Need help/suggestions for high% wheat beer...

[fred_zepp]

There was wheat on the family farm this year...so I have lots of raw wheat at my disposal. I also have some Willamette/Cascade hops that I grew on the farm last year.

My aim is to combine the two for an "all family grown" beer... which would get everybody pumped up!

I would like to go with 100% wheat if at all possible...just to keep it "local"

Here's the things I do know:

1. Need to cereal mash (here's all I know about cereal mashing >>> Cereal Mashing – How To Do It and Why You Shouldn’t Bother | Hopwild.com )

2. Use lots of rice hulls in the mash.

3. I'll need some source of enzymes...but don't know how to do this (other than using other malted grains)

Please fill me in on what else I need to know...or anything i've stated incorrectly. With any luck, I'll brewing this beer on the weekend and pitching it onto a WLP 400 wit yeast cake. then...maybe wheat wine!!!

 

[fred_zepp]

anyone? anyone?

 

[smashed4]

I've never heard of a 100% wheat beer.. should be possible and it has certainly be attempted it the past, but it might not turn out very good.. Barley is used in beer for a a reason..

Still, if you really want to go the 100% wheat way, I would see 2 possible ways:

1- Like you describe, cook the wheat to gelatinize the starches, then do an all raw wheat mash with rice hulls + industrial alpha/beta amylase enzymes (might be very hard to find at an home-brew level). You might need to use a lot of rice hulls.. In theory, it should work.. I'm not sure if it will be good though, you should try a mini batch experiment with only 1 or 2 pounds of wheat.

2- Malt the wheat. Malted wheat has enough diastatic power to convert itself. You will need to learn how to malt grains, which is not an easy task but doable.. Conversion might be longer since malted wheat has less enzymes than most barley malts, but it should work.. You will also need to use rice hulls... The beer might have a little bit more flavor since your malted wheat will have been kilned, but I'm really not sure it will turn out great..


Now, personnally, I would go the safe route and cook the wheat and use it 50/50 with a good, commercial barley base malt. And next year, plant some barley and learn how to malt it..

 

[fred_zepp]

yeah... i read a thread here about malting...lets just say i'd rather not!

i may just have to do like an 80 or 90% wheat beer and call it close enough.

 

[smashed4]

Yup.. try it on a small scale and use a base malt with high enzymatic power. And make sure you cook those wheat grains first.. 80% might be a little stretch, but if you cook it first and give it enough time, it will convert.. remember that given enough time, as long as there are enzymes in the mash, it will convert everything.. might take a very long time though if you have very few enzimes.. make sure you can heat your mash tank.. might want to mash in the brew pot on the stove and then transfert to the mash/lauter tun for lautering.. (that's what I would do, as my mash tank is not heated).

 

[DeathBrewer]

80-90% won't work...you won't have enough enzymes with 20% 6-row.

You can buy enzymes and do a 100% mash:

Austin Homebrew Supply

Yes, you will need rice hulls (i'd go with an additonal 20% rice hulls) and you will first need to do a cereal mash.

You still may wish to do 20% barley, even with the enzymes, or this could be a really tough mash.

Good luck!