American Wheat Beer American Wheat

Recipe for 75% efficiency, 5.5 gallons

4.5 lbs Wheat Malt, German (2 SRM)
3.5 lbs Pale Ale Malt, US (2 SRM)
1 lb Flaked Wheat (1.6 SRM)
0.5 lbs Munich Malt (9 SRM)
0.5 lbs Rice Hulls

1.5 oz Hersbrucker (3.5%) for 30 min
0.5 oz Tettnang (3.2%) for 15 min
0.5 oz Tettnang (3.2%) for 0 min

SafAle American Ale Yeast (S-05)

Mash for 60 min at 152 F

Fermented at 65 F for 2 weeks, then bottled.

Cloudy straw yellow color with creamy white head. Average hop aroma with hints of flowers, pine, and citrus. Average wheat and malt aroma with hints of caramel, straw, and nuttiness. Slight doughy yeast aroma. Hints of coriander. Medium body. Wheaty flavor with average duration, lightly sweet, lightly bitter finish. 42/50

Looks good

If it is an "American Wheat", then why do you use a German wheat?

McCuckerson said:

If it is an "American Wheat", then why do you use a German wheat?

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Using a clean, neutral ale yeast, rather than a spicy, banana & clove German wheat beer yeast is what makes it an "American Wheat."

iamjonsharp said:

Using a clean, neutral ale yeast, rather than a spicy, banana & clove German wheat beer yeast is what makes it an "American Wheat."

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That sounds very good! I don't like the Hefe I brewed for that exact reason. What are the flavors like?

Overall, it's an easy drinkin' & refreshing summer brew. With the neutral ale yeast, you really get the flavors of the wheat coming through, which as best I can describe is like malty with a subtle spiciness and a bit of tanginess.

Probably one of the most available commercial examples of this style would be Widmer's Hefeweizen.

iamjonsharp said:

Overall, it's an easy drinkin' & refreshing summer brew. With the neutral ale yeast, you really get the flavors of the wheat coming through, which as best I can describe is like malty with a subtle spiciness and a bit of tanginess.

Probably one of the most available commercial examples of this style would be Widmer's Hefeweizen.

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Bingo! - Widmer's is my favorite! I was very disappointed when I took a crack at making my own with Wyeast 3068. All I get is a chemical banana flavor. Do you swirl the pour to activate the yeast with your recipe?

McCuckerson said:

Bingo! - Widmer's is my favorite! I was very disappointed when I took a crack at making my own with Wyeast 3068. All I get is a chemical banana flavor. Do you swirl the pour to activate the yeast with your recipe?

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Yeah, sometimes I would add in the yeast from the bottle into my glass, or sometimes not, depending on whether or not I wanted it yeasty. The S-05 yeast works well. There are also "American Wheat" strains available from White Labs: WLP320, and Wyeast: 1010. I've never used the 320 or 1010 before, but they are probably also worth a try.

Wyeast German Ale (1007) yeast is pretty neutral and works well in wheat beers too.
Wyeast Laboratories. German Ale™ 1007

Is this comparable to Widmers? Looks like a nice recipe

McKBrew said:

Wyeast German Ale (1007) yeast is pretty neutral and works well in wheat beers too.

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Any thought on Wyeast 3333 German Wheat? Would it produce a wheat beer closer to American / Widmer character if used with the OP’s grain bill? Lower temperatures help? (I have a slurry of this that I’d like to use, but not end up with the usual Hefeweizen.)

Wyeast’s description does not mention the banana/clove fruit esters that 3068 produces:

YEAST STRAIN: 3333 | German Wheat™
Subtle flavor profile for wheat yeast with unique sharp tart crispness, fruity, sherry-like palate.

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AnOldUR said:

Any thought on Wyeast 3333 German Wheat? Would it produce a wheat beer closer to American / Widmer character if used with the OP’s grain bill? Lower temperatures help? (I have a slurry of this that I’d like to use, but not end up with the usual Hefeweizen.)

Wyeast’s description does not mention the banana/clove fruit esters that 3068 produces:

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I've never used that yeast. The description makes me think it might be on the dry side.

iamjonsharp said:

Using a clean, neutral ale yeast, rather than a spicy, banana & clove German wheat beer yeast is what makes it an "American Wheat."

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McKBrew said:

I've never used that yeast (Wyeast 3333.) The description makes me think it might be on the dry side.

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I don’t think that the dryness would be a problem as long as the banana/clove isn’t present.

What changes can be expected from using an American 2-row instead of the Pilsner I’ve used for Weizenbier in the past? Will the Wheat and Munich dominate any contribution that this change in base grain will make?

AnOldUR said:

I don’t think that the dryness would be a problem as long as the banana/clove isn’t present.

What changes can be expected from using an American 2-row instead of the Pilsner I’ve used for Weizenbier in the past? Will the Wheat and Munich dominate any contribution that this change in base grain will make?

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I'd think the changes are fairly subtle, using the 2-row and munich gives it a touch more maltiness than using pilsner malt, and will be about 0.5 SRM darker.

