Very interesting recipe and very encouraged by all the feedback. I'll be attempting this one tomorrow, only difference is that my LHBS is completely out of centennial and magnum so I'll be substituting the magnum for columbus (13.9) and I'll be using almost 2 ounces of cascade (3.8) to replace the centennial. I hate not having the right hops on hand. I'm open to comments if anyone thinks these substitutions aren't right.
American Wheat Beer American Wheat Beer - 2nd place Best of show - 2011 HBT BJCP competition
- Thread starter thunderworm
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Mparsons327
Well-Known Member
Thinking about brewing this one up today. I have everything except for the Munich malt. Does anyone have any thoughts about subbing honey malt for the Munich?
SwampassJ
Well-Known Member
Thinking about trying this with Amarillo. Drinking one right now with the cent and it is very delicious.
It's not a sub because it's a type of crystal malt. I have never used it but I couldn't see 5% of the grains being too over powering.
It's not a sub because it's a type of crystal malt. I have never used it but I couldn't see 5% of the grains being too over powering.
Mparsons327
Well-Known Member
Just got this in the fermentor. with nice weather coming I plan on doing the original recipe sometime this week. It will be nice to see how subtle the difference is. I also used US05 instead of the kolsch yeast because I didnt really have time to do a starter.
tbright0223
Active Member
I've had this sitting in the primary for 3 days now and after the massive first day of fermentation (good thing I used a blowoff) it is still at a constant bubble every few seconds. My OG was a little low at 1.044 but I think it will still be great. Will post pics after I crack the first one.
I made this recipe in january, it has wonderful carb but no head. When I made it I missed my sparge volume so stupidly partially covered the bk to minimize boil off, resulting in a little dms. Realized this after reading a thread a few days ago, has a very noticeable coors flavor.
What I'm wondering is if this is the cause of the weak, instantly fading head or is that how this beer is supposed to be. If that is intended would a half pound of flaked wheat help or is there a better way?
What I'm wondering is if this is the cause of the weak, instantly fading head or is that how this beer is supposed to be. If that is intended would a half pound of flaked wheat help or is there a better way?
bumstigedy
Member
I brewed something very similar to this today; can't wait to see how it turns out. My grain bill is essentially the same, but the hops and hop schedule were a little different. I am also using the Kolsch yeast. I typically use a different yeast when I brew my American wheat, but the homebrew shop was out of it 
OP
OP
thunderworm
Active Member
Musky01, This recipe has always given me a beer with a good thick head with pretty good retention. I'm not sure if partially covering the boil could affect head retention or not. Otherwise typical causes, besides lack of carbonation, include detergent or lipid residue on glassware, excessive protein degradation in the mash (but shouldn't be a problem with the single infusion 152°F mash in this recipe).
Adding a 1/2 lb of flaked wheat should help if you can't find any other cause.
It's about time for me to make up a batch of this again...
Adding a 1/2 lb of flaked wheat should help if you can't find any other cause.
It's about time for me to make up a batch of this again...
Thanks, I'm sure it was something I did. Had too many home brews when I made it and when I missed the sparge volume I didn't want to heat up more water so I stupidly covered the pot. I was so out of it I even used a healthy dose of irish moss and this turned out one of the clearest beer I have made.
tbright0223
Active Member
Mine also got put in the freezer for crashing yesterday. Gonna see how it looks today. Any suggestions for priming??
SwampassJ
Well-Known Member
I used US-05 and with a ton of 05 yeast in suspension it tastes astringent and overly bitter to me. Not all yeast taste good like the germen weizen/wheat yeasts. I don't mind it not being clear but sometimes too much yeast doesn't work for certain strains.
RussH
Well-Known Member
Brewing this today with an Amarillo / Citra mix instead of centennial. Smells good so far.
This will be the first 10 gal batch I make next month sometime after I get my keggle up and running. Splitting it into 2 batches with 2 different yeasts, the kolsch and some form of wheat yeast. I look forward to it!
Just cracked my first bottle last night after about 10 days of conditioning and another few in the fridge.
A definite keeper, light tasting with citrusy flavors. I used the kolsh yeast and there is definitely no yeast taste. I will see how it tastes after another week of conditioning though. I didn't have the hops the recipe called for so I substituted 2 ounces of centennial for aroma. It does have a bit of a strong hoppy taste which isn't bad at all. I may scale back to one ounce on my next batch of this beer (this weekend). Overall I'm very pleased and I will be sure to always have lots on hand!!!
smithnick0
Well-Known Member
can anyone convert this to extract for me?
RussH
Well-Known Member
Brewed this a while ago with Amarillo & citra subbed in for the later 2 additions. Everyone who's tried it loves it, and last weekend, it took 2nd place in the wheat beer category of our local homebrew competition.
Re-brewing tomorrow night. Love this beer. Thanks for posting.
Re-brewing tomorrow night. Love this beer. Thanks for posting.
I'm planning on attempting an extract version of this this weekend. Here's what I came up with:
Extract:
2 lb Extra Light DME (60 min)
1.5 lb Extra Light DME (12 min)
2.7 lb Wheat DME (12 min)
0.25 lb Munich LME (12 min)
Hops:
0.3 oz Magnum (14.0% AA); 60 min.
0.3 oz Centennial (8.8% AA); 10 min.
0.7 oz Centennial (8.8% AA); 0 min.
I'm thinking it should turn out similar. If anyone has any suggestions let me know!
