Brooklyn Brew Shop's Smoked Wheat - Tips and Advice

With bottling day coming up on my Kentucky Rye Brown Ale, I am looking forward to my next project, which will be two 1-gallon batches of Brooklyn Brew Shop's Smoked Wheat:

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/smoked-wheat-beer-making-mix

[ame]https://vimeo.com/52937676[/ame]

I gave my dad a package of this mix for Christmas, and his batch turned out very good - my favourite BBS variety so far. Even though I will be brewing from BBS's pre-packaged mixes, I do happen to have their recipe for this beer (written for both 1- and 5-gallon batches), and it is one that I intend to make much more of in the future.

I'm really looking forward to this one. Why? I'm not so sure. Possibly because I like wheat beers, and this looks to be an outstanding variation on the theme. Perhaps because I do a lot of smoking of barbecue, charcuterie etc., and I simply like the idea of almost anything being smoked. Or maybe it's because I am (mostly) German. In any case, it's my next project, and I can't wait to get it started.

This will also be the first time I will be brewing two batches (separately) at the same time, so I am very interested to see if the two batches come out exactly the same, or with any subtle differences. If there are any differences, I will not consider this a failure; rather, I will be most excited to find out what caused those differences, in order to pick up on some fundamentals. If one is better than the other - even a little bit - I'll be able to consult my notes and find out what made it better, and can incorporate that difference into my future brew days.

I will update this thread as I enter the project, and will keep a detailed record so as to have a journal of the project, and in the hopes that it might help anyone in the future who might give this a try. I'm still quite new at this home-brewing thing, but am loving the user-friendly, all-grain mixes from BBS. It would be great to hear from anyone who has made a smoked wheat beer in general, or BBS's version in particular. If you have any experience or wisdom to pass along, please feel free to do so.

More as it happens, etc. &c...

Ron

I am brewing this beer right now, following the instructions provided by Brooklyn Brew Shop:

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/directions/Brooklyn Brew Shop - Smoked Wheat Instructions.pdf

Since I have two Smoked Wheat mixes, My plan is to do them both tonight in separate batches, and am currently at the boiling stage of the first batch. It is going fairly well so far, aside from one glitch: during the mash, I caught myself with low temperatures (about 135 F) for about 20 minutes. Not knowing what the best solution was, I brought the mash back up to the correct temperature range (144 F to 152 F) and kept it there, while adding an additional 20 minutes to the mash time (80 minutes rather than 60). I have no idea if this was the right thing to do, but we'll see. I probably ruined the whole batch, but at one gallon, it was a cheap learning experience, if ruined. The lesson from this experience is this: Always make sure that you're looking at the correct temperature unit, whether it is C or F.

Other than that, the first batch is going well. The Styrian hops are adding quite an interesting dimension to this smoked, dark wheat beer. When I finish this first batch, I'll either proceed to the second Smoked Wheat mix - or, if it is too late, I'll do it tomorrow night.

More as it happens etc. &c.

this is from their instructions"

Soak everything you are going to use, rinse with water, and let air dry on
some paper towels. If it isn’t totally dry when you are ready to start don’t
worry.

What kind of sanitizer to they supply?? If you rinse after and let it air dry and lay on paper towels the surface touching the towels will only be as sanitized as the towels.

Hi, C-Rider -

I'm 99% sure that the instructions you quoted above regarding the use of the sanitiser are a hold-over from a previous version of sanitiser that they must have used in their earlier kits. The sanitiser I am using now came from them, an it is prominently billed as a no-rinse sanitiser, and that's how I've been using it on this and previous brews, with no ill effects. Here's a little more information on it:

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/accessories/brooklyn-brew-shop-sanitizer

Judging by the way past brews have turned out, I am assuming that it works quite well; however, I bought a small thing of Star San, and will be switching over to that as soon as I use up all of their sanitiser that I have.

I just finished the boil, cool-down, pitching of the yeast and attaching of the blow-off tube for the first batch, and it is sitting in the darkness of my closet with an ambient temperature of about 68 degrees. Judging by past performance of BBS mixes, I'll get some very vigorous fermentation before long that will continue for three days, at which time I will exchange the blow-off tube for an air lock. I have one more batch of smoked wheat to brew, but it is 0225 now, and I need to be up in three hours to take my wife to work (and then head to the mountains with my son for a day of fishing and other fun stuff), so I will brew the second batch tomorrow evening.

