American Wheat Beer Hoppy Session Wheat Beer

[mtnbrew]

Ok! This beer has come into its own! The us-05 version of this at week 3 is amazing!! Its a mango/peach bomb, with a easy drinking body, nice mouth feel. This beer needs 3 weeks if u use us-05. Not loving Nottingham with this beer as much.

 

[Dr.Jay]

So im planning on brewing this soon. I have no problems with the malt or hops, but I dont have access to the kolsch yeast. I can get all major dry yeasts, including lallemand new england, us05 and notty like some people mentioned before in this thread. I also have access to some liquid yeasts from a yeast bank, like Kveik Voss or hornidal o White labs 001, etc. Do you recommend I go with the always trusty Us05? Thanks

 

[z-bob]

So im planning on brewing this soon. I have no problems with the malt or hops, but I dont have access to the kolsch yeast. I can get all major dry yeasts, including lallemand new england, us05 and notty like some people mentioned before in this thread. I also have access to some liquid yeasts from a yeast bank, like Kveik Voss or hornidal o White labs 001, etc. Do you recommend I go with the always trusty Us05? Thanks

I think K-97 is a dry kolsch yeast.

 

[Dr.Jay]

I think K-97 is a dry kolsch yeast.

Yeah, I looked for that one a while ago, and none of my local stores have it. sucks to be me.
Following the original yeast in this post, the dry option for the 1318 would be a s04 right?
Never used Kveik before, maybe its not the best yeast for this recipe?

 

[jimmyjusa]

Yeah, I looked for that one a while ago, and none of my local stores have it. sucks to be me.
Following the original yeast in this post, the dry option for the 1318 would be a s04 right?
Never used Kveik before, maybe its not the best yeast for this recipe?

With about 50 different kveik cultures it's really dependent on which one you are talking about. Most commercial ones are isolated strains from original cultures. I know David heath has a few videos on YouTube. Voss is pretty universal according to him.

 

[Dr.Jay]

With about 50 different kveik cultures it's really dependent on which one you are talking about. Most commercial ones are isolated strains from original cultures. I know David heath has a few videos on YouTube. Voss is pretty universal according to him.

They offer 2 kveiks that are supposed to be omega yeast hornidall and Voss

 

[jimmyjusa]

Omega's hothead is supposed to be very clean, voss has citrus/orange profile, hornindal can have a more tropical and overripe fruit if I remember correctly. I think all could work fine, just depends on which hops you end up using. I know omega's strains are all isolated strains

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Yeah, I looked for that one a while ago, and none of my local stores have it. sucks to be me.

Strange - K-97 is one of the standard Fermentis ones, at the very least somewhere stocking US-05 and S-04 should be able to get it for you.

Following the original yeast in this post, the dry option for the 1318 would be a s04 right?

Lallemand are bringing out a dry version of 1318 in the next few months but for if you can't wait then for these purposes you want a yeast with a bit of ester production so actually Lallemand New England is probably the closest match, although S-04 will do.

But post 1 also talks about an "American Wheat" yeast, which implies a milder hefe yeast - and so I'd suggest the ideal dry yeast for this recipe is actually the former Danstar Munich (not Munich Classic), which has now been rebranded as Lallemand Wit.

 

[Dr.Jay]

Strange - K-97 is one of the standard Fermentis ones, at the very least somewhere stocking US-05 and S-04 should be able to get it for you.



Lallemand are bringing out a dry version of 1318 in the next few months but for if you can't wait then for these purposes you want a yeast with a bit of ester production so actually Lallemand New England is probably the closest match, although S-04 will do.

But post 1 also talks about an "American Wheat" yeast, which implies a milder hefe yeast - and so I'd suggest the ideal dry yeast for this recipe is actually the former Danstar Munich (not Munich Classic), which has now been rebranded as Lallemand Wit.

Thanks. I think ill have to do more than one batch of this beer and try diferent yeasts. Ill start with a us05 or new england and then try others.

 

[sniak]

This looks great!
If I were to bottle this, how much corn sugar per gallon should I add for bottle conditioning and carbonation?

 

[z-bob]

This just moved way up the list in my brewing backlog. I had a bunch of hops in the freezer already, and just bought 4 more pounds (Centennial, Northern Brewer, CTZ, Crystal, and Tradition) I couldn't help myself; the hops were on sale really cheap but the flat rate postage was kinda high so I doubled-up.

I'm not real fond of extremely bitter IPAs, but I need to start using more than 1–1.5 ounces per batch.

