Effect of extra light spray malt in a hefeweizen?

[ComusLives]

Hey all,

A few days ago I stumbled upon a recipe for an orange hefeweizen that looked promising and easy, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I followed it all perfectly, but it called for wheat malt which I couldn't source in short notice. In my impatience I used the only one my local brew shop had in stock, Munton's extra light spray malt. The brew has only been going for three days, but it's already reached the expected FG of 1.012, down from an OG of 1.046, and the airlock has completely stopped bubbling already. I'm gonna leave it for a while as I know it's still early days, but considering how fast that happened I'm a little afraid the extra light malt may not be enough for the Mangrove Jack's wheat beer yeast I used.

Any ideas on what I can expect from this brew? Looks to be really light and watery already, and just a bit malty rather than having anything distinct about it. I accidentally overfilled the FV to 25 litres rather than the 23 called for in the recipe, but I'd be surprised if that was enough to make much difference to the final product.

 

[mdindy]

As long as you hit your OG on target you will be fine, wheat beer yeast has a super fast fermentation so that should not be a concern.

 

[ComusLives]

As long as you hit your OG on target you will be fine, wheat beer yeast has a super fast fermentation so that should not be a concern.

I know it'll be fine, I've brewed one or two of these before so I'm not too worried about that part. I'm just curious as to what effect to expect from using a extra light spray malt rather than a wheat malt. This is my first time not just having a kit supply all the ingredients for me. It'll probably still be drinkable at the end of it regardless.

 

[mdindy]

As for flavor that is a good question, you get so much character from the yeast I would not be surprised if it taste the same.

 

[unionrdr]

It'll be a bit less of a wheat ale & more of a pale ale with a lil wheat quality to it. Might be good that way, as kottbusser uses some wheat malt, but mostly barley malt & other things.

 

[roastglint]

Wheat will give you more body and mouth feel. Expect a lighter body.

 

[ComusLives]

Sounds like it'll still turn out pretty good! How much longer do you guys think I should leave it before bottling? The original recipe said two weeks, but considering how quickly it has already reached the expected FG I'm not sure if that would really be necessary.

 

[unionrdr]

When it reaches a stable FG, I like to give it another 3-7 days to settle out clear or slightly misty. It is also at this time that the yeasties go after their own fermentation by-products & clean them up as they settle out. Then I rack to the bottling bucket & bulk prime.