More to follow....

Alrighty - Batch #2 of BBS's Smoked wheat has been brewed and is in the fermenter. I am guessing that things are going well, and the 24-hour difference between Batch #1 and #2 won't matter much in three (or possibly four) weeks, which is when I'll bottle both batches.

Near as could tell, this second batch went off without a hitch. Temperature control during the mash seemed to be consistently within the 144- to 152-degree range required by BBS's instructions, and the rest of the steps to brewing all-grain, 1-gallon batches seemed to go well. As far as I can see, this brewing session went more smoothly than any previous one, and am expecting good things.

One anomaly to this brew: the yeast packet supplied by BBS had expired in August of 2014, but it had been kept in cool, dark, dry conditions, and I decided to take a chance on it. I "proofed" the yeast with a little bit of spring water and natural maple syrup (I chose maple syrup for proofing because the instructions also say to use it as a priming sugar when botttling), and the yeast took off like a champ - bubbling and multiplying, so I decided to give it a chance and pitch it for this batch, and we will see if it works.

The batch of Smoked Wheat that I brewed last night (with current yeast) is going like gangbusters, fermenting quite vigorously and going very well. I assume that this will also be the case with Batch #2 tomorrow night, but if not, I can toss in a packet of fresh yeast.

That's pretty much all I have for now, except for one question that someone might be able to offer an opinion on: should I bottle each batch of Smoked Wheat separately, or should I rack both batches (brewed 24 hours apart) into one large 2-gallon batch, and then bottle? Each choice seems to have its advantages; if I do them separate, I can compare characteristics between the two batches, and see if I can learn from any differences. On the other hand, if I rack them into one big batch and blend them together, then I will have one batch of beer with consistent, homogenised characteristics, so that I can enjoy a large batch of smoked wheat beer without obsessing over how it went and how it went wrong. Any thoughts on this question would be appreciated.

I've got to be up in 4 hours, so I'm out - more as it happens....

Ron

I have no idea why it took so long, but I finally got this batch bottled today.

The beer in the fermenter seemed great; none the worse for wear even after a longer-than-normal time fermenting. Being a "winter weizen," it was dark and a bit clearer than I expected for a wheat beer; but on the other hand, it looked exactly like the video above (without the carbonation, of course) and also just like my dad's did when he made his, so I am sure that all is fine.

After weighing my options, I chose to blend both separate batches together into one 2-gallon bucket for bottling, for the reasons I outlined above. Out of this 2-gallon batch, I got a total of 18 bottles, which of course is 9 bottles per gallon. Under ideal conditions where everything works out perfectly, a gallon will produce 10 bottles, so I can live with 9. Following the instructions, I used maple syrup as a priming sugar, adding just a bit over 2 tablespoons per gallon. There was probably half a bottle left over after bottling, which I sampled, of course. I found a lot of good flavours here - a nice balance of malty and bitter. There was even a hint of smoke and a note of earthy sweetness from the maple syrup.

@JINKS generously helped with some different labels; I asked The Beautiful Mrs. Tas to choose one of the label candidates, and this was her choice:



The beer will carbonate for 2 weeks at least, probably 3, and I will then pop it in the refrigerator for a week before sampling the finished product.

I am expecting some very good results with this.

I sampled my Smoked Wheat tonight from Brooklyn Brew Shop​, and found it to be my best brew yet; this is beer that I would pay money for!

This is an incredibly outstanding mix - I know that it is currently discontinued, but i hope to see it again someday!

I am set to brew two batches of this beer again; instead of the pre-made mixes (which are currently discontinued), I'll be making this "from scratch" using the recipe from Brooklyn Brew Shop's book, MAKE SOME BEER.

The yeast that I will be using is Mangrove Jack's M20 Bavarian Wheat yeast:

http://mangrovejacks.com/collections/craft-series-yeasts/products/bavarian-wheat-10g-coming-soon

Any feedback or comments from people who have experience with this yeast would be appreciated.

I've got a couple of general questions, for those who have experience using rauchmalz in beer.

