Anyone brewing all wheat beer?

[Electric Brewer]

I read a lot about brewing with wheat. I came up with a recipe.

7# German pale wheat malt
6# flaked wheat
Rested at 104, 124
Mashed at 154 for 2 hours

OG was 1.052
FG 1.014

The beer taste mighty fine and the dry hopping really elevated the taste. The color is also pale just like how I like them.

Someone suggested to put a few pounds of pilsner malt, which I intend to do this weekend. I also read that 6 row could provide a bit more enzymes.

I would like to hear opinions on all wheat beer, experiences etc...

Here's the batch no5, all wheat with saaz and hallertau dry hops.

 

[Novims]

No experience whatsoever with all wheat beer, although it looks good. Wheat malt should be able to convert itself and a bit of flaked grain AND you mashed for 2 hours. It might be overkill, but you gave it plenty of time to convert.
But I had to mention the glass you're using: Dieu du ciel! is one of the best!

 

[day_trippr]

Base wheat malt actually has a prodigious amount of mashing enzymes - typical up around 120 as high as 160 Lintner - and thus can convert a lot of unmalted adjuncts.
I am curious what type of mash tun was used and if the OP used any lautering aids in it, as that grain bill looks particularly gooey
I'd use at least a pound of rice hulls and not do anything overt wrt recirculation lest the bed plug itself hard...

Cheers!

 

[Spikybits]

Quite fond of White IPA. Have had good competition success in this category too.

last one I made was Sabro Citra - blew a 3 gallon keg in just under an hour at Halloween:

BIAB
mash 148 degrees - 1hr
34.8% Pilsner
34.8% White Wheat
30.4% Flaked Wheat
1oz whole cone Cascade mash hop
1oz pellet FW hops
1oz pellet Sabro whirlpool
14g pellet Citra whirlpool
Sigmund Voss Kveik and WLP670 (SaccTois) primary
Ferment 14-21 days at 12 PSI <- I dont temp control - 50-80s depending on garage ambient

spicy and really great citrus fruits

the longer it ferments, it will drop near clear due to the SaccTois, and take on a saison like dryness.

 

[Electric Brewer]

I am curious what type of mash tun was used and if the OP used any lautering aids in it, as that grain bill looks particularly gooey
I'd use at least a pound of rice hulls and not do anything overt wrt recirculation lest the bed plug itself hard...

Cheers!

I use an Anvil 10.5 gallon electric kettle with the grain basket, no bag. I milled too fine and had stuck recirculation so I had to paddle the bottom a few times. I'll definitely milled coarser next time. Used one pound rice hulls.

 

[day_trippr]

Thanks for the confirmation on both counts
All-wheat beers are going to be challenging, no doubt about it. I wonder if given you have a grain basket something like a Wilserbag as a liner wouldn't help wrt unsticking the mash if it happens...

Cheers!

 

[Electric Brewer]

Ferment 14-21 days at 12 PSI

Wow thanks for the recipe.

What does the pressure fermentation beings to the beer? What do you use? Something like the SS brewtech conicals?

 

[Spikybits]

Wow thanks for the recipe.

What does the pressure fermentation beings to the beer? What do you use? Something like the SS brewtech conicals?

I actually converted all of my 5g ball locks to fermentors. I bent the dip tube about 1" off the bottom of the keg and use a SS braided line as a filter pinched off over the dip tube. Spunding valves relieve pressure.

I serve straight from these. Burst carb 30 PSI for 24 hours at serving temp and then kick it down to serving pressure. 1st 2 pints or so will be hazy and have some scooby snacks (yeast), but then pours generally pretty clear.

no soapy/lipid taste as long as you handle your yeast and know your temp. 0 beers have had an issue with diacetyl.

The PSI - there is a belief that increased head pressure to a certain PSI will offset the phenols and flaws that are associated with an off temp fermentation - this works 1000% in the practice that I use. The caveat being you still cannot subject WLP001 or english yeast ect except for Kveik to the high 80s without some issues.

