Boulevard Wheat Clone

[flip143]

Does anyone have a clone for Boulevard Wheat? AG if possible, but will take any method.

 

[StudentBrewer]

I second the request. My roomate has been looking for an extract clone for this beer for quite a while.

 

[Dude]

Can't help oyu guys out right now (at work) but if you search the homebrew recipe sites, just go for a generic "american wheat" recipe and it will get you darn close. Make sure to use the american wheat yeast strain, which will cut down on the banany phenols and make it a cleaner flavor.

I'm pretty familiar with Boulevard wheat and it is as american as it gets.

When I get home I'll search the Boulevard site to see fi they give any clues. It will be easy to formulate a recipe pretty close if they give a little info about it.

 

[subwyking]

Can't help oyu guys out right now (at work) but if you search the homebrew recipe sites, just go for a generic "american wheat" recipe and it will get you darn close. Make sure to use the american wheat yeast strain, which will cut down on the banany phenols and make it a cleaner flavor.

I'm pretty familiar with Boulevard wheat and it is as american as it gets.

When I get home I'll search the Boulevard site to see fi they give any clues. It will be easy to formulate a recipe pretty close if they give a little info about it.

I LOVE BOULEVARD! my fav is a toss up between the wheat, and the irish ale. looked on their website and here is your hint.

Malts:
Pale Malt
Unmalted Soft Red Winter Wheat

Hops:
Magnum
Simcoe
13 IBUs

Starting Gravity:
11.3 degrees Plato

 

[Dude]

Using those specs/ingredients (and a little extra research), here is what I came up with.

Note: I read an article in BYO from the head brewer at Boulevard who said they use unmalted wheat--but he doesn't recommend that homebrewers do that. He said any soft malted wheat would work. He also suggests using the chico strain. Phooey, I say. That WLP320 is awesome.

Boulevard Wheat cloner

A ProMash Recipe Report
Recipe Specifics
----------------
Batch Size (Gal): 5.5 Wort Size (Gal): 5.5
Total Grain (Lbs): 9.50
Anticipated OG: 1.048 Plato: 11.82
Anticipated SRM: 3.7
Anticipated IBU: 13.9
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.50 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
3.00 lbs. Soft White Wheat Malt America 1.040 3

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.25 oz. Magnum Whole 14.00 11.4 60 min.
0.25 oz. Magnum Whole 14.00 2.3 5 min.
0.25 oz. Simcoe Whole 14.00 2.3 5 min.

Yeast
-----
White Labs WLP320 American Hefeweizen Ale



For extract brewers, sub in 4.0 lbs. light DME, 1.5 lbs wheat LME/DME, and steep 1 lb. flaked wheat with some DME at 150°ish for about 15-30 mins.

 

[subwyking]

looks good. i came up with my own Irish Ale clone recipe. I'll post it later. I gots to go to work now

 

[flip143]

Finally. Thanks. I have been searching for that for a month.

 

[croid]

Okay I'm sure this is a stupid question but in looking at this for an extract,

"For extract brewers, sub in 4.0 lbs. light DME, 1.5 lbs wheat LME/DME, and steep 1 lb. flaked wheat with some DME at 150°ish for about 15-30 mins."

I get the steeping, but what does "some DME" mean? Do you just steep a little bit (.5 lb??) of the wheat DME in with the flaked wheat?

Thanks for any help, I wanted to try this for my next batch, but wanted to make sure I understood it first!

 

[ISUBrew79]

How do you think this recipe looks?

Boulevard Wheat Clone
6-D American Wheat or Rye Beer

Size: 5.5 gal
Efficiency: 70.0%
Attenuation: 80.0%
Calories: 149.26 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.045 (1.040 - 1.055)
Terminal Gravity: 1.009 (1.008 - 1.013)
Color: 3.73 (3.0 - 6.0)
Alcohol: 4.74% (4.0% - 5.5%)
Bitterness: 15.6 (15.0 - 30.0)

Ingredients:
2.0 tsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer - added during mash
5.0 lb Standard 2-Row
5.0 lb Red Wheat Malt
0.25 oz Magnum (13.6%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
2.2 g Wyeast Nutrient - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
0.5 oz Simcoe (11.9%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
1.0 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

Mash at 154F for 60 minutes

 

[Dude]

ISUBrew79, why would you put whirlfloc in a wheat beer?

Bully Wheat isn't filtered.

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

This is the wheat beer I brew in the summer, although it is pretty good year round. I wasn't trying for a Boulevard Wheat clone, but it comes pretty darn close IMHO.

I've also done this recipe with Cluster hops, which wasn't bad. But if you are going for the Boulevard clone, use stay with the Pearle and Spalter or substitute something you feel better suited.