 

[Steven Barrett]

Anyone tried to clarify this with gelatin? I love hops but I don’t love haze.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Anyone tried to clarify this with gelatin? I love hops but I don’t love haze.

Not sure just how much haze you'd be able to clear up more because of the wheat making up a large portion of the grain bill.

 

[Von Mises]

I just emptied a keg of a version of this. Great recipe, easy drinker. Beautiful looking beer!

I used:
4lb Pale Ale Malt
4lb White Wheat
1lb Flaked Oats
2.5 oz Acid Malt.

30 minute boil, 1 oz Centennial @30
2 oz Citra & 2 oz Mosaic @160 degrees.
Dry Hop 1oz each Citra & Mosaic.
Kegged on day 12.
Thanks for the recipe & inspiration!

 

[GearHead71]

I just emptied a keg of a version of this. Great recipe, easy drinker. Beautiful looking beer!

I used:
4lb Pale Ale Malt
4lb White Wheat
1lb Flaked Oats
2.5 oz Acid Malt.

30 minute boil, 1 oz Centennial @30
2 oz Citra & 2 oz Mosaic @160 degrees.
Dry Hop 1oz each Citra & Mosaic.
Kegged on day 12.
Thanks for the recipe & inspiration!View attachment 667741

Looks great! I'm kegging mine tomorrow! Tried the hydrometer sample last night and it smelled and tasted awesome.

 

[GearHead71]

Just kegged my second batch of this. No idea what I screwed up on the first batch but this one came out great! Very low bitterness but lots of hop flavor. This will definitely be part of the rotation

(Here's how my first batch looked. Had a lot of yeast flavor to it even after weeks of sitting in the keg. Looks like a different beer):

 

[cheesebach]

Just kegged my second batch of this. No idea what I screwed up on the first batch but this one came out great! Very low bitterness but lots of hop flavor. This will definitely be part of the rotation

View attachment 669004



(Here's how my first batch looked. Had a lot of yeast flavor to it even after weeks of sitting in the keg. Looks like a different beer):

View attachment 669005

Did you change the yeast or make any changes to your dry hop or whirlpool hop schedule?

 

[balrog]

or any change to process? At all?

 

[GearHead71]

Did you change the yeast or make any changes to your dry hop or whirlpool hop schedule?

or any change to process? At all?

2 things were different:

1. The first batch I did was the first batch ever on my new equipment. There's a chance I didn't clean the kettle well enough and maybe there were some machining oils or something left over.

2. The first batch I messed with the water chemistry and pH levels. I could have screwed something up there as well. The second batch I just used tap water through and RV filter.

Other than that, same yeast, same recipe.

 

[sniak]

For this recipe i decided for the first time to try to fix my water profile.
I kinda went lost with all the information and calculators available.
I have water with this profile:


Ca – 57
Mg – 28
Na – 50
HCO3 – 220
SO4 – 36
Cl – 84

What and how much do i need to add to achieve the suggested water profile ?
Should i even bother ? ( i mean is the difference from the suggested profile significant here or for this recipe in particular ? )

Thanks

 

[Miraculix]

For this recipe i decided for the first time to try to fix my water profile.
I kinda went lost with all the information and calculators available.
I have water with this profile:


Ca – 57
Mg – 28
Na – 50
HCO3 – 220
SO4 – 36
Cl – 84

What and how much do i need to add to achieve the suggested water profile ?
Should i even bother ? ( i mean is the difference from the suggested profile significant here or for this recipe in particular ? )

Thanks

I would leave it as it is. You just would need to compensate for the high alkalinity. A rule of thumb would be to add about 2% of the overall grainbill weight on top of it as acidulated malt. This works, but there are also more elaborate ways of calculating the proper amount of acid necessary. I go the easy route.

 

[Braufessor]

For this recipe i decided for the first time to try to fix my water profile.
I kinda went lost with all the information and calculators available.
I have water with this profile:


Ca – 57
Mg – 28
Na – 50
HCO3 – 220
SO4 – 36
Cl – 84

What and how much do i need to add to achieve the suggested water profile ?
Should i even bother ? ( i mean is the difference from the suggested profile significant here or for this recipe in particular ? )

Thanks

I would do one of two things.....
1.) The suggestion above - get 2% acidulated malt in the grain bill to counter all that alkalinity.
2.) Go with all RO water.

