Building a Dunkelweizen

So I'm looking at:

4lbs 6-row
1lb Munich malt
3lbs wheat
2lbs dark wheat
1/4 lb chocolate malt

1oz tettnanger @60mins
1/4oz tettnanger @15mins

weihenstephan 3068 Wyeast

Looking good, or do I need more Munich?

I'm also looking to sweetin' this up a bit, maybe

1/2oz tetts @60mins
1/4oz tetts @15mins

5 gal. batch?

If you're looking for a traditional version you'll need to ditch the 6-row and most the chocolate. Bump up the Munich, add some Pils and some dark crystal. Something like:

5.7 lbs Wheat
2.5 lbs Munich
1.1 lbs Pilsner
.3 lbs Crystal 40
.3 lbs Crystal 120
.1 lbs Carafa Special II

Personally I like the addition of chocolate rye in mine. The roast flavor is out of place for the style but it's not real heavy. This is just an outline I follow so there's room to play.

Pt,

Do you do a 90 minute boil with the pils?

FungusBrew said:

Do you do a 90 minute boil with the pils?

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Not in this case. It's only 11% of the grain bill.

FungusBrew said:

Do you do a 90 minute boil with the pils?

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Is it customary to do a 90 min boil when using large proportions of pils?

I'm sorta new at this and I'm wondering why one would elect to do a boil longer than 60 min in the first place...it makes sense when brewing an IPA to get better alpha acid isomerization, but beyond that I'm clueless about how long to boil. I usually just do an hour because that seems to be the standard.

bmurph said:

Is it customary to do a 90 min boil when using large proportions of pils?

I'm sorta new at this and I'm wondering why one would elect to do a boil longer than 60 min in the first place...it makes sense when brewing an IPA to get better alpha acid isomerization, but beyond that I'm clueless about how long to boil. I usually just do an hour because that seems to be the standard.

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I have yet to use pils malt in anything, but from what I understand it has a higher tendency to generate DMS? The longer boil makes sure to get rid of it?

I'm not sure about pils in a dunkel - I would stick with

5 lb dark wheat
4 lb 2 row
3 lb munich (german munich 5l is preferred for this)
.5 pounds melanoidin - helps add the decoction maltiness without having to do a decoction
.5 pounds of maltodextrin if you really want to get fancy.

Of course depending on your brewhouse efficiency you may need to adjust the grist down a bit to keep in spec for the style's OG- or ignore the spec and call it a weizenbock if anyone cares.

I also like the wlp380 hef IV but the 3068 is good as well.

Keep the IBUs between 10 and 20 - I usually like it around 12. The hops in this style are just there to offset the sweet. I also would just do a bittering addition only - no need to add anything after.

Patirck said:

I'm not sure about pils in a dunkel - I would stick with

5 lb dark wheat
4 lb 2 row
3 lb munich (german munich 5l is preferred for this)
.5 pounds melanoidin - helps add the decoction maltiness without having to do a decoction
.5 pounds of maltodextrin if you really want to get fancy.

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I'm pretty sure if the Germans are going to use a light base malt it's going to be a Pilsner. They generally don't use 2-row.

It's also law that their wheat beer contain at least 50% wheat.

Both are true but I prefer the taste of 2row in wheat beers to pilsner and yes you could up the wheat malt by a bit. I have done up to 70% wheat but I think I prefer the flavor of the munich (and melanoidin and maltodextrin) to help balance it out.

I'm all for sticking to styles for competitions (if you are planning on sending the beer to one) but I've never had the beer style police knock on my door if I have a bit less than 50% wheat in a wheat beer.

If you want to really go crazy - try a 60% 2row / 40% white wheat and wyeast 1056 with about 10 - 12 IBUs of hallertau. Not really a wheat beer but too much wheat to be a pale ale but it is very tasty beer for a hot day.

Patirck said:

If you want to really go crazy - try a 60% 2row / 40% white wheat and wyeast 1056 with about 10 - 12 IBUs of hallertau.

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I'm not a stickler for style guidelines but when someone asks for feedback on their recipe I prefer stick to style.

With that being said, here are some "out of style" wheat beers I brewed last year:

American Lager Wheat
Bavarian Sage Weizen
Bavarian Herb Weizen (parsley, sage and rosemary)
Bavarian Smoked Weizen (home pecan smoked malt)
Smoked Wheat Lager (home pecan smoked malt)