OP
OP
thunderworm
Active Member
ghotiblue, do you know the specific malt composition of the Wheat DME you plan to use? Wheat malt extracts I have used before were a combination of wheat and pale malt (55% wheat malt/45% pale malt), so I would suggest using just the Wheat DME as your base and the Munich malt as your specialty grain. With the Munich, be sure to do a mini-mash or steep it in 1/2 quart of 152°C water for 45 minutes to convert the starch to sugar. I think that should get you pretty close!
Thanks for the advice. The Wheat DME is Munton's, so I think you're right about it only being 55% wheat. I didn't realize that, so thanks for pointing it out!
I was planning on using Munich LME, not grain. Are you saying I should instead just steep some munich grain and not use the extract? This is just my second batch, so I don't have any experience yet with partial mash brewing. But I don't mind giving it a shot if you think it will be better.
I was planning on using Munich LME, not grain. Are you saying I should instead just steep some munich grain and not use the extract? This is just my second batch, so I don't have any experience yet with partial mash brewing. But I don't mind giving it a shot if you think it will be better.
OP
OP
thunderworm
Active Member
Oh sorry, I missed that it was Munich LME and not grain the first time I read it. Yes, just use the Munich extract like you planned and that should work great.
So... I attempted to make this beer on Saturday. My LHBS didnt have the 2565 yeast, but instead only had the Kolsch II 2575, so I used that instead. Also I forgot to put in the hops at flameout...It was the first brew on the new brew stand and it got a bit crazy by that time. The brew was fermenting like crazy yesterday though. We'll see how it comes out!
gbrewing
Well-Known Member
I have brewed this beer several times and have enjoyed each batch. Very tasty.
Has anyone played with the yeast pitch rates related to this beer? I am particularly interested in anyone who has underpitched the beer yeast to get more flavor from the yeast.
I plan on brewing this again and underpitching it to see if more of the flavor profiles come through.
Has anyone played with the yeast pitch rates related to this beer? I am particularly interested in anyone who has underpitched the beer yeast to get more flavor from the yeast.
I plan on brewing this again and underpitching it to see if more of the flavor profiles come through.
RussH
Well-Known Member
It depends on what you mean by underpitching. Some folks on here would say that a single smack pack in 6 gallons is underpitching. If that's the case, then I have underpitched, and it turned out fantastic (got silver in the Wheat Beer category). I wouldn't say it was overly yeasty - if that's what you're after might want to try even less.
I just brewed his yesterday for my first true all grain batch. I was a little low on my OG but overall he process went well and it's fermenting away tonight. Pretty excited about it.
OP
OP
thunderworm
Active Member
I'm glad so many people are enjoying this recipe, and also to see a few of you guys trying this one as your first all-grain batch! A friend of mine just recently brewed this recipe twice (a week apart) and pitched the Wyeast Kolsch yeast in one batch and the White Labs Kolsch yeast in the other. He hit the numbers pretty much right on for both batches, so should be interesting to do a tasting soon to see how they compare side by side. After that I'll try to remember to post a summary here.
Brewed this yesterday based on 80% efficiency and got 89% out of nowhere. OG came in at 1.058. I'm looking forward to the finished product.
biggben
Well-Known Member
Making this tomorrow, couldn't get a hold of the kolsch yeast so i used wyeast German 1007 should be interesting.
Lukeduke02
Member
Relative Newb here, so sorry if this is a dumb question... Give the Wheat DME is only roughly 55%, should the order be switched and the Wheat DME be used first instead of the 2lb Extra Light DME?
Or substituting more Wheat DME in place of Extra Light DME?
Thanks! Just hoping to avoid an attempt at a wheat beer that turns out more of a light/pale.
Brewing this afternoon as long as the rain stops, going to use WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast.
biggben
Well-Known Member
Post the results i was wondering about using a hefe yeast, would love to hear how this beer does with it.
biggben
Well-Known Member
did the two batches vary at all in flavor? or are they done yet
OP
OP
thunderworm
Active Member
To keep it simple, I would just use all Wheat DME in place of the Extra Light DME, since it is 55% wheat as you pointed out.
OP
OP
thunderworm
Active Member
Yes, we tried them side by side last week. They both had the Kolsch type characteristics and esters. The Wyeast 2565 tasted a bit "cleaner" than the WLP029, which had some slight fermentation characteristics that made it not as pleasant as the Wyeast 2565. Overall, there was not a huge difference.
My friend who made these doesn't have a cooled fermentation chamber, so these both fermented probably around 70°F instead of the 62°F I use in my original recipe. Both batches were still both very good.
I recently brewed a 10 gallon batch of this and split the wort to ferment half with Wyeast 2565 Kolsch yeast and half with the Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen yeast, both at 62°F. I just kegged these last night. From samples I tasted, the Centennial hops come out a lot more in the 2565 fermented half, along with more esters from that yeast. The 3068 fermented half doesn't have much citrusy hop aroma, but of course it does have the yeast character you'd expect from a German weizen. I'll have to see how they compare once carbonated, but I think both will be really enjoyable.
Hi all, has anyone brewed a wheat beer using 100% wheat in the mash? If so could you clue me in on any problems you may have experienced? I have been playing around with the thought awhile and I guess I have cold feet. My usual wheat beer I use 60% wheat with no difficulties. Thanks in advance. Cheer, Kev
Similar threads
