Briess "Bavarian Wheat" Liquid Malt Extract

[TasunkaWitko]

I've never used extracts for brewing, so please bear with the rudimentary questions.

If I read the statistics correctly on this, it is 65% wheat, 35% base malt; based on this, could a hefeweizen be brewed exclusively with this extract? I assume so, because the rations look to be good, but figured I would check.

If so, how much of this LME would be recommended for a 1-fgallon batch? I will play around with it on my Brewer's Friend app, but am unfamiliar with working with extracts, so I figure that it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion so that I know I am on the right tract.

Should I split the extract into early and late additions during the boil? I have read about this, but am not sure if it is necessary when dealing with 1-gallon batches.

Is there any other information I should know about brewing with this vs. all-grain brewing, which is what I have done up until now?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice -

Ron

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I did some looking around and found this:

http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_CBWBavarianWheatLME.pdf

It looks like it should have some great information on it, so I should be able to figure out an amount for a 1-gallon batch; however, if anyone else ahs any information to add, I'd be grateful.

Ron

 

[user 227424]

Briess Bavarian Wheat is all I've ever used to make all my Hefeweizens, a couple dozen 5gal batches so far, and one in primary right now. A very appropriate choice. Though since the style is mostly about the yeast I would expect a weizen made with Pilsen or another light extract to be fine too? 6 or 7 Lbs/gal seems most common.

Brewers Friend is super handy with stats on Weizen ingredients/options: https://www.brewersfriend.com/styles/weizen-weissbier/ Looks like for grain a pilsner/wheat mix is most common.

For yeast I started with WB-06 but mostly use 3068 now, 3638 and 3056 are good too.

 

[Trackdog]

As far as splitting it goes, I do 1/2 at the beginning and the second 1/2 at 15 min. It has been working well for me.

 

[RM-MN]

Briess Bavarian Wheat is all I've ever used to make all my Hefeweizens, a couple dozen 5gal batches so far, and one in primary right now. A very appropriate choice. Though since the style is mostly about the yeast I would expect a weizen made with Pilsen or another light extract to be fine too? 6 or 7 Lbs/gal seems most common.

Brewers Friend is super handy with stats on Weizen ingredients/options: https://www.brewersfriend.com/styles/weizen-weissbier/ Looks like for grain a pilsner/wheat mix is most common.

For yeast I started with WB-06 but mostly use 3068 now, 3638 and 3056 are good too.

Weizen is wheat in German so to make a hefeweizen you need to use wheat malt. Using Pilsen or another light colored malt makes blonde ale or a lager. Also, hefe means yeast so a hefeweizen is drunk with the yeast suspended. When first bottled using the correct yeast the beer will be cloudy but with time that yeast will settle out so if you want your beer "mit hefe" you have to stir up the yeast, usually by laying the bottle on its side and rolling it.

 

[Lefou]

The usage information on the .PDF states for a specific gravity of 1.050 you should mix 1.36lb of extract in one gallon of water. From my experience using Briess LME, the small canisters yield about 3.3lb of extract.
.36lb = 5.8oz
Have scale, will travel...so according my estimates about 1lb 4oz should yield a 1.045 wort when mixed in one gallon of water.
Cheers, grab the hydrometer and double-check to be sure.

 

[Lefou]

One good bit of advice, though.
Mix the LME and water really well because it will tend to settle a bit. It's not really an issue during fermentation but if you're doing a cool ferment and mix sugar in to bottle there's a chance for uneven carbing, which can be a pain.
My last partial mash that had LME had some moderately carbed bottles, a few somewhat flat ones, and quite a few over-carbed bottles. One bottle shattered, so I put the remainder in a cooler place. The beer was a 1.066 Amber Maibock that was done with sugar in a bottling bucket.
Since then, I've gone to sugar cubes put directly in the bottle.

 

[Lefou]

Just checked the Brewers Friend calculator.
You should have enough extract to do two one gallon brews. A 1.045 Hefeweizen and the leftover should be enough for a Helles bock, just add two ounces of Victory for color and you're good to go.
Have fun.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Outstanding - thank you!

 

[Miraculix]

Thanks for the idea, I might also give it a try one day. Sounds fairly simple to me.

 

[dmtaylor]

FYI -- I made a hefeweizen with LME once. It turned out a deep copper color, not yellow. But it tasted perfect.

Yes, you can use it for 100% of the fermentables, it's designed for that. However I personally would opt for DME over LME, reason being the inherent darkness thing. If your LME is super fresh, maybe this won't be a problem. But after any months of aging, it will darken the LME but not the DME.

A good recipe looks like 1.25 lb LME, 0.25 oz noble hops. Pretty much the simplest beer recipe in the universe.

Yeast selection, pitch rate, and fermentation temperatures may be most critical. And I myself haven't figured these things out yet, but I do have experiments planned for the next month or two. My theory is to underpitch on purpose, and ferment cool around 62-64 F. I will try multiple yeast strains in a split batch. However my experiments will involve all-grain brewing, not extract.

 

[Miraculix]

Thanks for your input. I do not care so much about the colour. As long as it tastes fine I will be OK with it

I will choose the version that will be available at that time. In the UK not all of the lme are always easy to get...