Need advice on a citrus wheat

swatman260 · Aug 29, 2011

I'm planning on brewing a citrus wheat this coming weekend. I've made a few variations of this recipe and have really enjoyed the orange flavor, but would like for it to have a little higher OG than what my previous recipes have had. That being said, here's what I've come up with. Those of you who know what you're doing, please feel free to offer critique...

This will be a 5g all-grain.

6.00 lbs -2 row malt
6.00 lbs - white wheat malt
1.00 lbs Rice Hulls
.5 oz cascade (5.5%) 60 min
.5 oz citra (12.5%) 30 min
.5 oz cascade (5.5%) 15 min
.5 oz citra (12.5%) 5 min
1 oz cascade (5.55) 0 min
1 oz. Orange Zest 0 min

Mash at 154* for 60 minutes, or until conversion is complete

Yeast will be White Labs Hefe yeast, fermented in primary at 66* for 14 days, then moved to secondary for an additional 7.

I'm looking for a good strong citrus flavor with a bit of a kick. Any help would be greatly appreciated, since I have to pick the ingredients up in the next day or so.

Cubslover · Aug 29, 2011

If you've never had Three Floyd's Gumballhead, I'd suggest trying it.

It's an all Amarillo hopped Wheat. AMAZING beer and very Lemony/citrusy.

You could go with Amarillo and Cascade/Centennial for a fantastic brew.

JonK331 · Aug 29, 2011

Take out 1 lb of the 2 row and add 1lb of Munich. Hefe was traditionally decocted which adds melanoidins. You can get a similar effect by using Munich malt. Also, this style is usually made with pils instead of 2row. 2row will work just fine though if you don't wan't to do a 90 minute boil.

Cap'n Jewbeard · Aug 29, 2011

Wow, never heard of Citra before... just looked it up, and it looks pretty exciting. 12.5% is no joke, either...

Have you used it before? What kinds of beers does it go well with?

Beezy · Aug 29, 2011

I have done two batches of all citra american wheat based off of Gumballhead. Citra is amazing. True all purpose hop. And quite complex for a single hop beer. Highly recommended. It's not easy to find right now tho.

beerandloathinginaustin · Aug 29, 2011

Cap'n Jewbeard said:
Wow, never heard of Citra before... just looked it up, and it looks pretty exciting. 12.5% is no joke, either...

Have you used it before? What kinds of beers does it go well with?

Really? Wow. Citra is great. Use it. Blends great with Amarillo & Nelson Sauvin. Awesome for dry hopping.

Anyway, are you using 300 or 320? I fermented a little higher than you plan to with my last hef on 300 and hit it with 2oz Amarillo with 15 mins left in the boil. I wish I would have used a hop with a little more unique hop profile. The grapefruit and banana don't totally clash, but they're not quite what I was going for. I'd try Nelson Sauvin or a Galaxy/Citra mix instead if I did it again.