Small batch Hefeweizen -- recipe okay?

[Lord Ester]

Hi.

I'm wanting to pull together a small batch (10lt) of Hefeweizen.

Been thinking the following:
-500g LDM
-500g Dry wheat malt
-7g Helga hops for bittering
-WB-06 yeast

How does this look? Was going to dissolve the malts into 3lt of cold water, raise to boil, add Helga for 60 mins.

Guy at the LHBS was insistent on selling me a tiny packet of cracked wheat (?) to impart wheat flavour. He said just steep it in a plunger. According to the pack, it just goes straight into the FV from the plunger.

How does this approach sound to you? I am used to steeping my spec grains for 30 mins in a small saucepan at 65C.

This recipe comes out at about 4% ABV, which is where I want it. But how does the overall approach sound? I don't know much about Hefes.

Cheers.

 

[MHB]

Couple of things to look at, first up is the amount of wheat, most wheat beer are about 1/2 wheat, so is the wheat extract (40-60% Wheat) so your recipe is in effect 25% (give or take) wheat. If you want to make a more authentic wheat beer you could use all wheat extract.

Second 1Kg of DME in 10L is in effect about 960g of solids in 10Kg (roughly) of water, 0.96/10 = 9.6oP so the OG would be 1.0385, to get 4%ABV you are looking at a change in gravity of 4 = Change in gravity /7.5 = 30, apparent attenuation would be about 78%, doable but at the higher end of what I would expect from a DME, it is likely to pull up a bit higher than you expect.

Third, the bitterness, I don't know the AA% of the hops you have, Hefeweizen is usually only bittered to 15-20 IBU and then with a noble hop (Hallertau, Hersbrucker, Tetnanger or Spalt) tho there are lots of other possibilities and it is probably not going to matter much, but if you dissolve the whole 1KG of DME in 3L of water you would be boiling in a wort with a gravity over 1.125, that will knock your utilisation to hell, you wont get anything near what you expect.
It is a good idea to match your boil gravity to your target OG, then add the balance of your DME near the end of the boil just to sterilise it.

Forth, if you want a real hefe you will need a liquid wheat yeast, especially if you are looking for banana, WB-06 is a great yeast and a good one to learn on but at some point have a long hard look at the liquid yeast options W 3068 is my favourite.
Fun beer to brew and the fast turnaround is great hope you get what you are looking for.
Mark

 

[manticle]

HBS steeping method is suspect. Malted wheat needs to be mashed - whether mashed or steeped, the runnings should then be boiled.

 

[shacked]

Guy at the LHBS was insistent on selling me a tiny packet of cracked wheat (?) to impart wheat flavour. He said just steep it in a plunger. According to the pack, it just goes straight into the FV from the plunger.

How does this approach sound to you? I am used to steeping my spec grains for 30 mins in a small saucepan at 65C.

Mate, I wouldn't pour the steeped liquor straight into the FV. I'd add it to the boil. You want to boil it to kill off anything hiding in the grain.

As MHB said, you want to do the boil at a gravity of about 1.040 which is about 100g of DME per 1L of water.

Liquid yeast is going to give you better results. It's more expensive than dry but you can reuse it in multiple batches (look up yeast washing).

 

[Weizguy]

MHB, you have come a long way since you despised the Weiss.

Now you are teaching people to make it. Outstanding!

 

[MHB]

Yeah well you turned me you *******
It was only that I hadn't had any good ones at the time, I think we are talking about more than 10 years ago, back then there were pretty slim pickings and I think I might have thought Redback was what wheat was supposed to taste like, and am very happy to have been wrong.
Cheers Les
Mark

 

[Lord Ester]

Thanks, guys -- first chance to reply.

So the wheat I've been sold is Mangrove Jack's Wheat Spraymalt. No idea on how much wheat is in it ...

I am pretty new to brewing so some of your points went over my head, but I think I caught most of it. I can see I need to do a little simple maths to work out the boil gravity with the DME. (Whoops -- I missed Shacked's earlier post with the calc in there -- cheers!)

So if I steep the cracked, dehusked wheat, should I run it through the whole 1 hour boil after? Or just close to the end of the boil?

And if I am to sterilise all the DME, then how far from the end of the boil should it go in?

Thanks for your patience ...

 

[spaced]

If you want a dry yeast option take a look at M20 yeast from Mangrove Jacks. Fast fermentation lots of banana.

