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SkewedBrewing

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I'm brewing a wheat/weiss beer today and I wanted some quick feedback on my recipe. I am going for a simple, partial-mash brew that is close to the Weissen I drank in Munich this past summer:

7 lbs Wheat Malt Liquid Extract
.5 lb Malted Barley
1 lb clover honey @ 30 minutes
1 oz Hallertau @ 60
.5 oz Tettnanger @ 15
.5 oz Tettnanger @ 5
Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen (If my LHBS has it)

.5 lb toasted barley steeped at 155 for 10 minutes then strain into wort.

Should I just do 6 lbs of Extract, or will the 7 lbs be good for a little extra ABV and taste?

I made this recipe on my own, so I'm not expecting it to be the end all of Weissens. I figure that homebrewing will be more fun if I create and tweak my own recipes rather than use someone else's all the time.
 
with the added honey, I would back off on your extract.

Nice recipe otherwise. it will be awesome this summer, with a slice of orange. ;)

loop
 
Honey weizens are an American take on German weizens which to my knowledge do not contain honey (at least not the commercial clone recipes I'm familiar with). I'd axe the honey if you're trying to approximate something you drank in Germany. Also, I'd just hop with the Hallertau at 60 minutes to get around 15IBU's and skip the Tettnanger additions (again, if you're going for a more traditional hefe and not an American variation).

Really, the wheat malt extract is usually around 60/40 wheat/malt so that's already perfect without adding any grains for the archetypal hefe. The last hefe I did was nothing more than 60% wheat/40% two-row. If you wanted to make it a little maltier you could pursue your toasted grains or just use some Munich malt, but this will darken up your wort a bit.
 
Yep, Honey is verboten in German beers (top and bottom vermenting).

The malted Barley would have to be mashed. But .5lb don't add anything, so I'd drop it. Traditional German Wheats are so simple as an extract brew that you may think "is that it?".

BeeGee already said the rest.
 
So, the .5 lb barley won't do anything? I was hoping for some flavor addition. The honey I am adding is for a different taste and color. Like I said, I'm not looking for something that is a clone of the Bavarian Weissen I am accustomed to, just something that is close to it.
Also, you think I should nix the tettnanger? What if I still add the honey, should I then use more hops to contrast the honey's sweet notes?
 
SkewedAle said:
So, the .5 lb barley won't do anything? I was hoping for some flavor addition.

My opinion is that the malt WILL add a spike of grainy freshness to the brew. It won't give you anything big in the way of fermentable sugar, but flavor.... sure it will add something.

I threw a pound of 2-row into my last batch for this very reason; fresh flavor.

Heck... at less than $1.50/lb it's not like adding some 2-row is going to bankrupt you and it can ONLY improve the flavor.

-walker
 
Walker said:
My opinion is that the malt WILL add a spike of grainy freshness to the brew. It won't give you anything big in the way of fermentable sugar, but flavor.... sure it will add something.

I threw a pound of 2-row into my last batch for this very reason; fresh flavor.

Heck... at less than $1.50/lb it's not like adding some 2-row is going to bankrupt you and it can ONLY improve the flavor.

-walker

Make sure to mash it though. 10 min at 155F may not be enough to convert the starches. I'm under the impression that there will be starches left in the wort if you don't do that.

SkewedAle, the honey is a matter of preferece. I don't know what it will do to the flavor. I can only say that Bavarian Wheat beers don't have honey in them.

Kai
 
I've made a hundred German-style Weizens. I even have 2 First place ribbons in the style, but not once have I added honey.

Your recipe:

7 lbs Wheat Malt Liquid Extract
.5 lb Malted Barley
1 lb clover honey @ 30 minutes
1 oz Hallertau @ 60
.5 oz Tettnanger @ 15
.5 oz Tettnanger @ 5
Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen (If my LHBS has it)

I would simplify it to:

7 lbs Wheat Malt Liquid Extract (equal to about 6 lb DME)
1 oz Hallertau @ 60
.5 oz Tettnanger @ 30
.5 oz Tettnanger @ 30
Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen (If my LHBS has it)

The lesser malt will give you the body you need for a Munich-style HW. 7 lbs is more than enough malt. I lived 40 miles from Munich for 4 years and drove there occassionally just to have a beer. Sure, I could have purchased the same beer in Augsburg, but I also paid for the ambiance and experience. I also lived and worked in Bamberg for 5 years.

HWs do not have a hop nose so late addition of hops are unnecessary. You only need enough bittering to counter the sweetness. However, I do like my HWs on the tad sweeter side. Franziskaner, Tucher, Julius Echter, Roth, Bamberger Weisse versus say, Paulaner and Ayinger. Either way, they're all good!

Don't forget to make a starter!
 
homebrewer_99 said:
I also lived and worked in Bamberg for 5 years.
Mind if I run a Bamberg smoked beer recipe by you that I encountered on the Intarweb? I'm thinking about doing it for the fall drinking season, but may not even wait. For some reason bacon beer sounds like the perfect melding of two worlds to me.
 
I agree with homebrewer 99. If unable to find the correct yeast you can use a clean ale yeast and cut the honey to .5lb to make an Am. honey wheat.
 
BeeGee said:
Mind if I run a Bamberg smoked beer recipe by you that I encountered on the Intarweb? I'm thinking about doing it for the fall drinking season, but may not even wait. For some reason bacon beer sounds like the perfect melding of two worlds to me.
Sure, there is no Rauchbier season. It's drinkable anytime.
 
Homebrewer 99, I lived in Eching, its about 15 miles outside of Munich proper. It was right near Freising, the home of Weihenstephan, the oldest known brewery in the world. But I believe that Holledauer Weisses is a great beer. I believe it is made in the Schlossbrauerei. That was good stuff.
 