 

[IslandLizard]

I milled too fine and had stuck recirculation

What is "too fine?"
Wheat malt are small, hard kernels, they need a good crush at a "proper" mill-gap for their size to allow thorough hydration so the enzymes can get to work. I use a 0.025" gap for wheat malt, that's a tad narrower than a regular credit card (~0.034").

As mentioned before, your recipe doesn't contain anything that provides husk material that helps keeping your mash permeable, that's why it plugs up. As @day_trippr said, you need to add rice hulls to make up for that lack. A pound of rice hulls sounds like a good start, you may need even more. [Edit, you do use a pound of rice hulls, per #5]

There's no need for adding barley malts (e.g., Pilsner, 2-row ale malt) if you don't want to and stay strictly with 100% wheat. It's the gooeyness of the mash you need to deal with.

Before the sacch rest (~146-160F), performing a protein rest at 121F or better, a combined protein/beta-glucanase rest at 131F for 10-15' may help reduce the stickiness, as does good and thorough stirring, and often.

 

[day_trippr]

I actually noted the OP covered both beta-G and protein rests (look close, it's there) - and good on him/her for that.
May well have saved the batch from a complete "Failure To Lauter"

Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

I actually noted the OP covered both beta-G and protein rests (look close, it's there) - and good on him/her for that.
May well have saved the batch from a complete "Failure To Lauter"

Ah, I now remember reading it before:

Rested at 104, 124

Just by adding the pound of rice hulls, leaving everything else alone, brewing this recipe will be much easier to handle.

 

[day_trippr]

The OP used a pound of hulls (post #5).
So, another? Or a Wilserbag instead?

Cheers! (no, I'm not on commission. For anything anywhere, I'm pretty sure )

 

[grampamark]

FWIW, I mash in a bag in an Igloo cooler. I have no problem with vorlauf or lauter, without rice hulls, with grain bills of 50-60% wheat. I’ve never tried a 100% wheat recipe; I think I’d add a pound of rice hulls for that.

 

[poupou]

Disclaimer: Until recently I was doing BIAB so I was not very concerned about using wheat. Honestly it's still harder to brew with wheat even with BIAB as it gets gluey & sticky. However it works and allows you try things you won't see often in commercial (small or large) breweries. I will go back to BIAB if/when I brew more all wheat beers.


Two years ago I brewed a "Wheat IPA" that was 96% Wheat (with 4% Biscuit Malt). It turned up pretty good and I became interested in doing other 100% "non-traditional" wheat beers.

In the last year I did:

1. a "Wheat Wine"

That was a disaster I scorched and the beer, while looking good, tasted of burn. I keep it for months hoping that burnt taste would eventually fade... and I eventually dumped it . I suspect I'll try it again someday...

2. a "100% Wheat IPA"

Closer to the original it was made with 90% Wheat Malt (Pale) and 10% CaraWheat. It ended up quite clear (more than the photo suggest) using US-05 and fined with gelatine. It was a very agreeable beer to drink. Close, without being identical, to the other West Coast IPA.

3. a "Stout Weizen"

56% Dark Wheat Malt, 15% CaraWheat, 14% Flaked Wheat, 8% Wheat Malt (Pale) and 7% Chocolate Wheat. I used US-05 and gelatine again but the colour remained muddy, looking more like a brown ale. It was an interesting/good beer but not better than any other stout (or porter/brown) I made. Considering it's a bit harder to brew "all wheat" I'm not sure I'll repeat this one.

 

[Novims]

I've never brewed with Carawheat. Is it what gives a darker shade to your IPA?

 

[poupou]

I've never brewed with Carawheat. Is it what gives a darker shade to your IPA?

Yes. You don't have a lot of option for caramel/crystal wheat malt - but you can adjust the amount of CaraWheat to get the taste/colour you're looking for.