American Wheat Beer Gumballhead inspired WPA

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Just transferred this to the secondary for dry hopping and took a hydro sample at 1.018. Hopefully this will go down another point or two while it's in the secondary for a week. It smells really good and has a light taste with a slight bitterness at the very end. It wasn't really sweet but overall very drinkable for being a 2 week old flat beer!

 

[Justibone]

The finish is sweet, so it's the 3rd flavor you taste.

1st flavor: powerful hop aroma (citrus)
2nd flavor: slight breadiness, hop bitterness
3rd flavor: slight caramel sweetness

As I said before, it's a feature, not a bug.

 

[Justibone]

Just transferred this to the secondary for dry hopping and took a hydro sample at 1.018. Hopefully this will go down another point or two while it's in the secondary for a week.

1.018 is a bit sweet for a beer... but about right for a late harvest riesling.

Sometimes racking will help it go down a few points in secondary. The Germans have a word for stirring or shaking the fermentor to get those extra few points down, but I can't remember it right now. It's something like "rousing" the yeast or something.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

1.018 is a bit sweet for a beer... but about right for a late harvest riesling.

Sometimes racking will help it go down a few points in secondary. The Germans have a word for stirring or shaking the fermentor to get those extra few points down, but I can't remember it right now. It's something like "rousing" the yeast or something.

You know though, the hydro sample wasn't all that sweet and there wasnt a huge bitterness at the beginning or middle, just a slight bitterness that lingered at the end. It was good though, but as is all sampling, the flavors will develop and with the dry hopping, it should give it more aroma and a slighter hint of hop to the taste.

It might be that my initial hop addition boiled over! Oops, in any case, it has alcohol in it, and it is very drinkable!

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Oh, and I used Citra on this one instead of the Simco due to LHBS supplies.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Bottled it yesterday and it tasted great. Had a really good aroma from dry hopping and was sitting at 1.018 after adding the priming sugar. Not sure why it is still so high, but it did taste good.

 

[KCBigDog]

Gonna have to make this. Looks too good to pass up.

Anyone have some advice on any recipe changes from the OP?

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Gonna have to make this. Looks too good to pass up.

Anyone have some advice on any recipe changes from the OP?

If you like the flavor/smell of grapefruit, then Citra was a great change.

Although this is third beer I've made, it is the best one brewed so far and it's going to be a staple now. It was also a huge hit at a tailgate this weekend.

 

[natewv]

cuinrearview, just wanted you to know I'm a good ways done the keg already and this is the best beer I've ever made. yay! Now I'm doing all grain, I'll be making this sometime over the winter or spring again.

 

[KCBigDog]

Is Citra a good sub for Simcoe? My store of choice doesn't have any Simcoe.

 

[Rivenin]

There really isn't a sub for simcoe i can't remember what it is but there is a mix of like 3 or 4 different kinds that will get you close

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Is Citra a good sub for Simcoe? My store of choice doesn't have any Simcoe.

Yeah, citra is a good sub for Simcoe. You still get that great grapefruit, citrus flavor (hence the name I suppose). Either way, this is what I used for a substitute, and the beer turned out amazing. If anything else, it's a proven choice to make a solid beer if you can't get the simcoes.

 

[Justibone]

was sitting at 1.018 after adding the priming sugar. Not sure why it is still so high, but it did taste good.

Well, you added sugar to it! That's why it was so high.

Sometimes carmelization reactions from the boil can cause the sugars to become unfermentable (by beer yeast, anyways), so you can get high gravity because of that. This is especially the case if you do a full length boil with extract. Some recipes (ahem, barleywine!) take advantage of that to get a rich, caramel sweetness in the beer, whereas in others (ahem, pilsners!) it contrasts too much with the style.

 

[Justibone]

If I can't get Simcoe, I'll use either Citra (first choice), Amarillo (second choice) or - if I'm desperate - Cascade. I haven't tried Sorachi Ace yet, but I hear it has a citrusy aroma as well, so if you blended it in with the others it might be... interesting.

 

[KCBigDog]

Anyone use Amarillo pellets instead of whole hops? What difference should I expect?