Ok, so i went ahead and did All extract, with a can of Briess wheat and a can of John bull wheat. It came to 6.8 lbs of extract altogether. I put in 1.25 oz of Hallertau hops at 60 and then .25 at 30 for a little aroma. I'm thinking that I should leave the honey out?
 
SkewedAle said:
Homebrewer 99, I lived in Eching, its about 15 miles outside of Munich proper. It was right near Freising, the home of Weihenstephan, the oldest known brewery in the world. But I believe that Holledauer Weisses is a great beer. I believe it is made in the Schlossbrauerei. That was good stuff.
I've been there. Just NE of Dachau. :D Great memories....:D
 
homebrewer_99 said:
I've been there. Just NE of Dachau. :D Great memories....:D

that might be the first time I've ever seen "great memories" and "Dachau" mentioned in the same line of text.
 
SkewedAle said:
Ok, so i went ahead and did All extract, with a can of Briess wheat and a can of John bull wheat. It came to 6.8 lbs of extract altogether. I put in 1.25 oz of Hallertau hops at 60 and then .25 at 30 for a little aroma. I'm thinking that I should leave the honey out?

Sam75 made a pretty awesome honey wheat, so I don't know. Sounds good to me cause I've had it.

I'm heating sparge water for a honey wheat recipe based on Sam's right now. The two (honey & wheat) go together very nicely.
:rockin:
 
I don't think there's anything wrong with your recipe. My only comment would be it you were trying to make a more authentic German-style Hefe Weizen then I would omit the honey.

If the intent is to make a Honey Wheat then I would use another yeast like an American Wheat.:D
 
homebrewer_99 said:
.....
I would simplify it to:

7 lbs Wheat Malt Liquid Extract (equal to about 6 lb DME)
1 oz Hallertau @ 60
.5 oz Tettnanger @ 30
.5 oz Tettnanger @ 30
Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen (If my LHBS has it)

Homebrewer - re: your call for 1/2 oz Tettnanger @ 30 twice over; do you mean a full oz for the last 30 min, or 1/2 for the first 30, then another 1/2 for the last 30? (or is it just a duplicate line?) Apologies in advance if I'm not up on the convention.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Sorry I was out of the loop for a while...that was a typo. I didn't catch it either.

I would do 2 - 1 oz additions (combine the Tets).

Sorry to be dense, but just to confirm - just 1oz Tets @ 30 min, no finishing, correct?
 
homebrewer_99 said:
I only use Hallertau (about 3.5%), but for your recipe I would use 1 oz of Hallertau at 60 and 1 oz Tets at 30.

Sorry for the delay...

What delay, that was about 3 minutes :) Thanks for the clarification! I'll brew it up this weekend, should be ready for an early warm spring day in Chicago :mug:
 
I've been gone for the better part of 3 weeks and I am not certain which posts I have read/answered.

Weizens usually don't have any aroma hops on the end. (I had to say that because Hallertau's are aroma hops).:D

What's the AA of the hops you are using?

I like my beer just on the sweet side of the balance equation. If your hops are say 4.0% and 6% (Tets) then your brew will be more bitter than mine. Not better or worse, just more bitter.:D

3 minutes, huh?:D
 
Man, I learn something new every day on this forum :) Hallertau = aroma, check! If I remember correctly, the Haller is 3.5% and the Tetts is '5 point something'. I also like mine on the sweeter side, so it should come in juuuuust right. Thanks again for the help :mug:
 
homebrewer - i saw another post of yours where you described your 'late boil' process to keep the colors light. I assume you add the hops as usual, even though a good portion of the malt comes later - correct?
 
Yes, I add the hops on schedule.

I boil 1-1.5 lbs of malt in 1.5 gal of water add the bittering hops and boil for 45 mins. as usual.

At 45 mins I add the aroma hops and the remaining malts.

This keeps the carmalization and darkening of the wort down quite a bit.

How many threads have there been discussing that fact that the malt we get in dry or wet form has already been boiled? Except for the bittering hop utilization I don't see any reason for a long boil for something that's already been boiled.

Since I've been doing this my Hefe Weizens don't look like Dunkel Weizens.
 
so if a half pound of grain wouldnt be noticed in this beer, would a whole pound? i am getting ready to make just about the same beer, without the honey, and i have a pound of crushed crystal just sitting there. if i dont use it in this batch i will probably have to chuck it. this is awfully hard to imagine. at any rate, i want to use it and get used to lautering procedures, or at least straining. what's the general opinion as to what i would gain or suffer by using this grain. it is just about 8 weeks since it was crushed, and i have kept it sealed in a dry, cool and dark place.
 
oh, and i think i'm going to try half an ounce of hersbrucker in pre-boil, as per the FWH article posted by brewpastor, and another half ounce for 60 minutes. if i'm not mistaken, the pre-boil hops should give me my flavor, but will that also give me unwanted aroma? and will that be enough bitterness? i need to read that article again, but any info from the gurus here would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
 
inkbob said:
oh, and i think i'm going to try half an ounce of hersbrucker in pre-boil, as per the FWH article posted by brewpastor, and another half ounce for 60 minutes. if i'm not mistaken, the pre-boil hops should give me my flavor, but will that also give me unwanted aroma? and will that be enough bitterness? i need to read that article again, but any info from the gurus here would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

The pre-boil hops will not give you lot's of bitterness. Though longer in the boil, its utilization will be poor due to the fact that lot's of the hop resins get embedded in the hot-break. I'm not sure what the utilization factor will be though.

Kai
 
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