Baldy Beer Brewery American Wheat
American Wheat


Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.50 gal
Boil Time: 60 min

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
5 lbs Wheat Malt, Pale (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 46.5 %
4 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 41.9 %
1 lbs 4.0 oz Wheat - Soft Red, Flaked (Briess) (1.6 SRM) Grain 11.6 %
0.50 oz Pearle [8.00%] (60 min) Hops 14.3 IBU
0.50 oz Spalter [4.50%] (15 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale




Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out Total Grain Weight: 10.75 lb
Sparge Water: 4.43 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 13.44 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F 60 min

 

[ISUBrew79]

ISUBrew79, why would you put whirlfloc in a wheat beer?

Bully Wheat isn't filtered.

Oh, I just forgot to delete the Whirlfloc from the ingredient list. I quickly copied and pasted from another recipe in BeerTools Pro and forgot to take it out.

 

[BadgerHound]

Has anyone tried the extract version that Dude put together? I am interested in trying it this weekend and I was curious how it turned out.

 

[BadgerHound]

Just brewed the extract version. I make a few changes:

4Lbs Light DME
2Lbs Wheat DME (The LHBS sells them in 1Lb amounts)

I also used WYeast American Wheat Ale 1010 smack pack. Pitched at 75 degrees and I plan on fermenting in the mid 60's.

OG: 1.051

 

[theschick]

Glad to see Boulevard is so popular! I live in the KC metro area where they are located. Great establishment and fun to tour.

 

[BadgerHound]

I'm originally from Missouri and miss having Boulevard on tap everywhere. Hopefully this brew turns out well and I can get my fix.

 

[BadgerHound]

Primary for 2.5 weeks

Final gravity 1.010

Krausen took a while to fall.

 

[pstohs]

Glad to see Boulevard is so popular! I live in the KC metro area where they are located. Great establishment and fun to tour.

I'm from Olathe too and am looking forward to being able to brew this instead of driving it back from KC

 

[Wiking44]

I know this is an old thread but here is what I gathered from the lead brewer of Boulevard. I referenced the hops they had listed on their site - Bravo, Palisade, Simcoe, and Summit:

"All of the hops on the list you have are for bittering. Our wheat beer does not have any aroma additions and really since you will not be getting much aroma or flavor out of your bittering hops you can use whatever hops you want to. The hops we use in our wheat beer changes every year depending on what is available.

I can’t really say much about the yeast but I think the California Ale yeast that you have will work fine. Also you might try an English Ale yeast.

We use approx. 60% Pale malt, 19% unmalted wheat, and 21% malted wheat in our malt bill. If the color doesn’t come out right then you can add a little bit of color malt as needed."

So there's the grain bill, hop info, and a clue on the yeast to use.

Hope this helps you guys...I have a batch fermenting based on Dude's recipe and am going to re-calculate based on this information and try again in a few weeks.

Cheers!

 

[BadgerHound]

Let us know how your recalculated version comes out.

 

[mpf82]

I'm hanging on to a bottle of Boulevard Wheat for when I make this to try to culture some yeast from it.
Since they bottle condition their beer, anybody know if they use a secondary yeast strain?

 

[Wiking44]

Good question.

As an update to what I wrote above he did indicate to me in his last e-mail that I should use an American Wheat yeast.

But in the previous e-mail (posted) he said the California Ale or British Ale should work fine.

Sounds to me like he's suggesting pitching both American Wheat and another Ale. The reason I say that is because in his original response when I said I was using California Ale perhaps he thought I was talking about a secondary yeast...because it would seem natural to use American Wheat yeast in an American Wheat beer right?

I hesitate to contact him more because he already said he couldn't say much about the yeast...yet gave me some clues. My next batch I'm going to try pitching American Wheat and British Ale.

 

[camus]

"All of the hops on the list you have are for bittering. Our wheat beer does not have any aroma additions and really since you will not be getting much aroma or flavor out of your bittering hops you can use whatever hops you want to. The hops we use in our wheat beer changes every year depending on what is available.

I can’t really say much about the yeast but I think the California Ale yeast that you have will work fine. Also you might try an English Ale yeast.

We use approx. 60% Pale malt, 19% unmalted wheat, and 21% malted wheat in our malt bill. If the color doesn’t come out right then you can add a little bit of color malt as needed."

Thanks for the tips. I adjusted to get ~60% Pale 20 and 20, scaled the recipe to the gravity posted on their site and an ABV of 4.6, closer to that of the actual.

Still questioning myself on the choice of yeast though, I plan on using WLP002, thought about using WLP001. I definitely won't use an "American Wheat" yeast, I think what separates Boulevard from the pack is it does not have a hint of hefe to it.

I dig their beers, they are my go to's.

 

[Wiking44]

They are being evasive about the yeast. I think it's an American Wheat combined with another variety.

I got another e-mail from another Brewer at Boulevard who told me that they fermented at 65 degrees and let the temps rise towards end of fermentation. Again...didn't give me details on yeast but said:

"We keep the IBU around 13 and use a variety of different hops to keep the flavor and bitterness levels consistent between different crop years. You could use all four varieties that we use but you should be ok with two. Maybe Simcoe and Magnum and get 50% of the IBU from each."

