Help - need a Wheat recipe?

[GrumpyPaul]

I have been asked to brew two kegs for a mates wedding.

We settled on one being a Red Rye IPA (#208 from the brew dog recipe book)

He wants a wheat beer as the other one - but we think it needs to be a wheat that will appeal to the masses.

So maybe some sort of American Wheaty, but then again the Orange/corianderish Hoegardenesque style might be good.

Does anyone have a tried and tested recipe that they would like to offer up?

Given its his wedding I want to make sure both beers are the best i can put up - this is no time for any of the usual weird-arse Grumpyexperimentationalism

 

[Dan Pratt]

Hey Grumpy,

I've fine tuned an american wheat that will appeal to the crowd.

OG 1040
FG 1008
ABV 4.2%
IBU 20
EBC 7

70% Pilsner Malt ( Organic if you can get it )
30% Wheat Malt

a small % of acidulated malt to get pH lower - targeting 5.2, I also add 7g of gypsum to the mash and 2g of epsom, again getting the pH at 5.2 will make the beer crisper ( sometimes i use lactic to, getting pH right makes it shine)

Mashed @ 64c for 60mins, mash out at 74c for 20mins

60min boil ( do 90 if you're worried about DMS, i haven't encountered it )

You can use any hop combo as I've tried many, but my fav is the following:

@ 10mins equal parts of - simcoe, citra, centennial = 20ibu

I like to use Bry97 or So4 @ 18c for 3days then ramp up to 21c. both of these have high folc levels which helps with the dry hopping.

Dry hop @ day 5 with temp @ 21c using 2g/L combo of Simcoe, Citra, Centennial

Carbonate on the higher side like 2.6-2.8 volumes.

:icon_drool2:

 

[GrumpyPaul]

a small % of acidulated malt to get pH lower - targeting 5.2, I also add 7g of gypsum to the mash and 2g of epsom, again getting the pH at 5.2 will make the beer crisper ( sometimes i use lactic to, getting pH right makes it shine)

Thanks Pratty.

I dont normally play with the water chemistry so excuse the ignorance

What size batch are those gypsum/epsom additions based on?

 

[mxd]

hey Paul,

just remember the different waters in NSW and Vic


Mine American wheat is a 50/50 wheat ale. 20 ibu @10 minutes. (Citra, Mosaic, Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo, cascade etc.. any of those American hops in combo or solo.)

US 05 19+- 1

Dry hop day 3g/l (ne hops above or combo) for 3 days (I use a hop sock)

Day 7-10 (when it's done, CC and dry hop 2 g/L (ne hops above or combo)

3 days later Keg, ideally drink it fresh.

N.B I use different hops for each dry hop regime (maybe use the same that were in the 10 min variety). e.g 10 min Citra, Amarillo, Mosiac, then dry 1 simco, dry 2 citra and centennial

 

[Alex.Tas]

take this suggestion with a grain of salt (pun absolutely intended).

Most of Melbourne water is soft, like Hobart water. There is a great PDF available on the web http://www.melbournebrewers.org/images/stories/BrewWiz/key%20concepts%20in%20water%20treatment.pdf

it gives you the basics in a easy to understand format.
I made a german wheat last weekend, and for a 25L batch i used around 1tsp of both gypsum (calcium sulphate) and calcium chloride.
generally you want to boost your Ca levels to 50-100ppm. depending on the style of beer you are making, this can determine the type of calcium supplement you use. Typically gypsum for hoppy/bitter beers, calcium chloride for malty.
I'll let the pdf give you a better explanation than i can for each of the main brewing ions.

I used 225g of acidulated malt to get the target mash pH where i wanted it 5.2.

Bottom line: if you want to have a dabble in mash chemistry, you could follow what i did above, or use a website like brewers friend to help you determine your additions.
Or simply not worry about it. For the last few brews i have played around with the chemistry a little. while my output quality may have changed, i haven't done side by side test of my beers to know if it makes an appreciable difference.

 

[nosco]

I like the 50/50 pils and wheat with cacade as the main hop. Use a little bit of something fruity like mosaic, citra, galaxy just to back up the cascade. Ive also used eqaual part saaz and cascade whichnis very nice. Us05. Very tastey.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Thanks Pratty.

I dont normally play with the water chemistry so excuse the ignorance

What size batch are those gypsum/epsom additions based on?

I make a 20L batch, start volume is 28L.

Check your water profile, at an educated guess it wont hurt to add the gyspum for calcium and sulphate
but the Epsom I use mainly to increase my sodium ppm.

Main thing to target is correct pH, a beer mashed at pH 5.6 versus 5.2 will be flat vs crisp. Fine tuning pH makes the beer shine, its crisper and finishes nice with the dryer mash temp. Maybe something to focus on for future beers, at 5.6 the punters will still empty the keg

 

[Reman]

For a German hefe I do 50/50 Pilsner/wheat, mash steps of 42c 15min 64c 40min then mash out, FWH magnum for about 15ibu, 120 min boil. Pick your hefe yeast, most seem to like the weistephaner(sp?) and ferment at 18c.

And as above like any wheat, drink fresh!