American Wheat Beer Hoppy Session Wheat Beer

[KrunkMasterKyle]

Wow -- I know it was not what you were going for but that is some serious attenuation! It's a West Coast "Session" Wheat...

Yeah I wanted it to be a session too

That is a bummer it did not turn out. Sounds like something was definitely up with fermentation. 1.001 is extraordinarily low.... my saisons don't even finish that low. Wonder if you did not get some sort of bug in there from the reused yeast that did not take off? Hopefully your next one comes out better for you. The trials and tribulations of brewing...... I have a keg of British Bitter that might have a date with my floor drain in the near future

I hate draining beer...happens to the best of us sometimes! Can't wait to rebrew it....have 2 NEIPAs (derived from your recipe) fermenting right now. Simcoe/Galaxy and Citra/Centennial both 1.075 OG....gonna need a session on tap!

 

[deadwolfbones]

Doing this today, 3 gal BIAB batch (3.5 actual to account for the hops) with Centennial, El Dorado, and HBC 431 for aroma, CTZ for bittering. Gonna try a dry kolsch yeast. I'll let y'all know how it goes!

 

[Braufessor]

@Braufessor

What led you to go with the Cara 20 malt in this beer rather than the honey malt that you use in your NEIPA?

Just that I was shooting for a brighter, lighter beer and did not want the sweetness that honey malt can bring. I have actually dropped the Cara 20 in my last two batches and just went with 45% 2 Row, 45% Wheat, 5% each flaked barley and flaked oats.

I want the lower gravity and lower hops to really pop and I kind of like the clean grain bill. Not sure that it would make a huge difference either way though.... try it a couple ways and see what you prefer.

 

[Braufessor]

Just brewed this up again and pitched some 2565 Kolsch yeast into it. I also took out the Mosaic on this batch and replaced it with Galaxy.

 

[deadwolfbones]

Nice! We can compare notes in a couple weeks. I'm using the Crossmyloof dry kolsch for the first time. No temp control, so fingers crossed.

 

[deadwolfbones]

Brew day went great. Hit the numbers dead on (1.036 pre-boil, 1.043 OG). Sample before yeasting tasted good, maybe a little over-bitter. No way of knowing if it's really too bitter until it's bottled and carbed, though.

 

[jakeasaur]

Brewed this 3/20 keged 3/31 it was a huge hit at a couples baby shower we hosted Saterday. Used 1272 which has became my new go to. Thanks for the recipe

 

[sanovitski]

Brewed this earlier in the week and currently fermenting. I typically cold crash all my beers for about 2-3 days before transferring into the keg and force carbing. Should I wait 12 days before cold crashing or you think it will be OK to cold crash on day 10?

 

[deadwolfbones]

Well, the kolsch yeast took this down to 1.008 pretty dang quick. Still bubbling a little, too. Samples taste great, even with hop particulate floating around.

 

[guitarguy6]

Giving something inspired by this a go later today. 5lb 2-row, 3lb wheat malt, 8oz flaked barley and flaked oats, 4oz Crystal 15. Same hop bill but will be using cryo hops in the dry hop.

 

[deadwolfbones]

Just bottled mine. Tastes great. Got down to 1.007 with the CML kolsch yeast, which is a bit drier (and higher ABV) than I wanted—about 4.4%. Still within range, though.

 

[deadwolfbones]

When I bottle, I usually end up with one last bottle that's not quite full of beer, and more full than usual of yeast and hop debris. Decided to crack said bottle from this batch after 4 days:

It's good! Needs a bit more time to fully carbonate, but the appearance is spot on and the taste is great. As expected given the FG, it's a bit thin on the palate, but very refreshing. Thanks for the recipe, @Braufessor.

 

[cheesebach]

It's good! Needs a bit more time to fully carbonate, but the appearance is spot on and the taste is great. As expected given the FG, it's a bit thin on the palate, but very refreshing. Thanks for the recipe, @Braufessor.

Glad to hear it! Mine went from 1.043 down to 1.009 with WY1318, so I've been a little nervous about it being a bit too dry. I'm planning to have a taste tonight to see how I did. Considering adding a bit of lactose to help round it out a bit if it seems like it needs it - hopefully it'll be great without it though!

 

[deadwolfbones]

Glad to hear it! Mine went from 1.043 down to 1.009 with WY1318, so I've been a little nervous about it being a bit too dry. I'm planning to have a taste tonight to see how I did. Considering adding a bit of lactose to help round it out a bit if it seems like it needs it - hopefully it'll be great without it though!

Even if it's thin, it should still be tasty. I had a S-04 batch (Irish stout) finish at 1.008 recently, so I think even strains known for finishing high aren't 100% reliable. I probably just need to mash way higher than I think.

 

[Andre3000]

I went grains to glass in a shameless 6 days with this recipe, hence the name. Reasons: It was only a 4 gal batch, I pitched a massive 1318 starter, spunded with closed transfer, and I had nothing to put on my hoppy tap .

