Dry hopping an American Wheat?

[Eliterunner1]

So I recently brewed a AHS Honey Wheat kit that is very much a classical wheat beer using Wyest American Wheat 1010 yeast. I recently have purchased a pound of Legacy hops from hopsdirect.

These hops aren't very well known so I am anxious to try them out! Would it be so bad if I wanted to test them out in about a 7 day dry hop? If so how much should I use? They are supposed to have a citrus black currant flavor/aroma, 7.8 % AA.

Any advice is welcome!

 

[Scooby_Brew]

Me personally I don't like too many hops in my American Wheat, but I heard of some people going as far as brewing an India Wheat Ale.
IMHO, all you need to use is about 1 oz of those hops at the end of the boil too see if you like them or not. American Wheat is a light ale, good with many types of hops, so hopefully you will be able to asses the hops pretty well.

 

[smokinj]

Do it! I'd taste test it after 4-5 days, though. I do a gumballhead clone that is my favorite wheat beers. I use 2-3 oz in it.

 

[Eliterunner1]

yeah the entire brewing process only used 1oz of cascade anyway. I just want to give it a really citrus aroma and when i bagged these hops they smelled pretty great!

 

[MMJfan]

I'm brewing an Oberon clone and I'm planning on dry hopping with at least 1 oz of Cascade hops at the last 7 days of Secondary to give it a more citrusy aroma.

 

[Getzinator]

I agree with sampling before you go all out with it. Maybe make a very light hop tea and mix with your sample as it goes into primary, and I would even do it once again right before you intend to dryhop.

Never hurts to be too careful, and this way you can tell how much you want in there before you actually add.

...so hopefully you will be able to asses the hops pretty well.

Sorry, I'm incredibly immature and this made me laugh. The word you're looking for is assess

 

[Eliterunner1]

Just an update on this American Wheat, my OG was 1.055 which is a considerable amount higher than the kit said it would be and I have no problems with this. Not only that but my gravity after primary was 1.010 which is quite a bit more fermentation than what beer smith even calculated it to be at. Am I missing something because none of the estimated calculations ever add up...

Oh and after a taste test it was great! even with a short amount of time in primary (I always reach a FG faster than two weeks...), but I will be adding those Legacy hops in DH.

 

[smokinj]

Glad it turned out good! The only reason and extract kit should be over on OG is if you put below the target volume in the fermenter. Alternately, if you didn't correct your hydrometer reading for temperature that could give an incorrect result. What was the beer expected to finish at?

 

[Eliterunner1]

I looked over beersmith again and the FG I measured is good for a final gravity, it just fermented much faster than expected I suppose. It said the gravity should be at 1.018 by the end of primary. That OG i listed was corrected for temperature.

 

[david_42]

I do recommend using only an ounce of hops and checking it every day.

 

[Eliterunner1]

Yeah thats what I was thinking, I don't want to over do it.

 

[Eliterunner1]

Well I put in 2 oz of Legacy into the bucket and it is smelling great!

 

[TyTanium]

Any update on this? Trying to get a sense for Legacy hops.

 

[Eliterunner1]

In fact yes! They were quite prominent in the dry hop. True to the description they created a distinct berry flavor. It really created the perception of a sweet honey flavor even though it fermented quite dry. My ipa is almost done dry hopping with a combination of Legacy and Cascade so ill update that too!

 

[TyTanium]

Thanks for the update! I have a wheat pale fermented warm with Kolsch yeast, so it's dry and fruity...was planning on Cascade/Willamette, but I might have to try the Cascade/Legacy...sounds perfect. Wish I had 2.5g carboys for a split batch!!

 

[Eliterunner1]

I know how you feel. I only have the NB basic homebrew set plus a carboy. If you want that deep berry flavor then you won't be disappointed with Legacy. Even though I only dry hopped it it had a huge amount of flavor. I didn't find it to be very citrusy as some people have found, but definitely a smooth berry taste. Update on how it turns out!

 

[TyTanium]

Thanks. I'm mixing with Cascade, so that should take care of the citrus. If I forget to update, remind me in a month

 

[Eliterunner1]

Sounds good

 

[mewithstewpid]

amarillo is a great dry hop for wheats as well

 

[Eliterunner1]

This is true! I've only ever heard of good things about Amarillo for most beer styles.

 

[ChrisLeSure]

this is true! I've only ever heard of good things about amarillo for most beer styles.

+1

 

[Eliterunner1]

Its hard to find right now so I figure I might as well wait until the new crop is done.

 

[logan3825]

Its hard to find right now so I figure I might as well wait until the new crop is done.

That might be a while. A few months.

 

[TyTanium]

Thanks for the update! I have a wheat pale fermented warm with Kolsch yeast, so it's dry and fruity...was planning on Cascade/Willamette, but I might have to try the Cascade/Legacy...sounds perfect. Wish I had 2.5g carboys for a split batch!!

Update:
Split the batch.
Cascade/Willamette was as expected and is a great combo
Cascade/Legacy I'm not loving. I don't get much berry, not even much citrus...it just tastes a bit vegetal and off. Maybe I overdid the dry hop, we'll see if it improves with some age.

 

[Eliterunner1]

The honey wheat I did was great with the dry hop of legacy. Could be the yeast? I'm not sure because I've never made a Kolsch. I used Wyeast American 1010 for the honey wheat beer