Dark Wheat Recipe

[yoop89]

Looking into brewing a dark wheat over labor day weekend and wanted to get my grains ordered. I want to end up with a jet black malty wheat that isnt to sweet or heavy. The base for this recipe came from a simple wheat beer that used 70/30 Wheat/Munich so thats where those choices came from. This will be my first recipe so I know I could use a little direction. Thanks!

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Dark Wheat

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Experimental Beer
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 10.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 12 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.048
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 5.5%
IBU (tinseth): 21.55
SRM (morey): 39.79

FERMENTABLES:
14 lb - American - White Wheat (63.6%)
6 lb - American - Munich - Dark 20L (27.3%)
2 lb - American - Midnight Wheat Malt (9.1%)

HOPS:
3 oz - Domestic Hallertau, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.9, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 21.55

 

[corax]

What yeast are you going to use?

It sounds interesting, but I think it will be dominated by roast malt. Depending on the yeast and fermentation schedule, it could end up indistinguishable from a porter or stout or schwartzbier.

 

[yoop89]

Was going to go with nottingham since I dont have a good local source of liquid yeast and all I have saved right now is a wyeast 1056 slurry.

Instead of mashing with the 2.5 lbs of specialty should I add them in before the sparge? That way I get the color I want without alot of the flavor?

 

[corax]

I've never done it, but adding roasted grains at sparging (or alternately cold-steeping them) is supposed to be a good way of reducing their bitterness.

With a neutral yeast like Nottingham, I think it will be indistinguishable from a porter or stout, except maybe with a more full and lingering head from the wheat. Not to say it won't be a great beer, I just think the roasted grains are going to mask most of the wheat character.

 

[yoop89]

Thanks! I love a good stout or porter but not what I’m trying for here. Back to the drawing board I guess.

 

[yoop89]

Updated recipe with a few changes, ill be using a Wyeast 1056 slurry or nottingham dry and topping the mash with the midnight to get the color i want. I know its not gonna be a wheat beer technically but it sounds good in my head

 

[tennesseean_87]

I'm unfamiliar with midnight wheat, but people often use carafa de-husked to get color without flavor. I've done a stout where all the roasted grains were steeped overnight at room temp and then I used that as my strike water the next morning. It was a very smooth roast character, but still there.