Help with Wheat IPA PM recipe

Rubs · Mar 6, 2014

Hello. This is my first post here, please be gentle with me

I'm planning my first partial brew, and I've decided to mainly use stuff I've got stored. I'd like to make a hoppy and strong weizen. I've already got the light pale liquid extract, and I'll be mashing wheat malt. This is the recipe for a 10 liter batch:

1.6kg light pale liquid extract
1.12 kg wheat malt

6g Columbus at 60 min
10g cascade at 30 and 15 min
10g centennial at 30 and 15 min
10g citra at 10, 0 and dry
10g hallertauer hersbrucker 10, 0 and dry

WLP001

Should give me these stats:
OG: 1,073
FG: 1,016
IBU/GU: 1,013
ABV: 7,5%

As this is my first partial mash, I'm not sure how to calculate the amount of malt. I'd like to do 60/40. first, I calculated that 1.6kg extract and 1.07kg wheat would give me 60/40, but then I read somewhere that in order to have the correct weight of wheat, I'd have to multiply those 1.07kg with 1.07(lucky coincident) as if it were wheat extract. Is this right?

Also, please comment on the recipe. I'm really unsure about ... everything :ban:

mrphillips · Mar 6, 2014

Welcome aboard!

Your recipe is nice and simple, which is usually better with a simple style like this. I would say that with as many hops as you're adding, you'll need a nice malt backbone to make sure there's some kind of balance (even if it is towards the hoppy side). For a 5 gallon batch, I'd toss in .5 pounds of Crystal 10, so maybe .25 pounds (or .11 kg) of some light Crystal for your 10 Liter batch would help support the hops.

Lagunitas makes a very nice wheat-IPA called Little Sumpin. If you can find it locally, it might give you an idea of what your final product will be.

http://lagunitas.com/beers/little-sumpin-sumpin/#

Rubs · Mar 7, 2014

Thanks

Don't think I can get that beer over here(I'm Norwegian), but I'll definitely look for it next time I'm at the store.

I'll add the crystal for sure. What do you think of the hop combo? I reckon Cascade, centennial and citra would go well together, but I think the Hallertauer is a bit of a wild card.

mrphillips · Mar 7, 2014

The best beer I've ever brewed was a Cascade/Citra combo. I have yet to use Columbus, but Centennial is always welcomed in a pale ale/IPA. I agree that the Hallertau is a little out of place (it lacking the citrusy notes of your other hop choices), but it is such a lovely, soft hop, I'm not sure if you could go wrong with it. That being said, I might do the citra additions at 10 and Zero minutes (and maybe even a little at 5

), dry hop with citra, and build your next brew around those delicious Hallertau beauties!

Or forget everything I just said and do whatever you want. After all, homebrewing is all about doing what you want, when you want, no matter what a stranger thousands of miles away says. Haha!

Rubs · Mar 7, 2014

The Columbus has now been changed to Warrior, as they don't have it at the brewstore. It's just for bittering though

I read somewhere that Hallertau and Citra would be great together, but there's alot more than Citra in the recipe, so it could crash

I've had my Hallertau for about a year and a half now, you think it'll still pack a punch?

mrphillips · Mar 7, 2014

Hmmm....not sure. I've never personally kept hops that long. I know that Hallertau are a little on the fragile side, but if you kept them in the freezer/fridge unopened/sealed, I think you'll be fine. Even fresh Hallertau is so mellow that the Citra will probably run it over and leave delicious burn-out marks in its wake. Haha.