Wheat Beer Questions

[birusuki]

Hi all,

I just got a wheat beer kit which consitsts of 1 tin morgans golden sheaf wheat beer kit, 1 tin of morgans master

malt extract wheat (enhancer I think) the kits comes with hops, enzyme, irish moss and safal w06 wheat yeast.
I got the kit from the net (japan), wont know what the hops are until it arrives.

I mainly want to know if I can use speciality grains to steep to improve the head retention? Never used a wheat kit
before. Was wondering if those grains were for your regular lagers and ales?
dont know if I`ll use the irish moss though. What would be the purpose of the enzyme? never used that before.
would you just make the kit as is or try to improve it. N.B I only got it as it has past it used by date and was going cheap
and thought I`d give it a go.
Thanks for any help

 

[blakie21]

I am by no means an expert brewer but my understanding is the wheat malt gives great head retention and mouthfeel anyway. so no spec grains needed.

Experts feel free to correct me!

Dont think irish moss is needed unless its AG.

Also - be careful buying kits past their use by date, even before their use by they can turn crappy. I generally aim for at least a year or two on my kits to ensure its fresh. Try it though and let us know how it goes if its out of date, id be interested to know how they go.

 

[warra48]

Don't bother adding anything to the kit etc as you have it. Wheat beers are not complicated.

Try to ferment at about 18 to 20 degrees C, and you'll be fine.

The wheat will give you plenty of head retention.

 

[birusuki]

Don't bother adding anything to the kit etc as you have it. Wheat beers are not complicated.

Try to ferment at about 18 to 20 degrees C, and you'll be fine.

The wheat will give you plenty of head retention.

thanks for the replies. I`ll go ahead and make it without the the extras.
cheers

 

[Thefatdoghead]

It's funny I just read in Zamil Zainasheff's book brewing classic style's that the one major thing to look out for when useing extract is that it has not passed it's used by date. Something to do with the mailard reaction's still happening while still in the tin.
I agree with the other bloke just use the wheat extract and maybe a single 60min bittering addition but id'e just buy some fresh Wheat LME and same your self the time.

 

[hoppy2B]

Aged tins of LME have been known to produce award winning beers on occasion.
Aging will darken the malt and may create extra flavours similar to caramelization. Not everyone would agree that it is a good thing, but the only real way to know if you're on a winner is to try it out.
Malted grain is aged after malting for the purpose of flavour development, yet on this site I have seen people virtually giving away aged malted grain because they were getting in a fresh lot.
Your knowledge will be advanced if you engage in experimentation.

 

[blakie21]

Aged tins of LME have been known to produce award winning beers on occasion.
Aging will darken the malt and may create extra flavours similar to caramelization. Not everyone would agree that it is a good thing, but the only real way to know if you're on a winner is to try it out.
Malted grain is aged after malting for the purpose of flavour development, yet on this site I have seen people virtually giving away aged malted grain because they were getting in a fresh lot.
Your knowledge will be advanced if you engage in experimentation.

sounds interesting may have to give it a crack some time then if I come across one. When starting out though I know a failed batch would be enough to put me off! Now I know better but I always wanted a sure thing to begin with to make sure my skills were only to blame if anything went wrong !

 

[hoppy2B]

sounds interesting may have to give it a crack some time then if I come across one. When starting out though I know a failed batch would be enough to put me off! Now I know better but I always wanted a sure thing to begin with to make sure my skills were only to blame if anything went wrong !

A beginner may not be aware or even care if their beer fails and has a slight off flavour because they're so caught up in the novelty of being able to make the stuff. :lol:

 

[Thefatdoghead]

I don't eat gone off food and I wouldn't brew with off malt. Fresh is the way to go mmmmmmm fresh grain

 

[birusuki]

While I aggree fresh should be desireable over something passed it`s used by date. (I wouldn`t necessarily call it off) I drink milk a day or two
over etc. I just dont have the luxury of a LHBS. I get all my gear from the net, and well since it was cheap thought I`d give it a go. if it fails
no big loss, but some time. The reason I got it was a few years back on this site someone was flogging off some belgium kits past the date
and people were snapping them up. The general discusion at the time was darker colour, slight flavour change etc. anyway it`s just a challenge.

GAV80 "a single 60min bittering addition " what hopps do people suggest for wheat beers.
cheers again