That water is really high in alkalinity and that generally does not play very nice with hoppy lighter colored beers. So, your water and this particular beer are really not made for each other. Your water is better suited to brown ales, porters, stouts, black lagers, etc. (I have similar water)
Personally, RO water is the easiest route in my opinion. There is really no "minerals" to add to your water that is going to "fix" it. Basically, the only thing you can do is try to counteract the alkalinity as much as you can.

I suppose one other thing you could do that would help some - boil the water in an attempt to drop out the alkalinity (white sediment that will fall out during boiling of hard water). Then drain water off of sediment and still add acidulated malt or lactic acid to counter the remaining alkalinity. You will only get 25-50% of the alkalinity out boiling it though - if that. Again - simple solution is to use RO water from the store. For a few dollars, you can start with exactly what you need.

 

[sniak]

I would do one of two things.....
1.) The suggestion above - get 2% acidulated malt in the grain bill to counter all that alkalinity.
2.) Go with all RO water.

That water is really high in alkalinity and that generally does not play very nice with hoppy lighter colored beers. So, your water and this particular beer are really not made for each other. Your water is better suited to brown ales, porters, stouts, black lagers, etc. (I have similar water)
Personally, RO water is the easiest route in my opinion. There is really no "minerals" to add to your water that is going to "fix" it. Basically, the only thing you can do is try to counteract the alkalinity as much as you can.

I suppose one other thing you could do that would help some - boil the water in an attempt to drop out the alkalinity (white sediment that will fall out during boiling of hard water). Then drain water off of sediment and still add acidulated malt or lactic acid to counter the remaining alkalinity. You will only get 25-50% of the alkalinity out boiling it though - if that. Again - simple solution is to use RO water from the store. For a few dollars, you can start with exactly what you need.

Thanks for detailed response !

1. This can be a solution, but i already have my grainbill, and have to pay for shipment again to order some acidulated malt.
2. Unfortunately i don't have an RO system. i checked where can i buy some, but can't seem to find in my area.

Thanks for the boil explanation ! this explains a lot, i have been boiling water to sterlize some stuff, and was suspecting the white powdery stuff left at the end was the result of minerals/salts dropping from the boil.

So, i went to the store and checked some of the mineral waters they sell there, took notes of the water profile. Got home and entered the values to the Bru'nWater sheet. Seems like i found one that might fit the bill:

Ca – 80
Mg – 19
Na – 6.5
HCO3 – 10
SO4 – 18
Cl – 170

Can i go with this as is ?
I suspect i might need to add some gypsum because this is too acidic.
Maybe instead of buying gypsum i can add something like 20% of the water that is high in alkalinity, and the rest with the low one.

EDIT -
So i ran the numbers, and if i add ~7% from the water that is high in alkalinity and the rest is from the "softer" water, i get to where i think i want to be.

Think thats what i'll do.

 

[Braufessor]

Thanks for detailed response !

1. This can be a solution, but i already have my grainbill, and have to pay for shipment again to order some acidulated malt.
2. Unfortunately i don't have an RO system. i checked where can i buy some, but can't seem to find in my area.

Thanks for the boil explanation ! this explains a lot, i have been boiling water to sterlize some stuff, and was suspecting the white powdery stuff left at the end was the result of minerals/salts dropping from the boil.

So, i went to the store and checked some of the mineral waters they sell there, took notes of the water profile. Got home and entered the values to the Bru'nWater sheet. Seems like i found one that might fit the bill:

Ca – 80
Mg – 19
Na – 6.5
HCO3 – 10
SO4 – 18
Cl – 170

Can i go with this as is ?
I suspect i might need to add some gypsum because this is too acidic.
Maybe instead of buying gypsum i can add something like 20% of the water that is high in alkalinity, and the rest with the low one.

EDIT -
So i ran the numbers, and if i add ~7% from the water that is high in alkalinity and the rest is from the "softer" water, i get to where i think i want to be.

Think thats what i'll do.

Blending water is a good strategy.... I have done the same, and sounds like a good plan. The minerals will be right in the ballpark for a beer like this. Does it give you an estimate on your mash pH with that water and grain bill? That would be the only thing. I am usually adding 1-2ml of lactic acid per 5 gallons on beers like this with Reverse Osmosis water.

As far as finding reverse osmosis water.... your best bet is the refill machines at a Walmart or grocery store - those are usually RO machines. I just use 3 gallon jugs and refill.

 

[sniak]

Just finished brewing my version of this !
First time doing all-grain, second time brewing anything. Ended up taking double the time i thought it would take me (6 hours overall).
Cleaning up was hell, but i was smiling the whole time.