I actually really like this recipe. It's probably one of my favorite NEPA style brews that I've made. Perfect at 4% too. It won't last long.

 

[jschm19]

Picked up the grains and yeast for this one today, should be brewing it tomorrow night. Thought I had Centennial but I have Columbus and Cascade as well as Warrior. Thinking about going Columbus if I don't make it to the LHBS tomorrow on my way home.

 

[jschm19]

Picked up the grains and yeast for this one today, should be brewing it tomorrow night. Thought I had Centennial but I have Columbus and Cascade as well as Warrior. Thinking about going Columbus if I don't make it to the LHBS tomorrow on my way home.

Brewed tonight and I ended up with 6.25 gallons in the fermenter at 1.047. This was my second brew on the Robobrew so I'll take a few points high. Went with Cascade to 20 IBUs and did a 10 minute hop stand at 160. Keeping all post boil hops the same. I'll try to report back in 2-3 weeks.

 

[trevelynzx]

Brewed this up today. realized when the boil was starting that i had forgotten to mash the flakes oats and barley. ugh. did a 20 minute BIAB and added the volume to the last 25 min of the boil.

got me thinking... do flakes oats/ barley need to be mashed? there’s no conversion needed... or am i thinking about that wrong?

 

[Ray_Finkle]

Just transferred this recipe to the keg today. Smelled and tastes great already.

 

[cheesebach]

Brewed this up today. realized when the boil was starting that i had forgotten to mash the flakes oats and barley. ugh. did a 20 minute BIAB and added the volume to the last 25 min of the boil.

got me thinking... do flakes oats/ barley need to be mashed? there’s no conversion needed... or am i thinking about that wrong?

The flaked grains do need a mash in order for the starches to be broken down and converted into fermentable sugars. It drives me a little crazy anytime I see a homebrew store selling an extract recipe that includes oats with the specialty grains as part of a hot steep step before the boil. One of my first brews was an extract oatmeal stout that was written like this, and it ended up looking like murky mud water due to all the starches left in the wort. It sort of cleared (and improved) after 2 months in the keg, but there was at least 1/4" of sludge at the bottom of the keg when it kicked.

HOWEVER, I'm not sure how big an issue not mashing the oats would really be in this style of beer. It will most likely be cloudier and possibly have a higher FG, but it might not really be detrimental in a low abv hazy wheat ale? I'm guessing it will still make a good beer. Either way - let us know how it turns out!

 

[deadwolfbones]

Wanted to mention that mine started turning brown in the bottle after ~2-3 weeks. Made me sad, but oh well, more incentive to start kegging.

 

[Ray_Finkle]

Came out to 4 percent ABV. Has great aroma an easy drinkable beer. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

 

[Andre3000]

This recipe is amazing Braufessor. I've made it three times since I first posted in this thread; two kegs got absolutely crushed with rave reviews at a party I had. My only sub is using all flaked oats instead of the other flaked adjuncts.

I went for a fourth round and I realized i was out of Mosaic! Disappointment. So I cracked open the El Dorado in its place. It's on day six and I gotta say I'm not overly excited about it, thought I think it will improve. Think this was a bad choice? What else can I use in Mosaic's place? I've got Azacca, Amarillo, Cascade, Huell Melon, Mandarina Bavaria, and Simcoe.

 

[Braufessor]

This recipe is amazing Braufessor. I've made it three times since I first posted in this thread; two kegs got absolutely crushed with rave reviews at a party I had. My only sub is using all flaked oats instead of the other flaked adjuncts.

I went for a fourth round and I realized i was out of Mosaic! Disappointment. So I cracked open the El Dorado in its place. It's on day six and I gotta say I'm not overly excited about it, thought I think it will improve. Think this was a bad choice? What else can I use in Mosaic's place? I've got Azacca, Amarillo, Cascade, Huell Melon, Mandarina Bavaria, and Simcoe.

Awesome - glad it has been turning out well for you. I have not used El Dorado much..... maybe only once or twice. I seem to remember it coming off as more "dank" to some degree. I bet it will come around for you - might be different, but, I bet it is still pretty good. Local brewery here just did an all El Dorado IPA and I really liked the samples I had out of the fermenter on that one.

Since this is a pretty light beer, I like the brighter, fruit forward type hops. The ones you listed seem like great possibilities.....

I would be intrigued with something like Cascade at 30 minutes and then Huell Melon and Mandarina Bavaria for the flame out and dry hop.

Or, Cascade at 30 and then Simcoe/Amarillo for flame out and dry hop - that is a pretty classic combo that is always good....... Amarillo/Azacca might be a good option too.

Could also stick with the Centennial at 30 and then Citra/Amarillo or Citra/Azacca or 100% Citra or Citra/Simcoe or Citra/Cascade or Centennial/Cascade..... any of those would be great too.

