Tasteless Wheat Beer

[fergi]

i have done a coopers wheat beer selection, 3463 forbidden fruit yeast, 60 grm mandarin peel/coriander, it has come down to 1012 so i reckon its getting near completion.tasted the sample and really doesnt have a great flavour profile happening yet,this was also christened with a belgian wit hoppgarden pack with crushed grain etc. SG was 1044 now down to 1012. i have only made a wheat beer once before and it was a brewcraft selection and i remember that one as being not a beer that i would make again. but after about 6/8 weeks in the keg and drinking it occasionally as it came to the end it really developed some nice flavors to the extent that i marked in my brew book that i should make another wheat beer sometime.has any one done this coopers wheat and how did it turn out for you
cheers
fergi

 

[rackemup]

Hi
I have done a few wheat beers and generally use coopers wheat tins but i tried an esb wheat 1.7kg tin and it was very nice indeed. I have only ever used safale wb-06 so i cant comment on any other styles of wheat beer yeasts out there. i just done a thomas coopers wheat beer+ coopers wheat malt+wb-06 yeast+hallertau hops dry and it turned out really nice. i think they need about a month to develop and are then best drunk soon after as they dont seem to be a style of beer that gets better and better in the bottle (like stouts) also they taste the best when they are really cold :icon_cheers:

 

[manticle]

How it tastes out of the fermenter is not how it will taste after bottling/kegging and conditioning so don't give up hope.

 

[fergi]

well i have tried this wheat beer after 4 days in the keg, i know its not long but just keeping tuned in to the flavour profile as it develops.i have to say at the moment i am not that impressed, sure its a light refreshing beer but to be honest it tastes nearly the same as my mates coles home brand draught with can yeast and kilo of dextrose, now this brew he makes cost him $8.50 to make 23 litres. my brew which is coopers wheat beer , forbidden fruit 3463 yeast , 60 grms mandarin peel,1/4 teaspoon coriander.then a hoppgarden adda pack with grain.malt.dex/hops cost me $27 for 21 litres, i dont get it, it really needs to develop some flavour profiles pretty quick otherwise its a dam waste of $27. i fermented at 20 deg, 1044 sg and 1012fg, i really think it needs a blast of something to give it at least a resemblance of flavour, any ideas.
cheers

fergi

 

[rackemup]

well i have tried this wheat beer after 4 days in the keg, i know its not long but just keeping tuned in to the flavour profile as it develops.i have to say at the moment i am not that impressed, sure its a light refreshing beer but to be honest it tastes nearly the same as my mates coles home brand draught with can yeast and kilo of dextrose, now this brew he makes cost him $8.50 to make 23 litres. my brew which is coopers wheat beer , forbidden fruit 3463 yeast , 60 grms mandarin peel,1/4 teaspoon coriander.then a hoppgarden adda pack with grain.malt.dex/hops cost me $27 for 21 litres, i dont get it, it really needs to develop some flavour profiles pretty quick otherwise its a dam waste of $27. i fermented at 20 deg, 1044 sg and 1012fg, i really think it needs a blast of something to give it at least a resemblance of flavour, any ideas.
cheers

fergi

does your lhbs sell dry wheat malt? if not just use the kit and liquid wheat malt, no dex. try wb-06 dry wheat yeast, its alright. and dry hop with some nice german hops.
this is similair to how i make mine and its got heaps of flavour, like a wheat should.
dont give up on wheat beer

 

[usastman]

I have done a few wheta beer now...My impression is to get the best out of wheat beer ...it is all about the yeast.

I have used a few different Wyeast - Belgium yeast - 3056, 3944. I also think that feremting at the higher end of the range gives more flavour/aroma from the yeast.

I'm not to fussed about the cost - but shelling out $10-$15 for a liquid yeats can be a bit prohibitive,

 

[nathanR]

"feremting at the higher end of the range gives more flavour/aroma from the yeast"

are you saying if you cant keep your fementer cold a wheat beer would be the best to do till you can get a fridge

my beer is fementing at 26 deg

my first beer that was a wheat tastes pretty good after a week in bottles just have to wait a little longer

sorry to hijack

 

[Pennywise]

26 might still be pushing it, I haven't personally gone that high with a wheat beer so I could be wrong, but in my experiences 22 is the best temp from the wheat beer yeasts I've used(admittadly not alot).

 

[manticle]

I fermented my recent hefe between 17 and 18 pretty much all the way through and it seems to have plenty of esters. If the yeast is good, I don't think it needs to pushed anywhere near 26 degrees.

 

[seemax]

the saf yeast WB-06 does a pretty good making a wheat-esque beer, i've done two at 18C and had good results with basic extract recipes

 

[Stagwa]

Hi Fergi,

I made a wheat beer from a kit that was so bland I nearly threw it out (that would have been a first for me). I dont think that it will develop any flavour if you think it is bland now but you could turn it into something drinkable and a bit enjoyable:

Buy some good quality Raspberry cordial must be good I used Cascade raspberry cordial and added a small dash to the glass before pouring. The result was rather nice and you can adjust the amount of cordial to suite your taste.

