Wheat wine advice - two step mash?

[pretzelb]

My next brew will be a recipe from BYO for wheat wine. Last time I brewed this I had a cooler and a Wilser bag so stuck sparges were not an issue and step mashing wasn't an option. With my new setup things are different. I have recirculation so I can alter the mash temp and my grain basket has solid sides and is prone to slow draining. Here's the main part of the recipe for 5g.

13 lbs. wheat malt
6 lbs. two-row pale malt
1 lb. crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
1 lb. rice hulls

I hope the rice hulls will help so I can recirculate during the mash. Assuming it works should I try a 2 step mash now that my new setup can do that? I see a profile in BeerSmith for 30 minutes at 122 and then 45 minutes at 152.

 

[MrAverageGuy]

The 122F step is the 'protein rest' - right? Attempted this (without benefeit of the improved equipment you have), and couldn't get the temps right - ended up mashing in the low 140s....not hopeful about the result, which is aging in bottles now.. Very interested in your results, as I like a good wheat wine!

 

[BrewBrains]

I did an 11% BIAB wheat wine but kept the batch size to 3 gallons so it wouldn't be overwhelmed with all the grain. I added some honey malt as well as honey. It was really sticky and alcoholic at first but with age it improved greatly after 1 to 2 months in the bottle and turned out amazing.

Recipe

Bob's Fair Warning Wheatwine Batch Size: 3.50 galBoil Size: 5.16 galBoil Time: 90 minEnd of Boil Vol: 3.91 galFinal Bottling Vol: 3.25 galFermentation: Ale, Two Stage Est Original Gravity: 1.110 SG Est Final Gravity: 1.023 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 11.7 %Bitterness: 57.0 IBUsEst Color: 15.0 SRM Mash Name: BIAB, Medium Body Date: 26 Apr 2016 Equipment: Bob BIAB 3 GalEfficiency: 72.00 %Est Mash Efficiency: 77.1 %


5 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 3 38.1 %

5 lbs White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 4 38.1 %

8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 5 3.8 %

8.0 ozHoney Malt (25.0 SRM)Grain6 3.8 %

2.0 ozWheat - Soft Red, Flaked (Briess) (1.6 SRM)Grain7 1.0 %

1 lbs Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 8 7.6 %

1.25 oz Centennial [8.50 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 9 46.7 IBUs

0.60 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 10 -

1.00 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 11 10.3 IBUs

2.0 pkg Nottingham Yeast (Lallemand #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 12 -

1 lbs Honey (1.0 SRM)

Mashed at 152

Fermented at 56-66 degrees.

 

[dmtaylor]

Definitely do NOT do a protein rest!!!! It will kill body and head retention with 21st century malts. A hundred years ago a protein rest might have been a good idea. Today, all malts are so well modified that it has the opposite effect of what you want. Save yourself a lot of time and frustration by skipping the 122 F rest.

 

[pretzelb]

Definitely do NOT do a protein rest!!!! It will kill body and head retention with 21st century malts. A hundred years ago a protein rest might have been a good idea. Today, all malts are so well modified that it has the opposite effect of what you want. Save yourself a lot of time and frustration by skipping the 122 F rest.

I have read some who said the protein rest was a mistake but I've also read recent articles that still talk about how wheat can be gummy if you don't.

 

[dmtaylor]

If you want to break down the gumminess of the wheat, then 122 F is not the place to do it. Try 105 F for like 20 minutes and see if that helps. But skip 122 F, that's bad.