1. This recipe calls for using 0.2 pounds of rauchmalz for a 1-gallon batch. When I made the pre-made mixes in the past, I found this to be a bit too subtle, in my opinion, but then again, with my lack of experience, it could have been just right. My question is, would I be "ruining" anything if I bumped that up to .25 pounds?

2. I am going to try adding rice hulls in order to see if this helps with the wheat proteins. If I recall correctly, 0.1 pounds of them should be added to the grains that go into the mash? If not, please let me know.

That should do it - I am hoping to brew this sometime over the coming weekend, but it will be soon in any case.

Thanks for any advice, and I'll post updates as they happen.

I've decided to go ahead with the Mangrove Jack's yeast (mentioned in above post) and will also bump up the rauchmalz a bit, to .25 pounds per gallon.

If anyone has opinions or suggestions regarding the rice hulls, I'd appreciate it. If they would be beneficial, I'll use them, but if not, I probably won't.

If I'm lucky, this will get done this coming weekend - next weekend at the latest.

Deleted - superseded by following post.

I'm brewing the first of two batches of this tonight, and it is coming out to be very wonderful.

Previously, when I made this same variety from a pre-packaged mix, it was good, but this, made "from scratch," is different. The grains and hops both seem better, maybe fresher, if that makes sense; plus, I was able to customise it a bit, as you will see below.

The mash, sparge and boil all went without incident; I kept the mash temperature around 148 or 150, I ran the sparge water through the grains a total of three times, and I kept the boil nice and slow. The pitching of the Bavarian yeast was as "normal" as it could be. The result is a brew that seems to have gone very well.

I bumped the rauchmalz up from 0.20 pounds (in the original recipe) to 0.33 pounds, and the Styrian Golding hops that I am using should be a wonderful match. All in all, I'm pretty excited to be trying this one again.

As always, I do have the recipe for this, and am happy to share it - just send a PM or an email. For those who are into stats, here are the ones for this brew, as plugged into the Brewers Friend app:

OG - 1.079
FG - 1.022

ABV - 5.89%
IBU - 13.88

SRM - 14.20

I don't know what all of those stats should add up to as far as "proper" beer goes, but the aroma I was getting throughout the boil and as the wort cooled in its ice bath was amazing, and I am thinking that I've got something really nice here. The beechwood smoke was there, like a seductive waft that you catch from a campfire now and then. The hops were mellow, and somehow add to the smoke in a way that really takes a person to somewhere outdoors. This combination is really working so far, as far as I can smell. Will the taste be as good? I'll find out, but first impressions are definitely encouraging.

I will brew an identical batch tomorrow, and in a month or so we will see if the effort was worth it.

I have not yet made my second, identical batch, due to LIFE, but hope to get it made today; in the meantime, I checked on the one that is currently fermenting, and we're looking good - really good, I think. Fermentation is very active, and it looks as though the Mangrove JAck's yeast is doing it's job in superior fashion.

More as it happens, etc. &c....

I was able to make my second batch last night, as planned; as far as I can tell, the entire process was identical to the brewing session from Monday night, June 13th. I am guessing that the two batches will taste the same, and am looking forward to them.

Bumping the rauchmalz up a bit was a good idea, in my opinion. This was really smelling nice during the mash, and the hops added something special as well, during the boil.

Monday night's batch is really looking nice - this beer is on the dark side of the spectrum, and has a really nice appearance. It is ready to be switched over from a blow-off tube to an air-lock, so I'll do that tonight when I get home from work. By then, the batch that I brewed last night should be fermenting along really well.

There's not much else to say at the moment, but I will post any significant developments as they happen.

I put both gallons in to cold-crash last night, three weeks after brewing. I'll bottle them tonight, so that they will be ready just in time to take with us on our trip later this month.

Indications are that I've got some good beer here. The ultimate test, of course, will be with the finished beer.

Bottling tonight went smoothly and without incident; I was able to get 18 bottles out of this double batch, the same as last time. I probably could have squeezed 1 more bottle out of the trub, but I was trying to keep the sediment to a minimum.

As it was, I had about a half-bottle left over for sampling, and it came out really well, I think. The smoked malt came through a little better than last time and the hops really balanced well with the malts. This recipe uses maple syrup as a priming sugar and I'm guessing that a little bit of residual flavour from that will be left behind after carbonation.

