20.49 l
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 10.7 EBC
Estimated IBU: 18.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type /IBU
2.50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter 49.5 %
2.25 kg Wheat Malt, Bel (3.9 EBC) 44.5 %
0.30 kg Caramel Dark 50 (50.0 EBC) 5.9 %
7.00 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - First Wort 90.0 min
14.00 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min
14.00 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min
56.00 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - Steep/Whirlpool
Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast
28.00 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 5.05 kg

So I just opened a bottle of mine after 1 week. I know early but I had to try it after it smelled so good. I was quite disappointed, it seemed to have a pretty sour taste to it, so I'm not sure if I'm just jumping the gun, or something is wrong with the batch. I'll try another bottle in a week to see if anything changed cause it could just be premature, but I'm hoping the whole batch isn't ruined.

Kegging my 3rd batch of this to kick off the warm weather. Love it! Since this is similar to Gumballhead dry-hopped with Simcoe, I now call it Simballhead.

Have been looking at this recipe for a couple weeks and just noticed where MOREBEER has the new WLP200 (mix of 001 and 002). Has anyone tried his yet, or will have to be the first? Havent been able to decide whether or not to go American or English yeast. Figure this is the best of both worlds (no pun intended, really).