I do have two questions:
1. I tasted the sample i took for OG, it really had a strong hop bite. Does this mellow during fermentation ?

2. Although i used proper bags for the hops, i ended up with some trub in the fermentation bucket, is this okay ?

 

[Braufessor]

Just finished brewing my version of this !
First time doing all-grain, second time brewing anything. Ended up taking double the time i thought it would take me (6 hours overall).
Cleaning up was hell, but i was smiling the whole time.


I do have two questions:
1. I tasted the sample i took for OG, it really had a strong hop bite. Does this mellow during fermentation ?

2. Although i used proper bags for the hops, i ended up with some trub in the fermentation bucket, is this okay ?

Beer out of the kettle after boil is harsh.... always..... nothing like the finished product ever.

Trub/break material in the fermenter is fine. All other things being equal and correct, you are totally fine.

 

[sniak]

Beer out of the kettle after boil is harsh.... always..... nothing like the finished product ever.

Trub/break material in the fermenter is fine. All other things being equal and correct, you are totally fine.

Short update. Bottled this today, still tasted a bit harsh.
I hope three weeks conditioning in the bottles will smooth this out.

EDIT:

i was a bit of a smart*** and changed the recipe a bit:

1.80 kg White Wheat Malt 46.2%
1.30 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) 33.3%
0.80 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter 20.5%

28.00 g (1oz) Centennial 30.0 min

28.00 g (1oz) Amarillo Whirlpool
28.00 g (1oz) Citra - Whirlpool
28.00 g (1oz) Nelson Sauvin Whirlpool

28.00 g (1oz) Citra Dry Hop
28.00 g (1oz) Nelson Sauvin Dry Hop

1.0 pkg Safale US-05

OG: 1.043
FG: 1.010

Bottled on day 12.
I don't have temperature control for the fermentation stage. But i did use this device which i placed on top of the fermentation bucket to measure the temp every 30 min. This is the temp graph:

 

[Oldskewl]

Short update. Bottled this today, still tasted a bit harsh.
I hope three weeks conditioning in the bottles will smooth this out.

EDIT:

i was a bit of a smart*** and changed the recipe a bit:

1.80 kg White Wheat Malt 46.2%
1.30 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) 33.3%
0.80 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter 20.5%

28.00 g (1oz) Centennial 30.0 min

28.00 g (1oz) Amarillo Whirlpool
28.00 g (1oz) Citra - Whirlpool
28.00 g (1oz) Nelson Sauvin Whirlpool

28.00 g (1oz) Citra Dry Hop
28.00 g (1oz) Nelson Sauvin Dry Hop

1.0 pkg Safale US-05

OG: 1.043
FG: 1.010

Bottled on day 12.
I don't have temperature control for the fermentation stage. But i did use this device which i placed on top of the fermentation bucket to measure the temp every 30 min. This is the temp graph:

View attachment 673141

How did this batch turn out? I planned to make an OtherHalf type oat beer using roughly

45% 2 row
45% oat malt
5% carapils
3% honey malt
2% acid malt
Citra/Nelson/Mosaic.

I’m guessing my oat malt was not crushed thoroughly although visually it appeared to be and my gap was set at .025. I was targeting an OG of 1.060 and I ended up with 1.046, largest miss ever for me. I did (2) 3 oz whirlpool additions at 185F and 160F. I was planning a 6-8 oz dry hop, but may back it down to 3 oz per this recipe since I now have a Session IPA.

 

[sniak]

How did this batch turn out? I planned to make an OtherHalf type oat beer using roughly

45% 2 row
45% oat malt
5% carapils
3% honey malt
2% acid malt
Citra/Nelson/Mosaic.

I’m guessing my oat malt was not crushed thoroughly although visually it appeared to be and my gap was set at .025. I was targeting an OG of 1.060 and I ended up with 1.046, largest miss ever for me. I did (2) 3 oz whirlpool additions at 185F and 160F. I was planning a 6-8 oz dry hop, but may back it down to 3 oz per this recipe since I now have a Session IPA.

I'll update when i try. gonna give it at least another week to bottle condition before i try (total of three weeks).

EDIT
You made me curious.
I placed one bottle in the fridge. Gonna try it tonight and update.

 

[sniak]

Okay. So I opened a bottle. Smells and looks great, tastes not bad. But still has a bit of a harsh bitter aftertaste.
Definitely gonna give it the full 3 weeks bottle conditioning.