I'm pretty new to brewing myself, so I usually dont comment or help on others recipes. But! since I just banged out an American Wheat last week I believe I am qualified, though I advise you to take my advice in stride...
1.) I would certainly lose the corn sugar entirely, as this will impart little flavor. If you pull the corn sugar, be sure to compensate by increasing the DME additions. Keep in mind that wheat DME is already a 50/50 blend of wheat DME and pilsen malt DME.
2.) I would not use flaked wheat unless you were mashing, as I believe flaked/crushed wheat must be mashed with a malted grain due to its lack of diastatic potential (the ability to convert starches into sugar). do a search for "Partial Mash". It may be a few extra steps in the process, but it opens the door to a multitude of different grains you can use, including flaked wheat, which will in turn complexify your flavors. If you had steeped the half pound of flaked wheat, it may have imparted slight flavor, but will have introduced starches into your wort, which may become food for biological nasties other than yeast. Also, I dont know if complexify is a word.
3.) I would use an american yeast strain, although using a neutral ale strain such as wlp001 IS definately "to style" according to the bjcp @
www.bjcp.org I used WY1010 Wyeast American Wheat strain for a slightly more authentic feel (to me). apparently this yeast I chose is very very very clean, almost not even a wheat except for the fact that its floculation is very low, but that is just what I read.
4.)I would ditch the 40L caramel, as I would try to keep this beer as light as possible. If a slightly more complex grain bill is absolutely necessary, I would keep it to around a half a pound of 10 L crystal.
5.) The bitter orange peel is definatly a killer idea, though this is taking it slightly off the rails in terms of style. I would definatly add it though, but im not too sure what time during the boil is best... hey veterans?
6.) Boiling as much of the wort as you can is great for keeping the carmelization in the kettle down, which in turn will keep your worts color as light as possible. 3 gallons is nice.
7.) "Just a Hint" of fruits is, in my opinion, the way to do it. I am also an advocate of fresh fruit instead of the extracts though. If I were you, I would add about half a pound of blueberries first crushed in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. keep in mind this will again mess with your color, so maybe the extract is the way to go. its a trade off in my view.
8.) Spicy late addition hops is the way to go when adding fruit in secondary, so pearle is a good choice. I have read that fruity hops over-run the fruity tones of fruited beers, so keep it spicy. I might change the cascade to a spicier hop, though im not sure how much citrus flavor would come through after 60 minutes anyway. might be OK
Hey, **** what have I done! Your original recipe would have been a damn fine beer, but I think you may benefit from a tip or two. also remember, look in to all this **** I just said, as I am sure some of the pro brewers on here can shoot holes through at least one of them. I would like to hear from them as well though. Good luck and keep me posted on how this turns out, as I have a growing interest in the style and would love to hear about your batch...