Cheers,

Stagwa

 

[fergi]

Hi Fergi,

I made a wheat beer from a kit that was so bland I nearly threw it out (that would have been a first for me). I dont think that it will develop any flavour if you think it is bland now but you could turn it into something drinkable and a bit enjoyable:

Buy some good quality Raspberry cordial must be good I used Cascade raspberry cordial and added a small dash to the glass before pouring. The result was rather nice and you can adjust the amount of cordial to suite your taste.

Cheers,

Stagwa

thanks for suggestions guys but i am really pissed off that a quality pack with all the bits n pieces ,and cost, should turn out like my mates homebrand coles draught with a kilo of sugar, i have made a wheat beer b4 with a different adda pack etc and that turned out to be a nice summer drink, so thats why i decided to make another this year, different yeast too last one was wb06 ,i am thinking of maybe dry hopping in the keg or making a cup of boiling wort with some hops added then pour into the keg, not sure which way to go, only thing is the missus likes it and she is not a real beer drinker. generally only drinks water so i guess it would taste good after drinking water.
fergi

 

[Phill D]

thanks for suggestions guys but i am really pissed off that a quality pack with all the bits n pieces ,and cost, should turn out like my mates homebrand coles draught with a kilo of sugar, i have made a wheat beer b4 with a different adda pack etc and that turned out to be a nice summer drink, so thats why i decided to make another this year, different yeast too last one was wb06 ,i am thinking of maybe dry hopping in the keg or making a cup of boiling wort with some hops added then pour into the keg, not sure which way to go, only thing is the missus likes it and she is not a real beer drinker. generally only drinks water so i guess it would taste good after drinking water.
fergi

Hey Ive been reading along - interesting thread. What does dry hopping actually entail - is it just get the hops and throw it in dry in a bag? How or why is this different to mulling up the hops in boiling water or boiling before hand?

Whay couldnt you just get a hops tea bag and mull it and then add the juice and the teabag amd leave for a week?

Thanks in advance
2beers

 

[manticle]

Hey Ive been reading along - interesting thread. What does dry hopping actually entail - is it just get the hops and throw it in dry in a bag? How or why is this different to mulling up the hops in boiling water or boiling before hand?

Whay couldnt you just get a hops tea bag and mull it and then add the juice and the teabag amd leave for a week?

Thanks in advance
2beers

You can add hops during fermentation in a number of ways. Boiling beforehand is usually going to give a bit of bitterness and/or flavour depending on the length of the boil wheareas adding dry, steeping or using a teabag will give mainly aroma (although my limited experience of dry hopping suggests some flavour will also result and it makes sense that it would).

The main difference between hops steeped in boiling water (french press) and dry hopping is that one is dry and one isn't. My guess is that the hot water brings out the aroma compounds sooner but cold steeping (which is what occurs when you chuck hops straight in) will also work over time.

Hops teabags are ok as a cheap introduction to hops when you first start but they are not always the best, freshest or most well kept/stored hops.

Dry hopping and leaving too long can supposedly give grassy or vegetal flavours. I have had grass after dry hopping but it's hard to say as the culprit was saaz which is fairly grassy anyway. I haven't done enough of it to be definitive.

 

[rackemup]

Hey Ive been reading along - interesting thread. What does dry hopping actually entail - is it just get the hops and throw it in dry in a bag? How or why is this different to mulling up the hops in boiling water or boiling before hand?

Whay couldnt you just get a hops tea bag and mull it and then add the juice and the teabag amd leave for a week?

Thanks in advance
2beers

im sure somebody will have a better description, but to summarize: dry hopping is adding hops AFTER the boil, when fermentation is starting to slow down you add your hops to the beer and let them swim around until they sink to the bottom a few days later.Some people suggest placing your hops in a hop bag and then putting it in the fermentor, others (me included) just dump them straight in(no bag). it adds no bitterness to the brew, just aroma and flavour. some people love it, others not so much. give it a go and find out for yourself

 

[Phill D]

[quote name='Rack'EmUp' post='551476' date='Nov 11 2009, 07:14 PM']im sure somebody will have a better description, but to summarize: dry hopping is adding hops AFTER the boil, when fermentation is starting to slow down you add your hops to the beer and let them swim around until they sink to the bottom a few days later.Some people suggest placing your hops in a hop bag and then putting it in the fermentor, others (me included) just dump them straight in(no bag). it adds no bitterness to the brew, just aroma and flavour. some people love it, others not so much. give it a go and find out for yourself [/quote]


Thanks guys - i have been just experimenting with tea bags at the moment.

As always - great answers

2beers