What makes a great American Wheat

[mcgster]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to brew an American wheat this weekend and it's my first time trying this style all grain. I'm looking for a recipe that would give me a good chance in a competition but when I look through the results from the NHBC table I see very few recipes for American wheats.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I certainly enjoy my fair share of American wheats but I have never built one from the ground up.

Thanks!


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[dannypo]

All my favorite American wheat have a noticeable hop character.

I haven't made a wheat in a while but my recipe was something like this.

OG 1.050
IBU 25
50% two row
40% malted wheat
10% Munich

Aroma hop of your choice ( I had good results with Saaz, Liberty, centennial and Amarillo)
1/2 oz at 10 minutes
1 oz at flameout

 

[Pie_Man]

Good fermentation for sure. Keep the beer refreshing, which usually means a clean finish, typically on the drier side for this style. If you use character smalls, use them sparingly.

I like to use hops like Willamette, Saaz, and Centential in my Wheat, but any good aroma hop is fine. Good examples have a nice hop character.

Do you have a recipe in mind?

 

[mcgster]

I have a pack of Wyeast 1010 bubbling away in a yeast starter right now so that is what I plan on using for my yeast. What would you recommend for a ferment temperature. I have pretty good control of my fermentation temperatures using a water bath.

I notice for the german wheat beers that have won in competitions they all tend to you use decotation mashes. I have never tried this, but I assume it makes a noticeable difference in the quality of the beer given the frequency it appears in NHBC winners. Would the same apply for American Wheats? If its just a single infusion mash what should the mash temp be?

I do like the sounds of a simple recipe of:

40% Row2
50% Wheat
10% Munich

Is there room for anything else in here or is simple the best bet here.

I do have a pound of hallertau here so I would like to use that as suggested, maybe something different late in the boil to add a little bit of hop aroma.




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[iowabrew]

I usually do a similar grain bill as above. Shoot for around 20-25 IBU, with cascade or cent thrown in around 15 min mark.

.5 oz of some nice aroma hop at 15, then bitter up to 20-25IBU's with the hallertau

 

[Pie_Man]

I do not think you have to decoct an American Wheat.

A 148-152F mash is what I would use.

I have not used that yeast, so I am not sure about temperature.

I like the malt bill.

 

[Braufessor]

I think all the advice above looks very good. I brew an american wheat with 1010 yeast every 2 months or so. Basically the same as outlined above - 2 row/wheat/munich. I like Willamette and either cascade or centennial as hops. 20-25 IBU's here too. Infusion mash at 150. I try to ferment in the 64-68 degree range.... not letting the temp. get too warm. I think a real key is avoiding any of the stereotypical "wheat beer flavors" of the german variety - banana, clove, etc. Clean, refreshing, crisp, easy drinking.

I think the hallertau would work fine in this for one or both additions if you are looking to use it.

 

[mcgster]

Thanks everyone, based on the input and what i have on hand here is what i have come up with:

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
5 lbs Wheat Malt, Pale (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 50.0 %
4 lbs Brewer's Malt, 2-Row, Premium (Great Western) (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 40.0 %
1 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.0 %
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 16.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 5 8.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Perle [8.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 6 2.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg American Wheat Ale (Wyeast Labs #1010) [124.21 ml] Yeast 7 -

Est Original Gravity: 1.051 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.009 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.5 %
Bitterness: 26.9 IBUs
Est Color: 4.1 SRM

 

[Braufessor]

That....... looks like a tasty beer. Be a perfect drinker in a few weeks when (If) spring is here.

 

[IL1kebeer]

WLP0029 Kölsch yeast fermented at 65F makes for a really good American Wheat. A tad better than WLP001 and those American Hefe strains. Can't relay go wrong with WLP001 though.


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[Flee15]

+1 to WLP029 Kolsch

I make mine with all Cascade and it is great.

 

[mcgster]

And now we wait

Brew day went great I used some acid malt so I could hold my pH between 5.5 and 5.4. Mash temp started at 149 and stayed between 149 and 150


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[00p]

+1 to WLP029 Kolsch

I make mine with all Cascade and it is great.

What's the schedule? I've got some cascade on hand and this sounds like a great use.

 

[msa8967]

This is an American Wheat recipe that is pretty popular at our parties.

Americam Wheat
5 lbs wheat
5 lb 2-row
1/2 lb flaked wheat
1 oz willamette 60 min
0.5 oz casacde 10 min
0.5 oz cascade 5 min
0.5 oz cascade 0 min
Wyeast 1010

If you wanted something different but still have some citrus taste you could use amarillo hops instead of cascade.
I also find that the flaked wheat helps to gives this some body in order to keep it from tasting thin.

 

[AnOldUR]

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I brew a lot of American Wheats, but not a fan of Wy1010. Even fermented cool, it can have a slight estry (banana) aroma and flavor that's not appropriate and I’m not fond of. A cleaner ale yeast works better for my taste. The American Wheat style is so wide that you can pick a direction and run with it. Mine lean more toward a Wheat based Pale Ale/IPA, on the hoppier and higher OG end of the guidelines (and quite often over.)

Right now I have a version on tap that was hopped mostly with Nelson Sauvin. Bittered with a little Summit at 60 minutes, and a couple of ounces of Citra at flame-out for additional aroma. Very enjoyable combination. It’s 50% wheat with the rest of the bill being American 2-row and 5% Agava to dry it out. 1.071OG / 61 IBU's

Have fun with it!

 

[masonsjax]

IMO Kolsch yeast is a must for an American wheat beer. Wy1010 although labeled as American Wheat has too much ester production for the style. Go with Kolsch, you'll be happy with it.

 

[mcgster]

I wish I would have experimented a bit more with this one but I went with the basic recipe. The beer is good but it lacks any defining qualities. Also, the wy1010 has left a hint of sulfur in the aroma which I think will clean up after awhile. Ferment temps were between 66 and 67

Will remake this with some hops at flameout!


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