Wheat Beer Recipe

[johnno]

I want to make a wheat beer in a couple of weekends and am not sure about how to go about it.
Being a lazy sod I cant be bothered reseraching too much as I cant seem to surf further that AHB a lot of the time.

I have the Wyeast 3333 yeast and thats about it.
I was thinking about 50% malted wheat and 50% Pils malt along with some rice hulls and some specialty malt?

I understand this is not the correct yeast for a Hoegarden style beer. Is this correct or can I still make something along those lines with this yeast.

Please help a lazy bugger like me with suggestions.

johnno

 

[n00ch]

Thinking about doing a wheat beer this weekend actually. Stumbled across this topic that gave me a few ideas - http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...8&hl=ag%20wheat

 

[Darren]

Johnno,
Go with what you've got. Hop to about 20 IBU or so and Bobs your uncle.
3333 is a good wheat yeast.
cheers
Darren

 

[johnno]

Actually i was reading the thread n00ch linked to and found this post by jayse very interesting regarding a step mash.

MAH,
30 mins each step.
It was'nt a wheat beer though, it was a APA but all in all I can't really say if it made any difference.
The procedure was.
40c = 12 litres of 45c water rest for 30 mins.
60c = 6 litres of 99c water rest for 30 mins
70c = 7 litres of 99c water rest for 30 mins
78c = 10 litres of 99c water then rest awile and recycle.

At each step i mixed it up very well and from memory iam pretty sure i hit all temps i was after. I calculated for a final mash volume of 38 litres which minus the volume of the grain come to the exact boil start volume of 32 litres.

Lately all my brew have been no sparge brews ie just top the tun up to 38 litres volume with 99c water at the end for a mash out temp of 78c in a 5 kg mash.
With this method iam still getting 75% effiency.

Cheers Jayse

Would Hallertau be ok for this?

 

[Darren]

Not a problem with Hallertau. Any low alpha german hop would be ok.
Don't worry about the step mash unless you really want to do it. It will add hours and agony to your brew day (unless you have Herms/Rims).
Ferment under 20 degree if you want a clean beer, above twenty if you want wheat beer flavours (cloves, phenols, maybe banana)
cheers
Darren

 

[Ross]

johnno,

Just kegged this one - not my favourite style, but fermented between 21 & 22c for banana/clove flavours - has worked a treat. I actually dilluted it a bit to 4% Alc.

Type: All Grain
Date: 26/10/2005
Batch Size: 26.01 L
Brewer: Ross
Boil Size: 37.38 L Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: My Equipment
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0
Taste Notes:

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
2.80 kg Wheat Malt, Malt Craft (Joe White) (1.8 SRM) Grain 52.8 %
2.00 kg Pilsner, Malt Craft Export (Joe White) (1.6 SRM) Grain 37.7 %
0.50 kg Munich, Light (Joe White) (9.0 SRM) Grain 9.4 %
39.00 gm Hallertauer [3.20%] (80 min) Hops 13.5 IBU
13.00 gm Hallertauer [3.00%] (15 min) Hops 2.0 IBU
1 Pkgs Weihenstephan Weizen (Wyeast Labs #3068) Yeast-Wheat



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.048 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %
Bitterness: 15.5 IBU Calories: 382 cal/l
Est Color: 3.9 SRM Color: Color
Mashed at 65c 90 mins.

 

[n00ch]

The step mash kind in those recipes kind of scared me away from them at this stage. I think i might do something along the lines of Ross's recipe. A bit more basic and what i'm after.

 

[Justin]

I did this Hefeweizen two weeks back Johnno, and have had a couple of glasses over the past two nights. A very nice drop, with some good balanced clove and banana flavours over a good malt profile-especially given my ferment temp (batteries flat in the thermostat for the first three days).

Hefeweizen
OG 1054
54.7% JW Wheat malt
40.8% Hoepfner Vienna
4.4% Hoepfner Carapils

19.7 IBU's with Hallertau, in boil 60mins

Mash was 63/64C for 30mins, then 72C for 30mins
Fermented with Wyeast 3638 Bavarian Wheat at between 15C and 20C.

If you only have Pils, no Vienna this is the recipe I took the above from. I was after something with a little more malty taste above and it's nice but the recipe below is a good one as well. I guess a pretty standard recipe.

Hefeweizen II
OG 1053
60% JW Wheat malt
35% Hoepfner Pils
5% Hoepfner Carapils

18.6IBU Saaz, 60mins boil.

Same mash profile as above.

Hope it give some more ideas.

Cheers, Justin

 

[Tseay]

The following partial mash recipe picked up first in state (NSW) and missed out on a place by one point in the Nationals. The following document was prepared to go with its entry into a comp in the US.