It gives the american wheat a bit more complexity, which is good since you aren't getting any of the complex banana-clove flavors from a typical weissbier.

I also like subbing pale ale malt in place of pilsner malt in general for most brews so I don't have to boil for 90 min because of DMS. I'll only use pilsner malt as a base malt if I feel like using it is necessary.

Well, you sold me. Just changed the German Wheat I’d planned on brewing this weekend to an American Wheat. One last question. In your description below the recipe you said, “Hints of coriander”, but there’s no coriander in the ingredients. Where is this coming from and how noticeable is it? I over did the coriander in a Wit a while ago and now don’t have the appreciation for the taste that I once did.

The final decision will be if I should go with 05 or use the Wyeast 3333 slurry.

AnOldUR said:

Well, you sold me. Just changed the German Wheat I’d planned on brewing this weekend to an American Wheat. One last question. In your description below the recipe you said, “Hints of coriander”, but there’s no coriander in the ingredients. Where is this coming from and how noticeable is it? I over did the coriander in a Wit a while ago and now don’t have the appreciation for the taste that I once did.

The final decision will be if I should go with 05 or use the Wyeast 3333 slurry.

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the hint of coriander was very subtle, definitely not as noticeable as a witbier, maybe coming from the tettnang hops?

I have put this on my list to brew. According to my schedule, I will be tapping the keg just about the time summer roles around. Thanks for the recipe.

AnOldUR said:

Well, you sold me. Just changed the German Wheat I’d planned on brewing this weekend to an American Wheat. One last question. In your description below the recipe you said, “Hints of coriander”, but there’s no coriander in the ingredients. Where is this coming from and how noticeable is it? I over did the coriander in a Wit a while ago and now don’t have the appreciation for the taste that I once did.

The final decision will be if I should go with 05 or use the Wyeast 3333 slurry.

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Which yeast did you end up going with?

UnaBonger said:

Which yeast did you end up going with?

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Didn't brew until last night. To keep from adding another recipe to this thread, here's a link.

I have been working on a recipe very similar to this but using cascade hops. Also, I have been using the White labs American Hefe yeast (320). So far, I really like it. I am trying to get it dialed in before summer.

I have not thought about using Munich, but I like the idea. I may have to give it a shot.

iamjonsharp said:

the hint of coriander was very subtle, definitely not as noticeable as a witbier, maybe coming from the tettnang hops?

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Finally got around to the American Wheat yesterday. The biggest difference from your recipe is that I used all Amarillo hops. I'm not always a big fan of coriander, so I hope you're right about where that flavor came from. Another difference is that I used a slurry of Pacman, but that shouldn't be too much of a change from the S-05.

Guidelines say these can be "brilliant to hazy." You went for the latter, but I'm thinking about going with a secondary and cold crash to see if it can be cleared up. Any thoughts on that? Or do you think benifits from some yeast left in suspension?

AnOldUR said:

Finally got around to the American Wheat yesterday. The biggest difference from your recipe is that I used all Amarillo hops. I'm not always a big fan of coriander, so I hope you're right about where that flavor came from. Another difference is that I used a slurry of Pacman, but that shouldn't be too much of a change from the S-05.

Guidelines say these can be "brilliant to hazy." You went for the latter, but I'm thinking about going with a secondary and cold crash to see if it can be cleared up. Any thoughts on that? Or do you think benifits from some yeast left in suspension?

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Sounds like a tasty brew. Cold crashing should definitely clear it up a bit. As far as taste, I don't think there will be too much of a difference between cold crash vs. leaving some yeast in suspension (not cold crashing).

I brewed this recipe last sunday for my second AG batch and I hit 1.042 for my OG which i was pretty excited about. The krauzen came up over night and rocked for a couple days. Now it looks like it is settling down. I can't wait to try it!

I'm going to try this recipe. So if I understand correctly, cold crashing is just like lagering but you are using an ale yeast so there is little, if any, fermentation going on? ...and the purpose is if the beer is left to condition at the cold temp the proteins that make the beer hazy, or at least some of them will settle out?

Skrimpy said:

So if I understand correctly, cold crashing is just like lagering but you are using an ale yeast so there is little, if any, fermentation going on? ...and the purpose is if the beer is left to condition at the cold temp the proteins that make the beer hazy, or at least some of them will settle out?

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You got it. In a Hefe-Weizen you want some yeast left in suspension (hence the hefe part.) With American Wheat clarity is not necessary, but in my opinion can distinguish it's appearance from the German variety.

Not a great picture, but I bottled last night and here's the hydro sample. 15 days primary, 14 days secondary, 36 hours cold crash. Cleared up pretty well. Went from 1.052 to 1.011 with the PacMan yeast.

