Adding wheat LME to Amber Ale??

[3sheetsEMJ]

I was thinking about making an amber with 5lb amber LME, 1 lb of wheat LME, about 1.5 lbs of crystal specialty grains(ranging from 40-120) and a hop schedule that will produce about 28-30 IBUs. (this is essentially a clone of Lefthand Brewing Co. Sawtooth Ale which I very much like, on their website they say these use these basic ingredients)

Questions:
1) What will addig the wheat do to this beer as opposed to just using the amber LME? I would think it would add more protein thus giving it a thicker body and more head retention, but ive never made an amber with wheat LME

2) How much crystal malt should i use? I will be steeping these 30 min prior to my boil and i dont want to overdo it. According to Brewbuilder my OG and FG are within range, but i never know how much crstal grains to use...

3) any suggestions on yeast? I am planning o using American Ale 1056 i think

 

[jmprdood]

1) Maybe a little less ABV
2) Usually no more than 25% of total grain bill
3) Depends - but for an "American Amber" 1056 would be fine

 

[3sheetsEMJ]

1) Maybe a little less ABV
2) Usually no more than 25% of total grain bill
3) Depends - but for an "American Amber" 1056 would be fine

Questions based on your answers ( which I appreciate, thank you)
1: why lower abv? Other than that any other effects? Do you know what this will do to the taste?
2: how do u determine %? if i have 5lbs of LME and 1 lb of crystal grain does that mean its 20% (1/5)? or is it rather percentage of the total weight 1/6, the 6 being the total weight of the 1 and 5 added together? And arent they weighted differently in the equation? I have heard that since the LME is concentrated it is considered more than the grain in the equation...

 

[jmprdood]

1) A little less abv since the sugars in the wheat aren't as easily converted
2) Close - but it is weight of crystal divided by total weight, so in your example 1/6 or 16.6% is correct
LME and DME contribute different amounts to the OG (LME is like 1.036 lb/gallon and DME is 1.046) the amount of gravity contributed by the grain depends on the efficiency that you extract the sugars from the malted grain - usually not a big deal when you are adding to an extract batch because you are doing it more for flavor and color than ABV

 

[3sheetsEMJ]

Thanks jmprdood!