Honey Wheat Ale and a moderate success story

[CCD]

Well, I did it. I successfully brewed my first batch of beer.
I work for a distributorship and Sam Adam's sponsors a homebrewing contest. Long story short, I got tabbed on brewing the beer and it was going to be sent to the semi-finals judging between Louisiana and Mississippi. I didn't really expect anything major from the judging, I was just happy to brew my own beer. It was a typical Amber recipe that our Sam Adam's rep sent us but I took the liberty of adding some vanilla extract to try something different. While it is hard to detect the vanilla flavoring, obviously it did something to the brew to give it a unique taste. Well, turns out I won first place. And now my brew is going up against 7 competitors from Texas and the Finals judging. If I win that, I get invited to the Great American BeerFest in Denver to be judged by Jim Koch himself. Woohoo, now my interest in home brewing skyrocketed to new heights.

Getting to the point, I ordered a honey wheat ale (specifically: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_42_163&products_id=324) and thought i would try my hand at this. I know it's a huge jump by a new home brewer that only has one brew under his belt, so I can to the place where I got help on my first brew (thanks to all of you by the way...). Before I start this Honey Wheat Ale, is there anything I should know ahead of time? I can only assume the brew process is the same, but is there anything special I should do/look out for when doing a Honey Wheat Ale? Also, I was tinkering with the idea of adding some flavoring extract besides the honey (vanilla again, maybe almond??). Good idea or no? And if so, how would you go about adding the flavoring to ensure a discernible taste difference?

Any wise words or help?

 

[Daybis]

I'm shocked no one has chimed in on your post. Congratulations on your win, especially with your first brew. Good luck on the next round.

I would just just follow the directions for the honey wheat. The procedures should be pretty close to your first brew. I'm not sure how well vanilla or almond would fit in with the honey wheat. You could try some fruit extracts. The best advice I can give anyone new to brewing is to have proper sensitization, use proper fermentation temperatures, proper yeast pitching rates, and patience. If you can master those four things, you should have pretty good success with your brews.

 

[unionrdr]

Just found your thread. Congrats on 1st place on your 1st brew. That's like the time I got the full three thumbs up on my summer pale ale from Gary at Home Brewer TV. And that was my 2nd brew. I'm still perk as a ruttin buck over that one,so I know how you feel.
Anyway,I was thinking when I make a wheat beer,to use 8oz of honey malt for the flavor of honey that usually ferments out. There are threads on here discussing this. It seems it's better to add the honey at the end of the boil. Seems to me some even add some to secondary. I'd read up on it in previous threads.
I like raw wildflower honey myself,it has flavors like bearinyaeger. You can taste the wildflowers. Orange blossom honey sounds intriguing as well.