American Wheat Beer American Wheat Beer - 2nd place Best of show - 2011 HBT BJCP competition

Well bubbling has slowed down. So I opened the lid to have a smell. It took my breath away really strong alco smell. When i took a big smell my nostrils burned... This is my first ferment in a plastic fermenter. I normally ferment in glass. Although you really cant get your whole face in glass carboys, but the plastic fermenter has a lid. Freaked me out.

Justillinround said:

Well bubbling has slowed down. So I opened the lid to have a smell. It took my breath away really strong alco smell. When i took a big smell my nostrils burned... This is my first ferment in a plastic fermenter. I normally ferment in glass. Although you really cant get your whole face in glass carboys, but the plastic fermenter has a lid. Freaked me out.

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That's CO2 burn. The CO2 layer created by the yeast is what burned your nostrils. Sinff a charged corney keg and it will do the same thing.

Thanks for telling me that...

Im going to cold crash for the day and carb tomorrow. I got an FG of 1.010. Sample tasted nice too. Ive never brewed with 029. I might try that yeast again if I like the beer...

Nice beer. I put 12g of Galaxy instead of Magnum...

I brewed this on the 6th of January with US-05 instead of the Kolsch yeast. My efficiency was pretty bad for some reason so I only got an SG of 1.040 and the IBU's were a little higher.

I took a gravity reading today (4 days after pitching) and it's already at 1.009. I tasted the sample and it's amazing. The nose has a hop presence like a pale ale, but the flavor tastes very smooth like an american wheat. I think the Munich gives it a great flavor.

I'm planning on bottling next Monday (10 days after pitching). If it tastes as good when it's carbonated as it does now, I'll be very happy. Thanks for the awesome recipe!

I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying the recipe!

I might also have to try it with US-05 since I usually have a few packs of that on hand. I really like what the Wyeast Kolsch yeast does for it, but it does change in character somewhat as the beer ages. I imagine US-05 would give a more steady character while also giving a fast turnaround, which is one of the things I really like about this recipe.

Hey MrNic, I just noticed your location is Laramie. I've been enjoying visiting Laramie over the last couple years since my brother has been in school there! Had some real cheap Sierra Nevada on tap at the Buckhorn, and two Thanksgivings ago we had a great time at the Ranger playing shuffleboard and drinking Ranger all Thanksgiving day!

thunderworm said:

Hey MrNic, I just noticed your location is Laramie. I've been enjoying visiting Laramie over the last couple years since my brother has been in school there! Had some real cheap Sierra Nevada on tap at the Buckhorn, and two Thanksgivings ago we had a great time at the Ranger playing shuffleboard and drinking Ranger all Thanksgiving day!

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Laramie's okay, but I'm ready to get out of here after I graduate in May. I try to avoid the Buckhorn...their bathrooms are nasty and they don't clean their tap lines.

MrNic said:

Laramie's okay, but I'm ready to get out of here after I graduate in May. I try to avoid the Buckhorn...their bathrooms are nasty and they don't clean their tap lines.

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But their urinals at the Buckhorn are HUGE! :cross:

I must have been lucky with the draft SN at the Buckhorn. Not much worse than infected tap lines. Good luck with graduation and beyond!

thunderworm, your American Wheat will be my next brew.
Couple of questions:
Which wheat malt do you use (SRM?)
For the munich did you use 10L or 20L?

Also, I noticed you cold crashed it, but didn't use any Irish moss or whirlfloc for clarity. Care to expand on this?

JasontheBeaver said:

thunderworm, your American Wheat will be my next brew.
Couple of questions:
Which wheat malt do you use (SRM?)
For the munich did you use 10L or 20L?

Also, I noticed you cold crashed it, but didn't use any Irish moss or whirlfloc for clarity. Care to expand on this?

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I used pale white wheat malt, 1.5L I believe.
The munich malt is 10L.

Irish moss/whirlfloc helps remove proteins and compounds that cause haze during the boil. I wanted a nice hazy wheat beer so I did not use any Irish moss. After fermentation I didn't want to transfer too much yeast, so I cold crashed to help the yeast settle out (Kolsch yeast has low flocculation). I probably crashed out a bit of haze proteins in the process, but the beer still had a nice haze to it after kegging without having too much suspended yeast.

I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Thanks for the feedback!
It will be brewed within the next couple weeks.

So I bottled this on Monday. I was just sitting around doing nothing today so I decided to pop a bottle in the freezer to get it cold and try it. It's only been 2 days since I bottled this beer and it is THE MOST drinkable beer I've brewed! Thanks again for the recipe!

Delicious

I brewed this on Saturday, by Sunday morning it was aggressively fermenting. On Monday morning I experienced my first blowout!
I had it in a 6 gall Better Bottle carboy with an orange cap and 3 piece airlock. It blew the cap to the other side of the room and now everything is splattered with dried crud.
Ah lessons learned! I cleaned and sanitized the cap and put it back on. Now the real cleaning starts.
I need to look into how to prevent blow-offs.

sounds like all you need is a blowoff tube and you'll be set.. i always have a tube on for the first 2 or 3 days, then i switch to an airlock.. no problems since then

I'm going to cold crash my batch in a few days (13 days total in primary) then rack to keg.
I've had an issue calculating how much wort boils off and for this batch I had too much water initially.
My pre-boil gravity was 1.036 but my post-boil was only 1.042 because it didn't boil off as much as I had anticipated.
Hoping this doesn't result in a watered-down low-flavor beer.