Also - The last few times I have brewed this with 2565 Kolsch Yeast and it really turned out well. I brew a fair number of Kolsch's, and this is a good beer to run that yeast through. Combine that with the Huell Melon and Mandarina Bavaria, and maybe german pilsner and german wheat and you could have yourself a pretty nice german session NE IPA for a twist on it.

 

[Andre3000]

Awesome - glad it has been turning out well for you. I have not used El Dorado much..... maybe only once or twice. I seem to remember it coming off as more "dank" to some degree. I bet it will come around for you - might be different, but, I bet it is still pretty good. Local brewery here just did an all El Dorado IPA and I really liked the samples I had out of the fermenter on that one.

Since this is a pretty light beer, I like the brighter, fruit forward type hops. The ones you listed seem like great possibilities.....

I would be intrigued with something like Cascade at 30 minutes and then Huell Melon and Mandarina Bavaria for the flame out and dry hop.

Or, Cascade at 30 and then Simcoe/Amarillo for flame out and dry hop - that is a pretty classic combo that is always good....... Amarillo/Azacca might be a good option too.

Could also stick with the Centennial at 30 and then Citra/Amarillo or Citra/Azacca or 100% Citra or Citra/Simcoe or Citra/Cascade or Centennial/Cascade..... any of those would be great too.

Also - The last few times I have brewed this with 2565 Kolsch Yeast and it really turned out well. I brew a fair number of Kolsch's, and this is a good beer to run that yeast through. Combine that with the Huell Melon and Mandarina Bavaria, and maybe german pilsner and german wheat and you could have yourself a pretty nice german session NE IPA for a twist on it.

Exactly what you're saying, it's quite dank. But even today it's much improved. I can't get over how much keg conditioning does for beer's drinkability. It's amazing.

I'm going to have to get creative with some of the above because my local bulk hop supplier is out of Citra!! So thanks for the suggestions.

I'm off to the brew store this weekend and that's one style I'd like to experiment with try so I'll grab some 2565. Do you ferment it colder? I know it can go quite low. Also, do you have any other kolsch recipes you're willing to share (maybe a topic for another thread).

 

[Braufessor]

Exactly what you're saying, it's quite dank. But even today it's much improved. I can't get over how much keg conditioning does for beer's drinkability. It's amazing.

I'm going to have to get creative with some of the above because my local bulk hop supplier is out of Citra!! So thanks for the suggestions.

I'm off to the brew store this weekend and that's one style I'd like to experiment with try so I'll grab some 2565. Do you ferment it colder? I know it can go quite low. Also, do you have any other kolsch recipes you're willing to share (maybe a topic for another thread).

@Andre3000 sorry man - been busy. I will get you the Kolsch recipe shortly.

 

[zonkman]

I went a lighter on the flameout hops (1 ounce each instead of 2). Exactly the beer I was after. Has all the delicateness/fragrance (hop and grain)/lightness and also refreshing as hell with moderate bitterness and lingering mineral aftertaste. The kind of beer that has even non-beer-drinkers grabbing a second. Many thanks Braufessor.

 

[Braufessor]

@Andre3000
Sorry for the delay. Here is what I do for my Kolsch

Grain..... Basically, you want base malts and any combo is honestly probably fine. I used this last time around:
50% Weyermann Pilsner
25% Briess Gold Pils Vienna
25% Rahr 2 Row

Hops:
60 min. = 15 IBU Tettnang
30 min. = 6 IBU Tettnang
10 min. = 3 IBU Tettnang

2565 Kolsch Yeast

Water
100% RO with Gypsum, CaCl, Epsom Salt and Canning salt to get around:
Ca = 50
Sulfate = 75
Chloride = 40
Mg = 5
Na = 15

Also, Lactic Acid to get 5.25-5.30 mash pH

I calculate the minerals that I will need for the mash and sparge water..... but, then I add all of them to the mash and none of them to the sparge.

1ml lactic acid in RO sparge water.

Ferment in the 60-62 range.

The one thing I don't love about 2565 is it takes forever to clear..... great tasting, but can be a struggle to get that brilliant clarity.

 

[JohnConnor]

Huh, funny. I just came across this post. I've got something along this line fermenting as we speak. I did 60%wheat malt, 35% pils and 5% honey malt. Hopshot at 60 and Idaho 7 in the whirl. I'll be dry hopping with Idaho and a touch of amarillo. Fermented with US05 cool (63 for the first 4 days... kicked it up to 65 yesterday/67 tonight to help it finish). Water profile pretty close to yours. Kind of an american wheat-ish.

I was thinking of using a more fruity yeast but opted for something a little cleaner. Do you like what 1318 adds? I was thinking possibly ESB might be nice to?

 

[dukedevil0]

Just brewed this on Saturday. I left out the Cara 20 as Braufessor said he's done lately. 30 min boil, got 1.040 OG, decided to cut down to 1/2 oz Centennial at 30min, and pitched a starter from harvested 1318. I put in the dry hop charge at 30 hours since it was really active for 24 hours and my tilt hydrometer showed a significant gravity drop already. Will report back!