 

[Lord Ester]

I do have one of MJ's Belgian Ale Yeasts here -- still pretty fresh. Would that be a better option than the WB-06 that brew shop guy sold me?

BTW I did ask for a liquid yeast. He told me that I wouldn't want a liquid yeast for 10lt brew. The pack of wheat spray malt he sold me was also partly split, and put into another bag. Didn't notice till I was a long way down the road from the LHBS ...

 

[manticle]

Boil the runnings for at least 10 minutes. If doing a hop boil with extract for 60, add the steepings to that. Boiling does a lot of things but one of the main ones (esp. with extract/grain) is sterilisation. Grain contains bacteria you don't usually want in your finished beer.

 

[Weizguy]

I do have one of MJ's Belgian Ale Yeasts here -- still pretty fresh. Would that be a better option than the WB-06 that brew shop guy sold me?

BTW I did ask for a liquid yeast. He told me that I wouldn't want a liquid yeast for 10lt brew. The pack of wheat spray malt he sold me was also partly split, and put into another bag. Didn't notice till I was a long way down the road from the LHBS ...

Use the WB-06 and not the Belgian.
Wheat DME and all other DME is usually OK, even after it starts to get a bit clumpy, so don't worry about the split bag. I'm sure it was the shop just trying to ensure that the DME didn't spill.

As Manticle mentioned, the grain liquid from steeping should be part of the full boil duration, along with 100g/l DME and your bittering hops, adding the remaining DME for the last 5-10 minutes of the boil.
Just be careful that you don't get any boilover, as your partner (if any) will not take kindly to it.

You can cool the pot (with lid on) in the sink with a few water changes and get your beer happening with a yeast pitch when the wort gets to around 20°C.

Finally, I need you to report the result back here for others to enjoy and perhaps for others in your own position to follow.

More questions?

Beerz!

 

[Lord Ester]

Les -- brilliant. Thank you.

That is such helpful info. You've provided some great help here. I'm looking forward to putting this one down tomorrow. Yes -- I will report back on the end result.

 

[Lord Ester]

So my plan of attack -- based on what's above -- is:

-Heat 1lt water to 70C. Add crushed wheat grains. Steep for 30 mins.
-Put 3lt of cold water into large pot. Add 300g DME. Stir well.
-Strain water from steeped grain into large pot as well. Bring to boil for 60 mins.
-Add 10g Helga hops at 60 mins
-Stir in remaining 200g of DME and all 500g of Wheat Spraymalt at 10 mins
-Add 100g dextrose to pot at flameout; stir and leave for 5 mins. Then cool wort.
-Pour into FV. Fill FV to 10lt.
-Stir well. Take hydrometer reading. Pitch yeast around 20C.

I realise the wheat spray malt I have is probably 50% barley (as you mentioned above), so it will prob end up being 25% wheat with some extra wheat steepings for flavour. Hopefully it might get somewhere near being a Hefeweizen in some sense ...

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Matplat]

With regard to calculation of boil gravity etc. download IanH's spreadsheet, it will do it all for you

 

[Lord Ester]

Thanks, Matplat. I did use Ian's spreadsheet to set it up, and put down the brew this morning. All went to plan, and we hit the target OG of 1.040. Now it's just a matter of temp control and waiting. Man, that WB-06 fired up quick! Amazing.

 

[Weizguy]

Don't be too concerned about achieving the hefeweizen character with the DME and wheat DME. Should be easy enough.

I used to make a weizen of great character with 1.5kg wheat DME and 1.0kg DME in 22 litres. Great banana and cloves.

 

[Lord Ester]

So I brewed this a few weeks ago now, and then bottled it a week ago.

Had a spare half-bottle (about 500ml) sitting there, and after only a week of carbonating, couldn't resist a taste-test.

Poured nicely into a tall Hefe glass, with the fluffy white head and all. Swirled the dregs and dumped them on top. Good yeasty smell with clove spice, citrus and bubble gum. Excellent hazy look -- like all my beers! LOL.

Being half a bottle of leftover, and with only a week to condition, I don't think it has carbed properly. A bit disappointed in the actual carbonation of the beer. Temperatures have been pretty cool, and time's been short. A bit more time and I think it would have carried those bubbles not only in the head, but in the body.

Tastes a wee bit thin, but I am used to drinking beers with big alc content. This one is a bit under 5%. Flavour is very good, though. And overall I'm very pleased with it. I'd do this one again.