I am looking forward to seeing how this comes out - more later!

Ron

How did you do the double batch? Just brew 2 recipes together, make up your own 2G version of the recipe or ? Any issues doing that? I've take some of their recipes from the books and doubled them checking prices on ingredients and things but haven't made any doubled recipes yet.
Thanks

Hi, Tony - hope things are going well in your neck of the woods.

When I did this double batch (and the previous one, as well), I simply brewed two 1-gallon batches (about 2 nights apart) and then racked both into the same bottling bucket. Since everything was identical with each batch, and I allowed fermentation to continue for 3 weeks total, I saw no reason to keep the batches separate for comparison; my logic (?) was that combining the two would result in more consistent results, rather than having one batch slightly different from the other.

Of course, I could just brew 2-gallon batches, but then I'd need larger kettles for mash and sparge/lautering, a new, larger carboy (or two!) etc.., and my wife thinks that I spend too much as it is on brewing; aside from that, my "consumption rate" is such that 1 gallon at a time is usually just fine, so a double batch is very rare. However, If I did brew a double batch together, I wouldn't anticipate any issues, except perhaps a longer time reaching a boil.

I noticed that a couple of the dimples in the caps were bulging up a bit, so I put all 18 bottles in the refrigerator, even though we're a couple of days shy of the full two weeks of time that I usually allow for carbonation. This is a little weird, since I used only 2/3 of the priming sugar (maple syrup) that the recipe calls for.

The last time I made this, I used the same amount of the same brand of syrup, but it's no big deal. I have found that for over-carbed beers, about 15 minutes in the freezer before opening will keep them from gushing when opened, except in the most extreme cases.

We'll see how things turn out ~ looking forward to it!

Alright, I'm keeping this short, but I will say that this second batch was a very good success. This beer is very "young" right now; in fact, it's 2 days shy of a full two-weeks from being bottled. Nevertheless, I was worried about the two bulging caps, so I put it all in the refrigerator this morning before trying one tonight. Whatever the reason they were bulging, it must not have been too serious, because in all ways, this beer came out quite nicely.

Keep in mind that for this second batch, I bumped the smoked malt up from 1/10th of a pound per gallon to 3/10s, as an experiment. It smelled great while I was brewing it, but I wasn't sure how the finished product would be. I'm happy to report that this turned out very well.

My concerns in my post above about over-carbonation seem to have been un-founded. I stuck one of the "bulging-capped" bottles in the freezer for about 15 minutes, then opened and poured it. It seemed just fine, with no issues at all.

It tasted great, too - the rauchmalz came through nicely, as did the wheat. It poured a nice head of foam that lingered well and even left some lacing. Aroma was just smoky enough to be noticeable, but not so much that it was over-powering. On the whole, very nice, and I do recommend this beer.

I tried another one tonight, and can't find a flaw with it. I like the extra rauchmalz that I added, and might bump it up even jut a little more next time, but this is not because of any deficiency in the beer itself - just pure personal preference.

Everything turned out very well with this, and it just keeps getting better over time. There is just enough of a hint of campfire in there to make it a really nice summer or autumn evening beer - we've been enjoying it as we sit on the porch watching thunderstorms roll across the prairies of Montana. It remains a sentimental favourite that will be brewed often in the future. Brooklyn Brew Shop describes it as a winter beer, and I can easily see it being most appropriate for that, as well.

I'll try another one in a week or two, but I expect it to keep being at least as good as it is now...until it's gone.

I drank the last of this batch of Smoked Wheat two nights ago -

My refrigerator was just slightly too cold, so the beer was a bit slushy; consequently, the clarity and head were affected. However it smelled great and tasted as good as ever. I am convinced that the use of the Bavarian yeast was a good choice, as it seemed - in my mind - to compliment the darker malts and hops as well as the wheat.

I did have enough time to snap this poor-quality photo:



As I said, it was half-frozen; otherwise, the beer would be a LOT clearer, and the head would have been much better, I am sure.

This remains one of my favourites. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the various rauchbiers that are out there. The combination of rauchmalz and wheat is definitely a good one.