Hopping a wheat

[Raving_Elk]

Hi guys,

I am putting together a recipe for a wheat ale (American). The goal is to produce a refreshing, light and slightly hoppy beverage to enjoy with my mates on an upcoming springtime mountain biking trip.

It will ferment with wy 1272, bcse I plan on re-using the yeast to do an IPA later on.

I was planning to use AU Summer hops for the late additions, but they seem to be sold out Need some help on putting together a new scheme.

Other hops I have ordered or currently in my fridge are: Magnum, Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, Cascade, Mandarina Bavaria, Perle, Challenger and Willamette.

I am leaning towards Magnum for bittering and Nelson for the late additions, maybe pair them up with some cascade and/or galaxy. (Never used Nelson or Galaxy before, this may be an excellent opportunity to try) The goal is to really bring out the fruity character of the hops, without it being too bitter.

3.5 gal/13 l

OG: 1050
IBU: 25 (Tinseth)
Color: 8 ECB (Morey)
FG: 1014, abv ~4,8%

Ingredients:
1,6 kg/3.5 lb (50%) light wheat malt
1,4 kg/3 lb (45%) pils
0,16 kg/.35 lb (5%) cara-pils

7 g (.25 oz) Magnum (15% AA) 60 min
14 g (.5 oz) Nelson Sauvin (12% AA) 5 min
14 g (.5 oz) Nelson Sauvin (12% AA) 30 min hop stand at around 80 C/176 F

Irish moss

Some gypsum, CaCl, lactic acid (still working on the water profile)

1 package Wyeast 1272 American ale II (no starter)

Single infusion mash probably around 66 C/150 F.
Fermentation around 20 C/68 F to bring out a bit of that fruitiness wyeast promises on their website.

Thinking of using some Vienna instead of the cara-pils for a bit more maltyness...

Hoping for your thoughts on the hopping schedule and grain bill, but any other tips are welcome!

 

[unviewtiful]

Overall the recipe looks pretty solid, but what I look for in an American wheat is a really crisp, clean finish from a neutral yeast. If you want the esters from that yeast, go for it but I would ferment cooler to keep a clean profile. I also think the switch from carapils to Vienna is a good idea as I've had good success with a grain bill of 45% wheat, 45% 2-row, 10% Vienna and a similar hop schedule.

Nelson and Galaxy would probably go together well, but cascade might clash a bit with the more delicate fruit flavors of Nelson. (I'm just hypothesizing here, I've never used either combo personally)

 

[Raving_Elk]

@ unviewtiful: Thanks! I will go with the Vienna then, and keep the fermentation temp a bit lower.

Not sure on the hops yet. It would be interesting to see how the Nelson performs by itself, but some people seem to think Nelson is better with a companion for balance. I may go with a 2:1 Nelson:Galaxy combo.

 

[slym2none]

You could go fruity and pair Cascade with Mandarina Bavaria...

 

[Horseshoot]

Overall the recipe looks pretty solid, but what I look for in an American wheat is a really crisp, clean finish from a neutral yeast. If you want the esters from that yeast, go for it but I would ferment cooler to keep a clean profile. I also think the switch from carapils to Vienna is a good idea as I've had good success with a grain bill of 45% wheat, 45% 2-row, 10% Vienna and a similar hop schedule.

^ This!

I agree with the switch to Vienna. You won't need the carapils with all the wheat.

Mike

 

[Raving_Elk]

Hmm... options options options... :thinking:

Thanks for your input!

Hope to be brewing this weekend, I will let you know how the beer turned out!

 

[z-bob]

I've never used Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, or Mandarina Bavaria so I can't comment on those, but I'm a big fan of Willamette as a late addition hop.

 

[Raving_Elk]

Good news, I did manage to get my hands on some AU Summer! So I brewed both the AU Summer and the Galaxy recipe.

Meanwhile I found a new job and had to move to a different city, so it took a bit longer before I found the time to brew this beer.

The AU Summer turned out very well, but somehow this beer was cursed from the beginning. I lost halve a gallon during due to a mistake during brew-day. When bottling I spilled some more... Then I took some bottles to a short weekend holiday with some buddies. One of them turned the fridge too high, so many bottles where frozen

But the ones that did survive were definitely some of the best beers I have brewed so far. It was a nice, clean beverage. Subtle fruity notes from the hops, with citrus/stone fruit. Just a bit of sweetness, which went well with the fruitiness.

The Galaxy version was fermented with Mangrove Jack M44 yeast. Due to an unexpected heat-wave temps were a bit high during fermentation. This resulted in some nasty solvent off-flavors. I will certainly brew this one again when temperatures are back to normal here.