Highly Hopping a Wheat Beer -- Do It?

What do you think about highly hopping a wheat beer?

Normally I would think this is a bad idea b/c the hops will likely overpower the banana and clove flavors ... BUT, I am using some wheat that I germinated and malted myself. I am skeptical that the wheat is going to taste all that good.

After spending time on getting the wheat to this point I feel obligated to try brewing with it but, again, I don't have faith it will be that great. So, to cover potential disappointments, I am thinking of hopping this wheat beer to the heavens.

Thoughts? Advice?

 

I'd say do it. There are commercial examples of that style. Hopfenweisse(sp) comes to mind.

 

Really? I've never heard of anyone brewing the idea I had some 2 months ago. I was musing one day,reading on here,& thought,"what about a wheat IPA"? I thought it best to use low AA% aroma/flavor hops of a non-citrus nature. I thought that would keep bitterness down,not to mention keeping the strong citrus flavors from dominating the profile as a whole.
So keep those in mind when buying the hops to use. I need to look at that myself,one of these days. I've got recipes piling up now...

 

There are a few commercial examples out there (like Southern Tier's 422 Pale Wheat Ale). The banana/clove flavors can be kept in check by using a lower fermentation temperature and a cleaner non-Hefe yeast strain. I just made a heavily hopped wheat ale and it turned out great, very tasty. I didn't use a whole lot of wheat though because it was an experimental batch and it only had about 1/3 of the grain bill dedicated to wheat.

 

I was going to do nearly half-n-half. Just a bit less wheat malt to barley malt.

 

Seeing this post made me go pull a sample from the hoppy wheat I just brewed a week ago. I'd say go for it, this one was 50% 2-row, 45% white wheat malt, and 5% C60. I fermented it in the low 60s with harvested Bells yeast and late hopped it with a bunch of citra and it tastes pretty darn good even at 1 week old.

 

I'll have to keep that in mind. Still need to study what hops to use for the sort of profile I have in mind.

 

I am sticking with low alphas on mine -- I think anything in the noble family of hops should work, that is the BJCP guidelines for weiss beers at least.

I had forgotten that there are commercial versions of highly hopped wheat beers out there, I have even tried a few of them (although none were all that memorable.)

 

Yeah,that's what initially comes to my mind as well. Maybe something that has not just spice,but floral hints as well? Maybe some Sorachie Ace on the back for it's lemon flavor?...

 

That sounds pretty good. You don't necessarily have to use a hefe yeast either. There's a local brewery that does a pretty-well-hopped-for-wheat beer with a lager yeast and it's quite nice. You could also brew and hop moderately, taste after primary, and dry-hop or not according to how it is then.

 

I thought that since it's a wheat IPA to use aroma/flavor hops as mentioned,& use maybe 4oz of hops. I typically do three hop additions. Do 1oz for each addition,then dry hop with a 4th ounce of hops.?...

 

I've never done a wheat beer but I like super hoppy beers so that sounds like a great idea. I brewed a moderately hoppy Saison that turned out pretty good so I decided to push it a little more and have a 100 IBU Saison conditioning right now. SG samples seemed OK, so we'll see. That's one nice thing about brewing you own beer - you don't have to drink beers that stick to BJCP guidelines.

 

I just tested a wheat i kegged a week ago using nottingham yeast, with Hallertau for bittering and Saaz for flavor. it needs a bit more flavor IMHO so I think I will dry hop in the keg with an ounce of Saaz and see what happens.

 

American wheats are usually pretty hoppy no? I did one with 4 oz citra and safale05 and it's great. Almost IPA type profile. I did extract and steeping. Next time I am going to do the same but AG and my dry hops floated going to get it weighted down better.

 

Well,well,well...look what's showed up ta Sunday dinner...Just,remember...to keep your sweet,sweet...fermenter...shut! lolz. I can't believe somebody finally took a name from the Mad Max series. Cool! Haulertau & Saaz are aroma/flavor hops of low AA% I used them in my last brew,& my current one. The haulertau was only 4.3%AA,the Czech Saaz was like 4.7%AA. That's why not much bittering was had.
Maybe have to add more to get a decent level of bitterness. And no,American wheat's aren't very hoppy,unless is a quasi IPA or something. Wheat's usually have only one hop addition,so that the yeast flavors take center stage. That's the hallmark of the style.
Having said that,I think I'll try my 4oz idea,sticking to spicy,floral hops. With maybe some Sorachie Ace for 10mins at flame out,& dry hop the other .5oz for that lemon hit on the back.