That is sweet! I can't wait to try my first wheat beer. I have a fermenter full of oxyclean, one full of the SS Minnow, and a keg full of SS Minnow. I owe a batch of Kolsch to the very nice lady that sold me my keggles (crap she wants bottles!) at a decent price then I'm going to do the wheat! 10 gallons of Minnow first...well, I guess if I keg the Minnow i could do the wheat and condition it a long time in the cold cellar...

Well this has been on tap for a few weeks now and I need to get another one of these in a primary!

It was in the primary for 2 weeks and then went into a keg for a couple weeks. When it first went on tap I was a little disapointed because it seemed to lack flavor but I figure it would be a good base beer for fruit. Then a week later... holly cow did this thing change on me.

The spiceyness came through with the slight tartness... it's excellent. My girlfriend says that this is her favorite beer I have made to date.... 20-30 batches down the road haha.

This picture was taken friday when i got home from work... Look at that head!!!!

So I brewed this again on Sunday and some how wrote my recipe wrong when I was going to the LHBS. I ended up getting .5lbs of flaked wheat instead of the full pound of flaked wheat.

I am thinking I will just not have as good of head retention but what else might I expect to be different in this brew? How much flavor does the flaked wheat add? or is it all mouth feel and head retention?

My plan is to throw this on top of 5 or 6 lbs of strawberries per SWMBO's request.

MgMt_Home_Brew said:

I am thinking I will just not have as good of head retention but what else might I expect to be different in this brew? How much flavor does the flaked wheat add? or is it all mouth feel and head retention?

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Not sure about flavor or head retention differences, I guess you'll find out soon enough! If I had to hazard a guess, I wouldn't think a half pound less of flaked wheat would make too much a difference with this brew.

Yeah thats what the LHBS said too. Time will tell! Although I am going to rack this onto strawberries so I wont be able to compare them same beer for taste differences.

I am not too worried about it so I will let you guys know how it all turns out.

Well I racked this onto 6lbs of frozen strawberries this past Sunday. I tasted the sample and it tasted fine so I don't think that .5lb of flaked wheat will make much of a difference. But once on the strawberries I got another Krauzen kicking up.

I have to say the smell coming off of this beer with those strawberries on it is amazing. It smells like strawberry shortcake! I really hope it tastes 1/4 as good as it smells.

Update on the strawberry addition... It tastes great. The aroma that was coming off of the secondary was still there when it went on tap. A couple weeks later and the flavor and aroma seemed to change again. Now there is still a strawberry aroma but it is mixed with the wheaty spicy aroma. The same goes for the flavors too.

As far as the flaked wheat goes I don't think there is much of a difference. I am going to brew this again today and maybe add more than a pound of flaked wheat. I will do some reading first to see what I should expect to get out of it.

Used this as a base for a blackberry wheat I've been wanting to try. It's fermenting right now so we will see. I'll post back to tell ya how it came out.

I fermented a 6 gallon batch of this recipe a month ago. I think I omitted the flameout hop addition, and I used Wyeast 2450PC yeast (Denny's Favorite 50 / CL-50). Turned out great. I think American wheats are often shunned in favor of the traditional Bavarian hefe, and while it's true there are a lot of bland American wheats out there, I am impressed with this one.

Last weekend I racked 3 gallons of this batch onto a 49 oz can of Oregon Raspberry Puree. I will report back after it finishes its second fermentation.

Mmm...all the fruit additions sound tasty. I need to brew a big batch of this up again and portion off part of the batch to add some fruit. Too bad its the fall going on winter. What fruit now? Fresh cranberries? Any other suggestions for this time of year?

iamjonsharp said:

Mmm...all the fruit additions sound tasty. I need to brew a big batch of this up again and portion off part of the batch to add some fruit. Too bad its the fall going on winter. What fruit now? Fresh cranberries? Any other suggestions for this time of year?

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Im not sure what other kinds of fruit but cranberries sound interesting. I am a big fan of this recipe all on it's own and SWMBO really enjoys it with the fruit.

The last batch I made I did 1 oz of strawberry extract and 5lbs of frozen strawberries. The brew session was kind of a bust so it's not eh greatest comparison. But I don't think 1 oz was enough and might add some more to the keg. We'll see.

We brewed this as our second AG batch (and second batch ever). We left in primary fermentation for 7 days and then racked to secondary and dry-hopped with 1/2 oz. of Sterling that we had left over from another batch. Two weeks in secondary and we racked, cold-crashed and force-carbed. We've done three batches total and this one is by far the most requested. Thanks for the recipe.

Brewing this now. I am using Amarillo instead of Hersbrucker because my LHBS had none. The Amarillo is 8.5% AA so I'm going to dial down the first hop addition to just 0.75 oz. Also, I'm using Nottingham instead of S-05.

Thought I would mention that the raspberry wheat I made based on this recipe took home a bronze medal at the Sunshine Challenge competition last month. Thanks iamjonsharp for the great wheat recipe.

greenbirds said:

Thought I would mention that the raspberry wheat I made based on this recipe took home a bronze medal at the Sunshine Challenge competition last month. Thanks iamjonsharp for the great wheat recipe.

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Awesome!!