100% wheat dme?

Hello

it's my first post... and I have a question about an attempted hefeweizen I have in the fermenter.

I didn't check recipes carefully, and ended up making a 5-gal batch with:

6 lbs munton's wheat dme
.75 oz 4.2% hallertauer @60min
.25 oz 4.2% hallertauer @10min
White labs WLR300 liquid bavarian hefeweizen yeast

the OG was high to begin with (1.060), so I added more water to get about 1.050. Fermentation blew the lid off my bucket :rockin: about 18 hours later & the bucket sat open for hours in my garage.

What does a 100% wheat hefeweizen taste like?

How likely is it that the batch is contaminated?

I guess I'm wondering if I should just dump it and try again...

cheers,
Dirk

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO don't dump it!!!! Don't EVER dump it unless we (meaning all of us seeing pictures) see green fuzz growing on top of it! It takes a huge panel of homebrewers for us to say dump it.

OK that said, if the lid still stayed on but it was blown off and oozing krausen, you're perfectly fine. If the lid fell completely off, you still might be fine if the bubbles were vigorous enough. All in all, it sounds like a good, solid recipe so you should be good to go.

eviltwinofjoni said:

It takes a huge panel of homebrewers for us to say dump it.

Click to expand...

LOL

The evil twin is right, you should be fine. Don't dump stuff this early in the process, only dump it after it's completely done and still tastes like something really gross - like liver for instance.

If you would like to dump it, please, let it sit in a bottle for about a month maybe two then dump it down my throat. you are rid of beer, and i am drunk. we both win!

ok, ok, i guess i should relax a little.

i found the lid clear on the other end of the garage... i'm kind of bummed i wasn't there to see it blow i found it amusing that the rubber seal on the lid stayed with the bucket - somehow the lid actually got blown off the seal. there was crud on the wall next to the bucket up to about 6ft, and a puddle around it.

by the time i got to it, the krausen was about 4in below the top. it was still fermenting actively (~8bpm after i put the cleaned lid back on). I guess i'll just see how it goes.

So there's nothing wrong with 100% wheat? A lot of the recipes I see are 60/40 or 50/50 wheat/barley.

Thanks!
Dirk

Most wheat DME is actually a blend in the 50/50 - 60/40 area anyway, so you're fine.

So there's nothing wrong with 100% wheat? A lot of the recipes I see are 60/40 or 50/50 wheat/barley.

Click to expand...

The Chairman is correct. I doubt the Munton's DME you used was 100% wheat. I use Briess Wheat DME in my Hefe and it is 65% Barley and 35% Wheat.

ok... according to some websites, muntons is 55% wheat/45% barley. seems like it should say that right on the bag

Don't dump stuff this early in the process, only dump it after it's completely done and still tastes like something really gross - like liver for instance.

Click to expand...

The Chairman is correct. Never dump beer until it is approved to do so.

I had my 14th brew ready to dump. I mashed 4° too high because of a defective thermometer. At bottling time it didn't taste good to me at all but I went ahead and bottled it. Three weeks later it had carbonated and I thought it tasted good enough to keep but still not "good beer".

It sat around for another few weeks being snubbed with me wondering all the while why I didn't dump it when I had plenty of other good brew around so I decide to give it another try to see if it was as funky as I remembered.

Whadda ya kno! It tasted pretty darn good. I couple of weeks later I took two bombers to my brew club meeting and got some rave reviews. It is now my favorite beer on hand and in the must brew again catagory.

And to think, I almost dumped it when all it needed was a little time.

How'd the lid blow off? If you don't have an airlock, I just place the cover on the bucket and don't seal it on.

well it's been bubbling along steadily today ... everything seems normal so far.

I do have an airlock, but it got plugged with crud. I expected the airlock would have blown out, but the whole lid blew off first.

The lid had about a 1/4 inch layer of greyish brown paste on it. I'm still trying to figure out what that was. If it was yeast, then I lost a hell of a lot of yeast. Or maybe it was cold break that got churned up by the fermentation?

Dirk

I think the "Don't Dump" rule was voted as HBT Man-Law. You're not allowed to dump unless we tell you to and you can't toss bottles until you've offered it up.

Taken from http://www.beertown.org/events/wbc/competition/reg_info/style_descr.html

5. American-Style Hefeweizen

A. Subcategory: Light American Wheat Ale or Lager with Yeast

This beer can be made using either ale or lager yeast. It can be brewed with 30 to 75 percent wheat, and hop rates may be low to medium. Fruity-estery aroma and flavor are typical but at low levels; however, phenolic, clove-like characteristics should not be perceived. Color is usually straw to light amber, and the body should be light to medium in character. Diacetyl should not be perceived. Because this style is intended to be served with yeast the character should portray a full yeasty mouthfeel and appear hazy to very cloudy. Yeast flavor and aroma should be low to medium but not overpowering the balance and character of malt and hops.

Original Gravity (ºPlato): 1.036-1.056 (9-14 ºPlato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato): 1.006-1.018 (1.5-4.5 ºPlato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume): 2.8-4.4% (3.5-5.5%)
Bitterness (IBU): 10-35
Color SRM (EBC): 4-10 (8-20 EBC)



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I agree with the do not dump policy. I had one that I bottled and it stunk like vinegar, thought I had an infection. One month later it was absolutely fine. So unless it is green or talking back to you, let it keep going.