 

I did a hoppy wheat with Simcoe (bittering) and Citra (flavor/aroma/dry), with WY1056 - my wife says it's her favorite that I've ever brewed and keeps bugging me to make it again. Though next time I think I'll just use something clean for bittering like Magnum and maybe throw some Sorachi Ace in there as well.

 

I can't wait to try the Sorachie Ace myself. That lemony hop flavor intrigues me. Especially in IPA's...even a wheat based one.

 

Just brewed up an amer wheat yesterday using soriachi! Kept the ibus around 30, though, but hoping the lemon comes through..n

 

Well I beg to differ on Southern Tier Hop Sun and Three Floyds Gumball Head and Oberon to some degree. The wheat that I made was only slightly more hopier then gumball head. This is going to be an all seasons beer to me. With the belgian and german wheats yeah the yeast takes center stage but american style use a neutral yeast with big hops especially late and dry imo.

 

I make a wheat Pale Ale using 50% white wheat 50% 2row and Nugget hops to 45 IBU (both FWH and late additions), oh and WLP-001, definitely go for it.

 

I was referring to those ami wheat's made to style. It seems that here again,everybody wants to turn yet another classic brew into a 100 megaton hop bomb. These I'd classify as a wheat IPA closer to the classic IPA. Anyway,I think the idea has merit as an IPA...

 

Looking at the style guidelines, mine is over abv and ibu and probably srm too but slightly in all cases and hell this is what homebrewing is all about anyway it tastes great. My intention was to make a wheat IPA its just not quite there by todays standards which is also fine by me because I don't need some palate burn crap.

 

Yeah,that's kinda what I mean. If you're making a certain kind of beer,than make it within reasonable limits of the style. Otherwise,some styles will disappear due to all the hop bombing & disregard to a style. Every game has rules. Changing the hops in a style is cool,maybe tweak the flavor/color somehow. But please stop hop bombing everything in site.
Having said that,creating a style off-shoot is ok,like the wheat IPA. I still think larger amounts of the hops typically used in wheat beers would make it an interestingly different "summer IPA"...

 

Lagunita's Lil' Sumpin Sumpin is basically a 50-ish% wheat IPA. It's one of my all time favorites. The hop schedule is a little ridiculous though.

Here' the recipe:

1 lbs Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 5.38 %
8 lbs 1.8 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 43.64 %
6 lbs 1.8 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 32.86 %
3 lbs 2.7 oz Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 17.05 %
3.2 oz Wheat, Roasted (425.0 SRM) Grain 1.08 %
0.06 oz Summit [17.50 %] (90 min) Hops 2.7 IBU
0.37 oz Nugget [13.00 %] (90 min) Hops 12.2 IBU
0.06 oz Horizon [12.00 %] (90 min) Hops 1.8 IBU
0.85 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.85 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.85 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.85 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.53 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 Hops -
0.64 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.27 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (45 min) Hops 3.2 IBU
0.92 oz Santiam [6.00 %] (15 min) Hops 6.4 IBU
0.31 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.0 IBU
1 Pkgs English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) Yeast-Ale

 

I know what you are saying but I don't think that way. I'll make what I want to make it and if it fits within the parameters of a style then so be it. I don't see styles being phased out. Especially not in the information age. If anything something that is found to be rare is all that more enticing to a brewer. In short, maybe its time for some subcategories of american wheat? I have no problem calling my beer a wheat IPA.

 

Funny someone mentioned lagunitas, I basedy last brew on their Zepher (only avail in the taproom and ...Chicago?) a hybrid (lager yeast)wheat that has been dryhopped. Think Pliny aroma wheat beer without the bitterness. It was amazing! That's what I tried to make without any offical recipe with Chico yeast. 48 ibu 2 oz citra dryhop. I'll let u know how it turns out

 

Hell yes you should!! Ever heard of Gumballhead? http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/gumballhead-inspired-wpa-92976/ I'm gonna be brewing an american wheat (not the previously-linked recipe tho) with 6oz of hops per 5gal here in a few weeks.

