2 new recipes for the weekend...

[DarinB]

First up is a weizen - this is a new style for me - never brewed a wheat beer before.

The recipe is below - I have 1 question...light LME, or wheat LME? I'm not sure what the pros / cons would be of either.

recipe: 5 gallons

1 lbs. Wheat Malt
.5 lbs. Flaked Wheat
6 lbs. Liquid Light Extract
1 oz. Hallertau pellets boiled 45 min
.5 oz. Saaz pellets boiled 5 min
Yeast : WYeast 3333 German Wheat
.5 oz. crushed coriander added to secondary (still debating this)...

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Second up - amber hybrid (California Common)

My basement stays right around 65/66 degrees this time of year, so I *think* I should be ok pitching California Lager yeast. Anyone use this, and if so, any thoughts, suggestions, etc?


recipe: 5 gallons

1 lbs. Crystal Malt 20°L
.5 lbs. American Caramel 20°L
6 lbs. Liquid Light Extract
1 oz. Northern Brewer pellets boiled 60 min
1 oz. Northern Brewer pellets boiled 15 min
1 oz. Cascade pellets boiled 1 min
Yeast : Wyeast 2112 California Lager

 

[derogg]

Are you trying to make a traditional Bavarian hefeweizen beer? If so, keep it simple with about half wheat and half light malt extract , noble hops for 60 minutes to get about 10-14 IBU ( Hallertauer is fine) and pitch your WYeast 3333 German Wheat. If you are trying some type of hybrid wheat style, then your recipe looks fine. I would still add wheat malt extract, I think that it usually is made from a combination of wheat and barley anyway. I hope that helps. - Dirk

 

[DarinB]

Going more for something simple that tastes good ;o)

That said, I adjusted slightly:

1 lbs. Midwest Wheat Malt steeped from cold to 170 deg. or so

6 lbs. Wheat LME

1 oz. Hallertau boiled 45 min

.5 oz. Saaz boiled 5 min

Yeast : WYeast 3333 (German Wheat), or 3942 (Belgian Wheat)

 

[DeathBrewer]

yeah, i would use very little (if any) light LME. Wheat DME is generally made from about 50/50 or 60/40 Wheat and Barley anyway.

I've used the saaz at the end of a couple of my hefeweizens...it turns out very tasty looks like a good recipe.

Your california common looks like a good recipe...try to keep the temp as low as you can, but 65 should be fine to give it the right flavour. You may get a strong sulfur taste at first, but let it sit in the bottles for six weeks and it'll fade

 

[derogg]

I don't know if steeping wheat malt is going to add anything to your mix? I may be wrong, but i think it is a waste. Save the steeping for the steam beer, to add some color,body and flavor.

For the wheat I would keep it simple with wheat extract,hops and yeast. I think if you look around you will find the best wheat beer (Bavarian hefeweizen at least) are very simple recipes. Belgian wheat are a whole different animal. Good luck !! - Dirk

 

[DeathBrewer]

i think the wheat is worth a shot...it's wheat malt able to convert itself? in any case, it would be fun experiment. for my recent dunkel weizen i did a small partial mash along with the extract...so far i think it's going to turn out great!

 

[derogg]

I guess you could use the wheat to do a partial mash, but just to steep it in some hot water.......seems like a waste. Anyway it is your brew and that is the beauty of it. Make it how you want and to hell with the rest!!!! Let us know how the final product taste. - Dirk PS wheat malt is a base malt having enough enzymes to convert itself.

 

[DarinB]

Ok... the idea of doing a partial mash (that I don't exactly get how to do yet) vs. steeping (which I do with every batch) is intriguing as hell.

I was hoping to avoid embarrassing myself for at least a few weeks, but now that we've arrived here, there's no time like the present :rockin:

I can figure out how to get the water to a specific temperature, add the grain, and maintain that temp for a specific amount of time (I of course don't know what temperature, or for how long...). After that, I'm pretty well lost. Considering I have a stainless steel brew kettle, a spoon, several bags I use to steep grains/hops, and a spoon - how do I sparge (I'm assuming I'd need to do that - here's where the rampant ignorance kicks in... ;o) )

Ok - time to let the nube have it...

 

[derogg]

The best best is to do a search on partial mash or PM.
Basically you steep at a certain temp to obtain sugars, and the sparge is rinsing the sugar off the grains into your pot. You make up the balance with malt exxtract to get your O.G.
It is not difficult, but it requires more time and prep then just boiling some malt extract.
Like I said the best bet is to search around.......there is a ton of info out there that is written much better than I could ever do.

I would stick to your extract recipe for now. There is nothing wrong with brewing extract, I have won some ribbons with extract beers. When you are ready you can grab one of those beers and read all about partial and full mash brewing!