What type of yeast to use for a ginger wheat beer with honey malt?

[rzarichnak]

Just wanted to see if I could get some suggestions on what type of yeast to use for a wheat beer featuring honey malt with some added ginger and lemon zest. I got the bast for the recipe on here and just changed it a bit.

Here is the recipe

Estimated SG: 1.044
Estimated IBU's: 17.1

Grains:
6 lbs pale malt........ 54.5%
3 lbs white wheat.... 27.27%
2 lbs honey malt...... 18.18%

Hops:
0.6 centennial (9.6AA) @ 30 min
0.6 oz centennial (9.6AA) @ 1 min


Adjuncts:
8oz grated ginger @ 15 min
1.4 oz lemon zest @ 2 min
8oz grated ginger @ 1 min
8oz grated ginger in the secondary

Thanks in advance!

 

[tarmenel]

I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

 

[maddcow]

I think both WLP320 or WLP400 would work great. But WLP001 would be a nice clean yeast to use too

 

[rzarichnak]

Thanks a bunch! I was leaning towards the witbier yeast as well since I get really strong banana and clove flavors from the hefeweizen. I'll post back here after we brew. They only thing I am worried about is the amount of ginger and lemon zest. Not completely sure if it is going to be too strong or not enough. Ginger is usually pretty potent in my opinion. I suppose we brew it once and make adjustments.

 

[solbes]

I just used WY3944 (Wyeast Witbier) yeast and loved it. Definitely features the lemon taste from Strisselspalt hops and corriander. I would assume the WLP variant would be good as well.

Yeah go easy on the ginger. I have used it in my pumpkin ales and winter warmers (1/4 tsp and 1/8 tsp). Even with the 1/8 tsp I thought it was too strong, so I've eliminated it from my spiced beers. I'll stick with cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg in smaller amounts.

 

[bobeer]

I love using wlp001 or sa05 with beers like this. Mash a tad on the high side to keep some of the maltyness because these yeasts rip through it! Whatever you end up using good luck!

 

[giraffe]

Umm, are you sure you want to use 18% honey malt? Have you used that much before?

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Wyeast 1010 is usually my go-to yeast for American wheat beers. It's clean and doesn't give the brew the Belgian or German profiles of the WLP yeasts. It also ferments great. As for the Honey malt, I agree that 18% would be too overpowering. I would stay under a pound.

For adding ginger (I actually preferred Maryanne), earlier additions will give some good ginger flavor. Late additions will give you more "bite". In my experience dry hopping has given too much of a harsh flavor. I just finished off a ginger wheat with a recipe similar to yours (no honey malt, though). I did 4 oz fresh grated ginger for 30 min boil and 1 oz for the last 10 min. It gave a very noticeable ginger flavor and aroma without any harshness. Very refreshing and not overpowering.

 

[masonsjax]

I like Kolsch yeast in most wheat beers. Clean but low flocculation, gets cleaner and clears up with a little lagering. Very nice.

 

[rzarichnak]

Thanks for all the input everyone. Looking forward to sharing the results!

 

[rzarichnak]

This is the final recipe I used and the results I got. Turned out to be a really great beer with some awesome flavor! It should be noted I use a BIAB system.'

Used 8.42 gallons of reverse osmosis water from Whole Foods with the following additions.
2.53 grams of Gypsum
5.05 grams of Calcium Chloride
1.68 grams of Canning Salt
1.52 ml of Lactic Acid

Grain Bill
6 lbs 2-Row
3 lbs Wheat Malt
2 lbs Honey Malt
.5 lbs Rice Hulls

.6 oz Centennial 30 minutes
8 oz of Ginger Root 15 minutes
2 oz Lemon Zest 2 minutes
.6 oz Centennial 1 minute
8 oz Ginger Root 1 minute

Protein Rest @ 122 for 20 minutes - Used 20% of grain bill with wheat and hulls to help with conversion
Mashed @ 158 for 60 minutes - Added the rest of grain at the beginning of saccharification
Mashed Out @ 168 for 10 minutes

pH - 5.39

Peeled all the skin of the ginger root (Pain in the ass). Make sure to buy a little extra to make up for the weight lost from all the skin.

Let ferment in primary for 7 days and then racked to a secondary for another 7 days with 8 ounces of fresh ginger. Kegged beer and let sit at 20 psi for 4 days before hooking up to the Keezer.

Measured ABV - 4.5%

Tasting Notes:
I was worried about the amount of honey malt and ginger additions going into the brew day but they both turned out to be perfect. If I am drinking a ginger beer, or a Chipotle IPA, or whatever else I want to make sure those flavors and aromas are present. This beer has a good amount of ginger aroma sitting in the glass but balances pretty darn perfectly with the sweetness of the honey malt after taking a slug. You can definitely still taste the ginger, but it is not as powerful as the aroma might suggest. At the very end you pick a little hint of the lemon zest if you are really searching for it, but not as much I would like. The next time I brew this I will be adding more lemon zest. Overall a really great summer beer.

If anyone else brews this I would love to hear about your results.

Cheers
Ryan Z

 

[rzarichnak]

I just wanted to post my results on the Ginger Honey Wheat.

Here is the final recipe.

Grain Bill
6 lbs 2-Row
3 lbs Wheat Malt
2 lbs Honey Malt
.5 lbs Rice Hulls

Additions
.6 oz Centennial @ 30 minutes
8 oz Ginger Root @ 15 minutes
2 oz lemon zest @ 2 minutes
8 oz Ginger Root @ 1 min
.6 oz of Centennial @ 1 min

8 oz Ginger Root for 7 days after 6 days of initial fermentation

Notes
-Peeled and grated ginger root before adding. Be sure to buy some extra ginger root to compensate for skin of the root you will peel off.
-Added 20% of grains in with the wheat and rice hulls @ protein rest to help with conversion
-My pH was 5.39
-Kegged at 25psi for 4 days and then dropped to 12 when put on the tap system.
-Mashed @ 122 for 20 minutes for a protein rest
-Mashed @ 158 for 60 minutes for saccharification

Tasting Notes
I am really happy how this beer turned out! I was concerned that the beer might have too much ginger or too much honey malt, but both turned out to be spot on. It should be noted that I like bold flavor in a beer. If you want something very subtle I would tone down the ginger a bit. The only thing I would change would be to add more lemon zest. It is barely noticeable, and you have to know it is in there to even sense it.

Cheers!

 

[masonsjax]

What yeast did you use?