Free Grain - Need Help Making Mystery Beer

So my LHBS mixed up some grains they had in buckets and becuase they can't sell it they offered it to me. It's a 80%/20% mix of wheat malt and amber malt. There is approximately 21lbs of grain there so I will be making a 10 gallons batch of something. Anyone got any ideas on which direction to head with this combination?

Let me see your ideas....


LD

I might be off-base here, but I don't think that amber malt has any enzyme activity to speak of because of it being kilned-at least from the little that I've read. Consequently, I won't be able to use that mix of wheat/amber malt as a base mix for anything.

You could use it as specialty malt addition however (maybe 10% of grist, with the base malt being 2-row). Maybe an APA, or an English bitter?

hope this helps...

Amber malt indeed has little diastatic power. Wheat malt, however, has a surfeit - usually substantially more than barley malt - so conversion of the Amber malt is assured in that ratio.

My primary concern would be lautering. That grist suffers from a decided lack of husk material. While I really think a beer made with this grist would be interesting as hell, I'd add a lot of rice hulls during dough-in.

Bob

I'd just make an American wheat and cut your 80/20 mix with 50% amerian 2 row. It'll just be a little darker than normal. So maybe for a 5 gal batch use 6 # of american 2 row and 6 pounds of your 80/20 mix, add a handfull of rice hulls to it (stuck=suck). Add a half ounce of amarillo at 60, 15, 5, and flame out. dry hop with another ounce. Use a clean fermenting yeast like 1056, 001, or nottingham.

that will make you a happy man.