Cinnamon Apple Wheat?

[andruss15]

Hey everyone, I was thinking of experimenting with a wheat beer and adding flavors of cinnamon and apple for the fall. I can currently only do extract brewing so I was hoping you could give me feedback on my recipe. (This would be my first recipe I constructed on my own)

Fermentables:
4.4lbs Wheat LME
3.3lbs Munich LME
1lb Light Candy Sugar

Steeping grains:
8oz Flaked Wheat
6oz Caramel Crystal 10L
6oz CaraRed

Hops:
1oz Northern Brewer (60 mins)
0.5oz Willamette (10 mins)
0.5oz Willamette (1 min)
0.5oz Saaz (1 min)

Yeast:
Wyeast Bealgian Wheat 3942

Other ingredients:
Whirlfloc tab
1 tsp cinnamon in boil (5 mins)
1 tsp nutmeg in boil (5 mins)
3.5 pounds fresh apple added to fermenter after fermentation complete
1 cinnamon stick added to fermenter after fermentation complete

Target OG: 1.061
Target FG: 1.016

Thoughts appreciated! Thanks!

 

[andruss15]

Alright, let's try this again!

Hey everyone, I was thinking of experimenting with a wheat beer and adding flavors of cinnamon and apple for the fall. I can currently only do extract brewing so I was hoping you could give me feedback on my recipe. (This would be my first recipe I constructed on my own)

Fermentables:
4.4lbs Wheat LME
3.3lbs Munich LME
1lb Light Candy Sugar

Steeping grains:
8oz Flaked Wheat
6oz Caramel Crystal 10L
6oz CaraRed

Hops:
1oz Northern Brewer (60 mins)
0.5oz Willamette (10 mins)
0.5oz Willamette (1 min)
0.5oz Saaz (1 min)

Yeast:
Wyeast Belgian Wheat 3942

Other ingredients:
Whirlfloc tab
1 tsp cinnamon in boil (5 mins)
1 tsp nutmeg in boil (5 mins)
3.5 pounds fresh apple added to fermenter after fermentation complete
1 cinnamon stick added to fermenter after fermentation complete

Target OG: 1.061
Target FG: 1.016

Thoughts appreciated! Thanks!

 

[shanecb]

I think this looks interesting, and pretty tasty! You might have better results using apple juice, but I'm not sure. I never used apples "dry" in a secondary. Someone else can probably chime in on that.

 

[andruss15]

Thanks for the input! I was wondering about apple juice vs. fresh, you think the juice is the way to go? Happen to have an idea of how much or what kind?

 

[andruss15]

anybody?

 

[ryan810cows]

I'm an extract brewer and haven't ever made my own recipe... That being said.. LOOK YUMMY!! How did you come up with this and the amounts?

 

[shanecb]

Thanks for the input! I was wondering about apple juice vs. fresh, you think the juice is the way to go? Happen to have an idea of how much or what kind?

I think it would be easier to use juice/concentrate (like frozen) instead of actual apples. The apple flavor is more concentrated than just regular apples, usually, so might help give a more distinct apple flavor. A plus is that juice is already pasteurized so I'd worry less about accidentally adding any wild yeast or bacteria (make sure you do use pasteurized).

If you do go that route, it will definitely ferment out some. So I'd check the gravity after adding it then again a couple of times before bottling to make sure it isn't still fermenting out the apple juice.

Apple flavoring you can buy at the homebrew shop might be ok, but I've never used it and never heard if it was good or not.

Hopefully someone else chimes in if you could just use apples. It might be fine! Juice/concentrate/or flavoring is just how I would personally do it.

 

[andruss15]

ryan810cows - Thanks! So for the LME base - I used a base for a wheat ale recipe from my local home brew shop. I used it before for a different recipe and gave the beer a great base. (So I cheated a bit haha). I've used the steeping grains many times. The rest I chose from working with the hops/ingredients and figuring out what I like!

Shanecb - I was thinking the same thing about getting more apple flavor out of the juice. I've used other fruit flavoring in other beers and they gave the beer a heavy syrup taste, so I was hoping to go with a "fresher" choice. I'll definitely go with a pasteurized juice, would you have any guidance on how much to use for a 5 gallon batch?

 

[imasickboy]

Dump 2 quarts of homemade apple pie filling in secondary. Skip any boil additions.

I say homemade, because it will only contain apple, sugar, and spices. Depending who made it, it may contain a very small amount of lemon juice, (for acidity), and corn starch, (for thickening). Neither will have an adverse effect on your beer, if they are even present in the pie filling. It's preservatives and questionable sweeteners that you want to avoid in the store-bought version.

 

[shanecb]

Shanecb - I was thinking the same thing about getting more apple flavor out of the juice. I've used other fruit flavoring in other beers and they gave the beer a heavy syrup taste, so I was hoping to go with a "fresher" choice. I'll definitely go with a pasteurized juice, would you have any guidance on how much to use for a 5 gallon batch?

I'm not entirely sure, but I'd start conservatively with it. I'd guess no more than a gallon in a 5 gallon batch, but even a bit less than that might be spot on for a mild flavor contribution.

One thing to note, is that it will probably be adding more of a "cider" flavor than an "apple" flavor, since it will most definitely ferment unless you took measures to ensure it didn't (you'd have to force carbonate with a keg, though). Kinda like how wine doesn't really taste like grapes for the most part. I think the spicing is what's really going to help give that "apple flavor", being reminiscent of apple pie. It's the same deal with a pumpkin beer. The pumpkin itself isn't really lending much flavor, but the spicing is what really makes you think "pumpkin".

 

[andruss15]

Shane - I was hoping to avoid the cider flavor which is why I wanted to add the cinnamon, too. However I don't know how avoidable it is. I agree, the spice is what will give it the "apple flavor" much like a pumpkin ale. Perhaps Apple flavoring from my home brew shop could work better if I am balancing it out with a spice like cinnamon?

Imasickboy - that's really interesting, I never thought of that! Have you tried this before?

 

[shanecb]

Shane - I was hoping to avoid the cider flavor which is why I wanted to add the cinnamon, too. However I don't know how avoidable it is. I agree, the spice is what will give it the "apple flavor" much like a pumpkin ale. Perhaps Apple flavoring from my home brew shop could work better if I am balancing it out with a spice like cinnamon?

Yeah it could! Only one way to find out for sure

You could always just pull a pint from the fermenter, add in a drop or two of the flavoring and see how "artificial" you think it tastes. Saves you testing it on the whole batch then deciding you don't like it.

 

[imasickboy]

Imasickboy - that's really interesting, I never thought of that! Have you tried this before?

Yes I have. And I was very happy with the results.

 

[andruss15]

I like that idea and I'm going to try it! Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[CharlieM]

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/AHS-Belgian-Wheat-16E--EXTRACT_p_2153.html

I kegged this in the spring and just started another batch for Christmas gifts. In the secondary I used 3 cinnamon sticks. But instead of apples, I used the zest off 4 large oranges in the boil. Let's just say the friends gravitate to the Org Cinn Wheat handle on the kegerator....and leave my IPA alone !