# Using wheat in pale ale



## Doctormcbrewdle (26/3/18)

Just considering a grain bill for the next pale, and I have a few kg of malted wheat to use up. Never used it in anything but wheat beer before but am keen on giving it a shot in a pale

Am I right in thinking that wheat is a good way to make a pale a little less 'cloying' less 'full' in the mouthfeel? I'll be using Golden Promise as a base along with about 5% crystal 60. What percentage wheat would be a good starting point?

Thanks


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## wide eyed and legless (26/3/18)

If you can look up on line Gordon Strong's Avant Garde American pale ale he uses wheat malt in that.


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## Yobbo (26/3/18)

Doctormcbrewdle said:


> Just considering a grain bill for the next pale, and I have a few kg of malted wheat to use up. Never used it in anything but wheat beer before but am keen on giving it a shot in a pale
> 
> Am I right in thinking that wheat is a good way to make a pale a little less 'cloying' less 'full' in the mouthfeel? I'll be using Golden Promise as a base along with about 5% crystal 60. What percentage wheat would be a good starting point?
> 
> Thanks



Up to about %20 is great, even up to %30, makes for a good lasting lacing head and keeps the SRM down, most of the pales I brew have about %20 give or take, haze doesn't worry me as such as it's usually hazy from the stupid amount of hops that go in anyway.


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## Andy_27 (26/3/18)

I picked up ingredients for my next pale today. Its about 83% Pale malt, 9% wheat malt and 7% Munich 1.


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## Yobbo (26/3/18)

Andy_27 said:


> I picked up ingredients for my next pale today. Its about 83% Pale malt, 9% wheat malt and 7% Munich 1.



What's the other %1? 

Are you using any water treatment or acidulated malt?


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## Matplat (26/3/18)

I put a minimum 5-10% wheat in most beers to aid head retention.


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## Coodgee (26/3/18)

Doctormcbrewdle said:


> Just considering a grain bill for the next pale, and I have a few kg of malted wheat to use up. Never used it in anything but wheat beer before but am keen on giving it a shot in a pale
> 
> Am I right in thinking that wheat is a good way to make a pale a little less 'cloying' less 'full' in the mouthfeel? I'll be using Golden Promise as a base along with about 5% crystal 60. What percentage wheat would be a good starting point?
> 
> Thanks



yes and no. I do a pale ale that is about 5% English crystal at about 90 EBC and the rest golden promise and it is on the light end of the pale ale spectrum and definitely not cloying so I wouldn't be concerned about that. But the idea, as far as I know, is that wheat can add both "crispness" and mouthfeel at the same time. So a good example is stone and wood pacific ale which is about 40% wheat, it's very refreshing and dry but has a nice mouthfeel.


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## Doctormcbrewdle (26/3/18)

Nice explanation. Makes sense to me


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## Doctormcbrewdle (27/3/18)

I've never understood this haze people speak of when using wheat. Even raw wheat I end up with kristallweizen. Give a beer a time and it will always turn clear


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## brewgasm (27/3/18)

I have brewed a few beers with 40% wheat atleast one beer each with 50% and 60% all with good results.


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## Wobbly74 (27/3/18)

Doctormcbrewdle said:


> I've never understood this haze people speak of when using wheat. Even raw wheat I end up with kristallweizen. Give a beer a time and it will always turn clear


What yeast are you using? I've got a wheat beer 4 weeks in the keg and is still (nicely) cloudy...and almost gone. Fermented with wb-06.


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## MHB (27/3/18)

Coodgee said:


> yes and no. I do a pale ale that is about 5% English crystal at about 90 EBC and the rest golden promise and it is on the light end of the pale ale spectrum and definitely not cloying so I wouldn't be concerned about that. But the idea, as far as I know, is that wheat can add both "crispness" and mouthfeel at the same time. So a good example is stone and wood pacific ale which is about 40% wheat, it's very refreshing and dry but has a nice mouthfeel.


ON the PA - they were using in-malted wheat and oats, very different to using malted wheat, but the flake is where the slick, full mouthfeel is coming from. Malted Wheat wont give the body but over 5% will improve head retention and at higher rated probably a slightly crisper character.
5-10% wheat (often Torrefied) is/was a pretty common ingredient in UK pale Ale, around 5% Crystal is pretty common to, if you want more colour better to use a darker crystal (that's why they make them) than to pile too much of the lighter crystal in, which can get cloying.

DrMc - True store beer cold enough long enough and it will clear, if you want cloudy drink younger, or try adding a couple of teaspoons of plain wheat flour late in the kettle.
Mark


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## Doctormcbrewdle (27/3/18)

Wobbly74 said:


> What yeast are you using? I've got a wheat beer 4 weeks in the keg and is still (nicely) cloudy...and almost gone. Fermented with wb-06.



Yea, WB06 too. It's the only one I've ever used


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## Doctormcbrewdle (27/3/18)

MHB said:


> ON the PA - they were using in-malted wheat and oats, very different to using malted wheat, but the flake is where the slick, full mouthfeel is coming from. Malted Wheat wont give the body but over 5% will improve head retention and at higher rated probably a slightly crisper character.
> 5-10% wheat (often Torrefied) is/was a pretty common ingredient in UK pale Ale, around 5% Crystal is pretty common to, if you want more colour better to use a darker crystal (that's why they make them) than to pile too much of the lighter crystal in, which can get cloying.
> 
> DrMc - True store beer cold enough long enough and it will clear, if you want cloudy drink younger, or try adding a couple of teaspoons of plain wheat flour late in the kettle.
> Mark



Thanks Mark

I don't personally want cloudy, was just an observation that people say wheat remains cloudy. It doesn't.


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## Wobbly74 (27/3/18)

Maybe my other half doesn't leave it alone long enough then


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## Doctormcbrewdle (27/3/18)

Haha. A good possibility!


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## Andy_27 (27/3/18)

Yobbo said:


> What's the other %1?
> 
> Are you using any water treatment or acidulated malt?


They were all 83.3 odd % or something. I couldnt remember exactly, but yes I use acidulated malt also but dont factor it into the recipe. The amounts dont change anything much, if at all.


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