Need help with rhubarb wheat ale!

[jaredwhite]

I am making a wheat ale and plan to add rhubarb and cardamom. Here is my extract recipe:
SG: 1.042-46 FG: 1.012-1.017
6 lbs. Wheat LME
8 oz. Carapils specialty grain
.5 oz Hallertau hops for 60 min.
.5 oz Hallertau hops for 2 min.
White Labs California Ale Yeast WL001
Rhubarb in secondary

Here are the questions I have:

When do I add the cardamom?
Also, rhubarb can be pretty tart. Would it be wise to use lactose to balance it out or should I use maltodextrin? Or neither? If I do use one, how much should I use?

I just began brewing in January and this is for a contest in my town. Any comments will be helpful.

Thanks!

Jared

 

[Pappers_]

Never heard of adding rhubard to beer - have you tried this before or just an idea that appeals to you? When you rack a beer onto a fruit in secondary, it gets the yeast going and they ferment out the additional sugars, leaving behind the flavor and tart, usually. One of the ways to balance that is by adding body, sweetness or maltiness to the beer. You could use some crystal malt instead of the carapils (or in addition to it) - maybe 1/2 lb.

Adding lactose to a wheat beer just doesn't sound good to me, but i've never tried it. Have fun experimenting!

 

[jaredwhite]

Its for Rhubarb Festival, which is something put on by a company in my town. This is for the homebrew contest.

Isn't carapils often used in place of maltodextrin? Am I mistaken? If I use a crystal malt, which one should I use? Is there a reason for using crystal instead of carapils?