Formulating my first PM Wheat Recipe

Take a look:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 3.82 gal
Estimated OG: 1.042 SG
Estimated Color: 7.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 29.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.00 lb Wheat Liquid Extract [Boil for 15 min] Extract 50.00 %
2.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 25.00 %
1.00 lb Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 12.50 %
1.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 12.50 %
1.00 oz Cascade [7.20 %] (60 min) Hops 18.5 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [7.00 %] (15 min) Hops 4.5 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [7.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.83 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
0.83 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc

1 Pkgs Safale American Ale Yeast (DCL Yeast #S-05Yeast-Ale

Mash at 150 for 60 mins.
It would be a late late LME additions. Right around 10 min mark before I add my immersion chiller.

Questions:
I'm flip flopping on my choice of specialty malt. I can't seem to decide on the CaraVienne or a Munich 10. I like the light colour the Munich would give me but have read good things about Caraviennes sweetness helping out with the Citrus hops.


I feel like this beer is all over the map in terms of styles. I've got the American hops but the orange peel and coriander seed seem Belgian but there I am with the S-05 american yeast. Do you think these are fine/ will compliment one another?


My last question is that how long to primary, then bottle condition. I understand wheat beers are much quicker but how quick to bottle condition?

A couple of thoughts for you, note it's been a while since I brewed a PM:

On your grain bill I don't know that I'd go with Caravienne, especially that much. In a wheat, that would be quite a bit - at least for me. I usually want my wheats to be clean, crisp and on the lighter color side - not so sweet. Especially since you are going to look for the other additives to show up. The munich would give a little extra complexity but don't go crazy.

As for your question about the frankenstein nature of this beer from a style perspective- I think wheats are great to show off other flavors. The american yeast will provide a clean finish to let the hops show through. The coriander and orange may compete a bit with the american hops but they will provide complementary flavors I would bet.

As for your question about conditioning - they can be quicker usually because you aren't overly worried about having them clear as wheats are traditionally cloudy. I find that my wheats finish fermenting within a week if you need to rush it a bit. If you are bottling vs. kegging - I don't think you'll change anything from your standard procedure i.e. it's not going to carb faster.

Good luck!

I pulled the Caravienne idea from the Gumballhead recipe on this site. It wasn't originally in my recipe but the recipe-maker spoke of how the sweetness really helps out the citrus hop. Now that i've explained where i got it from I think you might be right. I'm not sure I want the sweetness or darker colour it brings.

I'll either switch it out for more wheat or put in some cara8 i've got. Or maybe both!