Hopfenweisse is a weizenbock. I'm pretty sure the OP is talking about something more along the lines of an american wheat

 

I am quite the fan of the opposite of what you are doing. I prefer to make an IPA but use a Belgian yeast strain. Stone makes a great beer that is a great example of what I am talking about: http://www.stonebrew.com/cali/

Cheers!

 

Yeah I have been thinking about doing this.

 

OP's mentioning banana and clove counters that notion.

On the same lines of Hopfen-Weisse is Bear Republic's pub special Das Koma, but my favorite hoppy weissbier is Schneider Edel-Weisse (with Cascades!).

 

I love this offends some people.
I think to maintain a refreshing beer you should concentrate the hop additions toward the end. Bitterness and hot days dont mix well.

 

My thoughts as well. I want the flavor of the hops. Not the bitterness so much. I just thought a wheat IPA would create a new category.

 

Yes, do it. Style is great if you're entering a comp or exploring the traditional history of beer. I love the schneider/brooklyn collaboration beer. Make what tastes good to you. And then send me some

 

I made an American wheat with 5# 2 row 5 # wheat and .25# honey malt. Hopped to around 40 IBU's with centennial and cascade, and dry hopped with 2 oz. of cascade. I used wyeast American wheat. It's been in the keg for 2 weeks, and I love the aroma and flavor. I say go for it.

 

As people above have mentioned, there are a few of American styles of wheat beers that are highly hopped. In addition to hopfenweisse, gratzer is a fairly hoppy beer (for wheats, at least) but fermented with neutral yeast so there's not a lot of interplay with yeast flavor and hops. I did make a wheat wine using a dunkelweizen base and lots of Saaz for flavor/aroma and 3068 as the yeast. (Then I added oak in it.) I hopped to about 45IBU. It is hoppy for sure but it doesn't clash with the yeast flavors.

I would probably stick with using either Saaz or something citrusy like styrian when using a weiss strain for a hoppy beer.

 

I've got an India Wheat Ale on my short list to brew. I'm planning on fermenting with WLP007, OG around 1.066-1.068, IBUs around 50, and a TON of late hops.

 

My friend's microbrewery makes a REALLY good one. He calls it Wheat Freak. Here is a link if you wanna see.

http://2ndshiftbrewing.com/Items.html

 

How about making a Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin clone? There's almost 50% wheat in that beer. And if you home toast some of the wheat (which I highly recommend) you may help distract from any objectionable flavors in your wheat. Here's a link to a HBT forum post that has a Little Sumpin Sumpin recipe that was discussed on a Can You Brew It episode.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/little-sumpin-sumpin-ale-149836/index3.html
I brewed the recipe that's about halfway down the third page an I really enjoyed it! I wish you lots of success with your wheat, sounds like a fun experiment.

 

I have brewed several hoppy wheat beers (wheat IPA's if you will) and they have all turned out great. In fact, I have found myself hitting the wheat IPA taps more than my centennial IPA tap lately. I have made several versions with a variety of different hops. In my experience so far with this style, the more citrus flavored hops work very well. I use a lot of Amarillo (ala GumballHead), Citra, and Cascades with this style. I totally agree with earlier posts that later hop additions and dry hopping lend to a much more balanced, refreshing beer. I love very hoppy, and bitter American IPA's (70+ IBUs), because the fuller body and malt profile balance well. On the other hand, I have found that getting too carried away with early hop additions and driving up the IBUs on wheat beers does not lend as well to the style. I find that enough hops to hover around 40 to 50 IBUs is plenty with this style....for me it's the hop aromatics and flavoring I'm after with a wheat IPA, not the bitterness. Regardless it's one of my favorite styles. My 2 cents.

 

Sounds Great! What hops are you using for the late additions? I'm brewing another batch this weekend, as my Citra/Cascade Wheat is about to kick and I'll have a free keg very soon. I'm always looking to try something new. Let me know when you get a chance! Enjoy your India Wheat, trust me, it will turn out great.