I still haven't brewed my second batch. I will tell you that I don't think California Ale is the right answer.

 

[camus]

I brewed this last night:

Extract / Specialty

3 lbs Golden Light
.5 lbs Extra Light
1 lb Wheat
1 lb Flaked Wheat

I steeped the flaked wheat in about 1 lb of dme at 150-155 for 30 minutes.

Hops

.5 oz of a ~50-50 mixture of cascade and palisades pellets @ 60 min.

I used the palisades because they have that listed on their site and cascade because I had it on hand. I got about 13 IBU, so I am close.

Target OG was 1.044, I got 1.042.

I went with WLP002, just thought I would give it a shot. We will see how much attenuation I get out of it. I pitched a 2 pint starter.

Color looks good, looked better than it does in the pic.

 

[Wiking44]

Let me know how this works. I'm brewing my version today:

Partial Mash

2.5 lb Wheat DME
2.5 lb Pale Malt (2 Row)
1.25 lb Unmalted Wheat

.10 ounce Bravo
.15 ounce Magnum

I've had more contact with another brewer there and he also suggested American Wheat as the yeast. He suggested going 50/50 with Magnum and Simcoe for bittering.

Also...he told me that they use a different yeast in their bottling process than they do in brewing. He said it's because their house yeast flocculates too much in the bottle. So there's another clue...and a tip to NOT waste time harvesting.

 

[blackcows]

I've had more contact with another brewer there and he also suggested American Wheat as the yeast. He suggested going 50/50 with Magnum and Simcoe for bittering.

Do you think there would be a problem with just using the Magnum hops? I usually brew kits but haven't found a wheat kit that is mellow enough for me (my go to beer is an IPA but I like a mellow wheat) so I don't have any hops on hand....it would be most simple to just buy one variety.

 

[blackcows]

I brewed this last night:

Extract / Specialty

3 lbs Golden Light
.5 lbs Extra Light
1 lb Wheat
1 lb Flaked Wheat

I steeped the flaked wheat in about 1 lb of dme at 150-155 for 30 minutes.

Hops

.5 oz of a ~50-50 mixture of cascade and palisades pellets @ 60 min.

I used the palisades because they have that listed on their site and cascade because I had it on hand. I got about 13 IBU, so I am close.

Target OG was 1.044, I got 1.042.

I went with WLP002, just thought I would give it a shot. We will see how much attenuation I get out of it. I pitched a 2 pint starter.

Color looks good, looked better than it does in the pic.

Trying to put something togeather similar to yours, never made a recipie just brewed lots of kits. What do you think of the recipie below? I use an extra .5 pounds of the extra light because you can't buy a half pound.

Why don't you like the american wheat yeast? If you don't use that then you won't get the cloudy apperance correct?

Do you think the flaked wheat is important? I guess I am not dead set on a Boulevard clone, I just want a good easy drinking american wheat beer. I tried a NB Wheat kit and it was much too bitter for my liking.


Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 50.00 %
1.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 16.67 %
1.00 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 16.67 %
1.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 16.67 %
0.25 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 13.3 IBU
1 Pkgs American Wheat Ale (Wyeast Labs #1010) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.045 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.010 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.47 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 13.3 IBU Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 5.8 SRM Color: Color

 

[camus]

Trying to put something togeather similar to yours, never made a recipie just brewed lots of kits. What do you think of the recipie below? I use an extra .5 pounds of the extra light because you can't buy a half pound.

To be honest, this is only the second of my own recipes I have made so bear that in mind.

The extra .5 lbs of extra light will just give a slightly stronger beer, no worries. You could go with all Light if you wanted, I used Extra Light because I have a bunch.

Why don't you like the american wheat yeast? If you don't use that then you won't get the cloudy apperance correct?

Do you think the flaked wheat is important?

On the yeast, didn't say I don't like it, just thought I would try something else, IMO, Boulevard just doesn't have the taste you get american wheat yeast, something less 'hefe' about it, hard describe.

On the flaked wheat, no not that important, especially since I just steeped it, so all I got out of it was bit of haze (cloudy appearance) and body.

I guess I am not dead set on a Boulevard clone, I just want a good easy drinking american wheat beer. I tried a NB Wheat kit and it was much too bitter for my liking.

I hear ya, I like my wheat to be a nice clean tasting with a bit of sweetness.

I think you are on the right track, and keep it simple if you like, go with a single hop, maybe next try two and taste the effects.

 

[remilard]

If you guys want to clone Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat, their ale yeast is distinctive and is the bottle conditioning strain so grow it up.

Anyone around KC may want to know that in association with the Kansas City Bier Meisters Competition later this month we are sponsoring a private tour of Boulevard, led by a brewer. Great opportunity to ask questions.

www.kcbmcomp.com has more info.