 

[Rivenin]

less crap in your boiler lol

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Anyone use Amarillo pellets instead of whole hops? What difference should I expect?

That's what I used and it turned out great.

 

[KCBigDog]

Ordered the grain bill and the hop pellets today. Can't wait to make this one!

 

[natewv]

If I can't get Simcoe, I'll use either Citra (first choice), Amarillo (second choice) or - if I'm desperate - Cascade. I haven't tried Sorachi Ace yet, but I hear it has a citrusy aroma as well, so if you blended it in with the others it might be... interesting.

Hey there Justibone old buddy...do you have any links that discuss hops and what is a good sub for what? I really need to get a better understanding of different hops.

Kudos to you for keeping this around for two months, mine never make it that long. In hindsight I guess I should have never titled this with the Gumballhead name because everyone brings up how it's different but that is truly the beer that inspired this recipe and after having both I like this better:rockin:. Brew on!!

Hey CU...When you are doing this AG are you using your recipe, 60/40...5 lbs wheat, 3.5 lbs 2 row, 1 lb caravienne, or are you using what someone else on here came up with after some advice from the brewery...8lbs 2-row, 3lbs red wheat,1lb caravienne?

As you know my first PM was your recipe, and now I'm planning it for AG and was wondering which you think might get you closer to what your "inspired" clone was?

 

[Justibone]

Hey there Justibone old buddy...do you have any links that discuss hops and what is a good sub for what? I really need to get a better understanding of different hops.

Google is your friend.

Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Comparing and Selecting Hops

Hop Guide - BeerAdvocate

List of hop varieties - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The best guide to hop aromas, though, is your nose. If you can smell them, you will know what aroma they will impart to your beer... with the possible exception of spicy. I can never smell "spicy", but others say that they can.

 

[KCBigDog]

Starting on this right now!

 

[KCBigDog]

Weakest fermentation I've experienced so far with US05. Hopefully it picks up soon, or I'll start thinking I did something wrong!

 

[nuttermcbutter]

I brewed this using all Amarillo and it is excellent. This is only my second batch of homebrew and everyone who has tried it liked it. I will definitely make this again, thanks for the great recipe!

 

[Diesel48]

Probably going to brew this tonight. Never tried a wheat IPA before.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Probably going to brew this tonight. Never tried a wheat IPA before.

Do it! You won't regret it and the beer is fantastic!

 

[cuinrearview]

Hey CU...When you are doing this AG are you using your recipe, 60/40...5 lbs wheat, 3.5 lbs 2 row, 1 lb caravienne, or are you using what someone else on here came up with after some advice from the brewery...8lbs 2-row, 3lbs red wheat,1lb caravienne?

As you know my first PM was your recipe, and now I'm planning it for AG and was wondering which you think might get you closer to what your "inspired" clone was?[/QUOTE]

It is not Gumballhead. If you want gumballhead follow the advice of others. This is sweeter with more body and a different hop note. It was only inspired by the thought of an Amarillo hopped American Wheat Ale. With my efficiency a 12lb. grain bill would be a pretty big beer! It's your money and your brewery so make whichever recipe you want. I'm sure once the Amarillo and Simcoe hit the pot it'll all be good

 

[Justibone]

I'm sure once the Amarillo and Simcoe hit the pot it'll all be good

It's not Gumballhead -- it's even better!

Signed,
A Hoosier

 

[Diesel48]

Brewed this past weekend. Fermenting now around 62-63 degrees. Using the grain bill from the first page I was a little low on my sugar extraction. I hit 1.046, which was spot on with what my brewing software said. Depending how it tastes I will add a bit more grain next time.

 

[KCBigDog]

I just dry-hopped this carelessly wit the 2oz of Simarillo! I just dumped it into the carboy! That's how I do it!

So, how long are most of you letting it dry hop?

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

I just dry-hopped this carelessly wit the 2oz of Simarillo! I just dumped it into the carboy! That's how I do it!

So, how long are most of you letting it dry hop?

7-10 days worked out pretty well.