What batch size and gravity is this? I might brew this tomorrow. Thanks

idigg said:

What batch size and gravity is this? I might brew this tomorrow. Thanks

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Did you look at the first page of this post?

I am using my android and dont see.any gravity info...

Weird. It's 1.050

Also, the batch volume is 6.0 gallons.

I'm looking forward to brewing this recipe soon. I have the starter on the stir plate as we speak.

I went to pull my first glass of this yesterday when I realized I've had it at 30psi for a week!
Just a *tad* foamy. Otherwise the aroma is good, the head is snow-white, and the beer is very cloudy. The flavor? Well not bad but I'll give it a few days to get to the proper carb level.

Swapped the 2 row and Munich malt for Vienna. I overshot my gravity at 1.056 and finished at 1.008. Very nice aroma and hop taste. I used a little more bittering to finish up my remaining hops so mine came in at 26-28ibus.

I ended up splitting the batch 4.5 gallons with US-05 and 1 gallon with Scottish ale yeast (this one hasn't been tested yet because the thief won't fit into the 1 gallon jug).

Here's another pic of this awesome beer.

I brewed this today. OG was a bit shy at 1.047. I'm only pitching 1L of yeast. Looking forward to tasting!

SwampassJ said:

Swapped the 2 row and Munich malt for Vienna. I overshot my gravity at 1.056 and finished at 1.008. Very nice aroma and hop taste. I used a little more bittering to finish up my remaining hops so mine came in at 26-28ibus.

I ended up splitting the batch 4.5 gallons with US-05 and 1 gallon with Scottish ale yeast (this one hasn't been tested yet because the thief won't fit into the 1 gallon jug).

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The gallon that got the Scottish yeast seems like a waste. Very minimal hop aroma and flavor at bottling, it's there but it is tiny comparwd to the US05 batch. This one finished at 1.010 and although flat has a much thicker mouthfeel and is sweeter not more malty. Will hope to do a carbed side by side.

SwampassJ said:

The gallon that got the Scottish yeast seems like a waste. Very minimal hop aroma and flavor at bottling, it's there but it is tiny comparwd to the US05 batch. This one finished at 1.010 and although flat has a much thicker mouthfeel and is sweeter not more malty. Will hope to do a carbed side by side.

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Kolsch yeast has it's own flavor profile that will shine through when the beer is lightly hopped like this one is. Kölsch imparts some noticeable ale-type fruitiness on the palate.

gbrewing said:

Kolsch yeast has it's own flavor profile that will shine through when the beer is lightly hopped like this one is. Kölsch imparts some noticeable ale-type fruitiness on the palate.

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I will try using the original Kolsch yeast recipe next time around. Went with a split of 05 AND SCOTTISH BECAUSE I HAD IT ON HAND READY TO GO.

I've brewed this beer probably 5 times since you've posted it. It's my house wheat, no questions asked. Thanks again for sharing the recipe.

Taste test and side by side at 1 week in the bottles and are already at or near where they should be carb wise. (I know it's only 1 week but every batch I open a bottle the first few weeks to test the green flavor. That way I know with the rebrew if the beer is ready at week 3 or 4).

Scottish Ale yeast is fairly clear, I can see the tv through it but I can't read through it. Very mellow tasting, not hoppy at all but it is thick and a little bready sweet.

US05 Ale yeast was very cloudy, no visibility through it. Very raw centennial flavor and aroma. Much more crisp and light bodied with a stronger hop bitterness. If I didn't know I would guess the scottish at 20ibus and this at 30ibus.

I will sit on this for 2-3 more weeks and try them out again. Right now I could serve the Scottish one and BMC people would drink it. The US-05 one isn't ready yet but I think it will be the best of the two.

That's awesome! I just made an experimental lawnmower beer with a 60/40 blend of pilsner and 2-row and I used the 2565 too. I loved how it tasted in my true Kolsch and, since the Wyeast website says it's good for "pseudo-lagers," I started a-experimentin'. Cheers!

What's the boil time for this recipe? I normally do 60 but I've seen some wheat recipes that boil for 90.

Landocota: The boil time is 60 minutes.

hoboscratch:No problem, glad you're enjoying it! It's become a favorite American wheat of my brewing friends too.

SwampassJ: Thanks for sharing the results of the yeast experiment! I've only used the Kolsch yeast in this so far, but I might try US-05 sometime for convenience. It's also my experience that US-05 takes a while to clear.

thunderworm said:

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SwampassJ: Thanks for sharing the results of the yeast experiment! I've only used the Kolsch yeast in this so far, but I might try US-05 sometime for convenience. It's also my experience that US-05 takes a while to clear.

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Yeah it's a very slow clearer. I'm not a huge fan of the Chico strain because of how neutral it is but in something like this I think it will work really well.

I just brewed this up now but used American Hefe Yeast by White Labs.

My gravity was low at 1.042 but I think I screwed up the mash temp. Oh well, the wort tasted great.

Just picked up the ingredients to make this one yesterday. This will be the first wheat beer I have made since I am a fairly new brewer. One thing I was wondering about is I don't really have much time to make a starter since I planned on brewing this on Saturday. Is that going to make a huge difference and/or should I really wait til I can make the starter to pitch. I am using the Wyeast Kolsch too. Any help is much appreciated.