I was wondering if any one had a good recipe. I am new this home brewing experience and so far enjoy it a lot. I have been doing so research on wheat beers and I think I want to do an American Wheat style with honey flavor. I wanted to know the best ways to keep a good honey flavor in the brew. All help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
American Honey Wheat
- Thread starter brewscoe
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brewscoe said:
I already have 14 pounds of grain. 9 of which are two row. And I have 2 pounds of honey. As well as wlp001 California ale yeast. Was going to brew in my 5 gallon carboy with airlock. I figured I'd dry hop with a 1/2 ounce of hallertau.
Most people here will tell you that adding honey will raise the alcohol content and lighten the beer, but leave no residual honey flavor. I find this to be true - the yeast love it it and will chew it up beyond recognition.
There is a specialty grain (forget the name....) that some people say will leave more of a residual honey flavor in the beer. You may also be able to find an extract honey flavor somewhere, but be very careful with those as too much can leave an undesirable 'synthetic' flavor.
There is a specialty grain (forget the name....) that some people say will leave more of a residual honey flavor in the beer. You may also be able to find an extract honey flavor somewhere, but be very careful with those as too much can leave an undesirable 'synthetic' flavor.
Here is my go-to American Honey Wheat recipe....
It is basically a 60/40 2-row/wheat with 5% light crystal malt. I used to use a 60 min bittering hop, but did not like how harsh it was. (also note, that I used aged hops on this recipe and calculated their AA% down accordingly) I now prefer to FWH instead. Also, I like my American Wheat's to be dry & crisp, and I usually finish around 1.007 or so...
Because I brew a lot of meads, I have a different take on the whole honey malt vs. raw honey in beer thing. If you add raw honey after the boil, preferably near room temp, you will have plenty of honey flavor at 1#-2# per 5-gallons. While honey is mostly sugar, it is not 100% sugar. The stuff left behind is delicious!
I've not used honey malt before. I've only read about it adding 'sweetness' and honey flavor, but to be used sparingly.
Good luck,
-LexusChris
It is basically a 60/40 2-row/wheat with 5% light crystal malt. I used to use a 60 min bittering hop, but did not like how harsh it was. (also note, that I used aged hops on this recipe and calculated their AA% down accordingly) I now prefer to FWH instead. Also, I like my American Wheat's to be dry & crisp, and I usually finish around 1.007 or so...
Because I brew a lot of meads, I have a different take on the whole honey malt vs. raw honey in beer thing. If you add raw honey after the boil, preferably near room temp, you will have plenty of honey flavor at 1#-2# per 5-gallons. While honey is mostly sugar, it is not 100% sugar. The stuff left behind is delicious!
I've not used honey malt before. I've only read about it adding 'sweetness' and honey flavor, but to be used sparingly.
Good luck,
-LexusChris
BTW - it was Gambrinus Honey Malt out of Canada. Next up for me is a Blonde that I am partial-mashing with this stuff, so I'll have
more personal experience with it then, but I haven't tried it yet.
Are you doing all-extract, or doing any mashing?
I have a Hefe bottled right now, and though it tasted good at bottling time, my efficiency was a bit lower than expected
(that is, my initial gravity) and this seems to be an issue for alot of people mashing wheat.
I have heard that maybe I need to grind it finer (e.g. twice through the mill) and add some rice hulls to help with enzyme distibution.
Just a heads-up.
more personal experience with it then, but I haven't tried it yet.
Are you doing all-extract, or doing any mashing?
I have a Hefe bottled right now, and though it tasted good at bottling time, my efficiency was a bit lower than expected
(that is, my initial gravity) and this seems to be an issue for alot of people mashing wheat.
I have heard that maybe I need to grind it finer (e.g. twice through the mill) and add some rice hulls to help with enzyme distibution.
Just a heads-up.
Driars I did a mash. Came out well. I added the honey after the boil and let it stand and cool before adding to the carboy. I don't have any experience with extracts. Thanks for the tip about enzymes 😃
Thanks Lexus Christ that is a lot of info and I will take that in mind on my next batch. I want to try lots of different recipes to find what I like best. It definitely looks like you've had experience so I will try your recipe for sure!! Thanks again! 😃
Loving this forum! All the advice I get is awesome. Everyone is so very helpfully to me being a newbie. I don't like trial and error. I do research and ask question before experimenting and this forum makes it do easy. Thanks you all 🍻
Thanks Lexus Christ that is a lot of info and I will take that in mind on my next batch. I want to try lots of different recipes to find what I like best. It definitely looks like you've had experience so I will try your recipe for sure!! Thanks again! 😃
Loving this forum! All the advice I get is awesome. Everyone is so very helpfully to me being a newbie. I don't like trial and error. I do research and ask question before experimenting and this forum makes it do easy. Thanks you all 🍻
