Strong dark wheat beer
- Thread starter SMOKEU
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TrojanMan
Well-Known Member
Converted to the english units many of us are familiar with, that's 12 pounds of extract in 6 gallons (or 10lb per 5 gal batch equivalent).
Rule of thumb is 37 points per lb of LME per gallon and 45 points per lb DME.
OG target for 6 gallons is 1.080. Given 80% attenuation (which is very generous), that's a FG of 1.015-1.020 for a rough ABV of 6-6.5%.
You will not need a high tolerance yeast at that strength. Pick a good ale yeast that will give you some flavor along the way. I've personally had very good success with WYeast #3068 and #1010, depending on what flavor you're going for.
Also, you didn't mention any hopping rate, spices or specialty grains. I find that wheat extract is a bit "weak" in the wheat flavor department and I like to supplement with some specialty grains. If you're making a dunkel, stick to all pale wheat malt (which is likely all you'll find anyhow) and use some of Weyermann's chocolate wheat and dark wheat for color. For 6 gallons, 1# chocolate and 1/4# dark should give you about the color you'll need. A minimash of another 3# wheat malt and 2# of 2-row will let you skip the DME (of which "wheat" can be hard to find) but you'll tack 40 minutes or so onto your brew cycle.
For hops, I tend to go light and noble. Figure about 3 ounces of Hallertauer, Saaz or equivalent in the whole batch, keeping it around 15 IBUs or so, and a bit more for a dunkel. I've had good success with star anise as a spice for American wheats but for Bavarian style I skip the spices completely.
Poke around and look at some other recipes before you settle on something. Good luck.
Rule of thumb is 37 points per lb of LME per gallon and 45 points per lb DME.
OG target for 6 gallons is 1.080. Given 80% attenuation (which is very generous), that's a FG of 1.015-1.020 for a rough ABV of 6-6.5%.
You will not need a high tolerance yeast at that strength. Pick a good ale yeast that will give you some flavor along the way. I've personally had very good success with WYeast #3068 and #1010, depending on what flavor you're going for.
Also, you didn't mention any hopping rate, spices or specialty grains. I find that wheat extract is a bit "weak" in the wheat flavor department and I like to supplement with some specialty grains. If you're making a dunkel, stick to all pale wheat malt (which is likely all you'll find anyhow) and use some of Weyermann's chocolate wheat and dark wheat for color. For 6 gallons, 1# chocolate and 1/4# dark should give you about the color you'll need. A minimash of another 3# wheat malt and 2# of 2-row will let you skip the DME (of which "wheat" can be hard to find) but you'll tack 40 minutes or so onto your brew cycle.
For hops, I tend to go light and noble. Figure about 3 ounces of Hallertauer, Saaz or equivalent in the whole batch, keeping it around 15 IBUs or so, and a bit more for a dunkel. I've had good success with star anise as a spice for American wheats but for Bavarian style I skip the spices completely.
Poke around and look at some other recipes before you settle on something. Good luck.
Most of that stuff is a bit beyond me, all I do is open up some extract cans, put it in the fermenter, add some boiling water to dissolve it, top up with cold water, add yeast that I have already hydrated and then mix it all together and forget about it for a few weeks.
Synovia
Well-Known Member
Hetuck
Active Member
Styles
Well-Known Member
SMOKEU, I reckon just do it. It'll still be beer, you'll still be able to drink it, and if it's not as good as you'd hoped you can try to change the recipe for next time. I'm rapidly discovering that experimentation is the go in homebrewing! To my (very inexperienced) eye that looks OK for a kit modification.