Hefe Weizen Recipe Partial Mash 20litres



Apologies- My brewing notes are not complete as this was my first HF and was not expecting the result I got.

Water Treatment: As Sydney water is quite soft , my water treatment was limited to adding a quarter of a Camden tablet to 25l of brew water 24 hours prior to use. This is to eliminate chlorine and chloramines in the water supply. In addition I used a teaspoon of calcium sulphate in the mash to reduce pH slightly.

Boiling Time: Total boiling time was 75 minutes.

Specific Gravities: OG was 1050, FG was 1013.

Yeast; Liquid White Labs WLP 300 hefeweizen yeast, using a 2 litre starter.

Carbonation: Bottle carbonated using Dry Malt Extract Bulk Primed. Aiming for 4 Co2 Volume.

Fermentation: Primary for 10 days in plastic at around 22C, Secondary for 7 days in Plastic, similar temperature. Brew start date 29/07/05.


Fermentables:

Grain: Export Pilsner Malt 1 Kg
Wheat Malt 1 Kg

Malt Extract: Morgans Wheat malt Extract: 2.5kg
Dry Light malt extract: 200g.

Hops:

Bittering: 30g of Perle ( 6%) 60 minutes
Flavour/ Aroma 15g of Hersbruker( 4% - will confirm) 5 minutes

Finings: Irish Moss teaspoon 15 minutes before flame out.

 

[Snow]

Johnno,

your grain bill and yeast will work ok. Hop to 18-20 IBUs with a german noble hop (aim for a .35 BU:GU). Drop the rice hulls, as only 50% wheat malt won't give you a stuck sparge. The clove and banana flavours are quite dependant on the yeast, but generally, you will get more clove flavours if you ferment below 20, but underpitch your yeast slurry a little. At 20c you should get balanced banana flavours. I just had a quick look at Daniel's Designing Great Beers and he says 18-20c is the ideal temp range to aim for.

Good luck and let us all know how you go!

Cheers - Snow.

 

[Lindsay Dive]

I have had a great deal of success (with much appreciated advice from Wes Smith) using the following grain bill for 25 litres;

Pilsner Malt 2.4 kg.
Wheat Malt 1.4 kg.
Torrefied Wheat 1kg.
Carahell Malt .250grams.

I doubled this grain bill and made 50 litres. I used the Whitelabs WLP300 and the WLP380 yeasts. I split the brew and everybody that tasted the beers agreed that the WLP300 was the yeast of their choice, however, there was not much in it. The WLP300 tended to impart slightly more banana tones.
I notice that the Wyeasts equivalent for the WLP380 is the 3333 so I reckon you will be spot on the money. I kept the ferment at 22 degrees!
I used Hallertauer for a total of 19 IBUs.
Go for it!
Oh, nearly forgot, single infusion mash at 66 degrees.

 

[johnno]

Johnno,

Hop to 18-20 IBUs with a german noble hop (aim for a .35 BU:GU). Drop the rice hulls, as only 50% wheat malt won't give you a stuck sparge.
Cheers - Snow.

[post="89551"][/post]​

Snow,
Thanks for the suggestion. I have the Daniels book but can not work out the BU:GU ratios. (I kept failing maths till I got kicked out of school h34r: ) I know they have something to do with hops and bittering. I'm thinking about 20 IBU's.
As for the rice hulls. Do they impart any flavour.
I really want to use them as i have had a stuck sparge in the past and do not want to get one again.

Thanks to everybody else as well for the great help.
I may ferment at around 18 to get a crisper style.

johnno

 

[colinw]

I have but one bottle left of this lovely weizen - the best I've made so far.

For 22 litres at my normal 70%ish efficiency:

2kg Joe White Export Pilsner malt
2.5kg Weyermann Wheat malt
250g Weyermann Dark Munich malt
200g Weyermann CaraHell
50g Weyermann CaraAroma

Hybrid Step Infusion / Single Decoction mash:

Ferulic Acid Rest at 44C for 30 minutes.
(9 litres of water at 52C --> 1.8 litre/kg ratio)

Raise to saccharification rest, 25 minutes at 64C
(6 litres of boiling water --> 3 litre/kg ratio)

40% decoction to raise to 72C for 30 minutes
(Decoction: 10 minutes at 72C, then 15 minute boil)

Boil: 90 minutes
- 20g Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 4.6%AA @ 60 minutes
- 5g Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 4.6%AA @ 30 minutes
- 5g Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 4.6%AA @ 15 minutes
(Later additions are non-traditional but give a subtle spicy
hops flavour & aroma which I think go well in the style).

Wyeast 3638 "Bavarian Wheat". Pitched cool (15C) and
allowed to slowly build to krausen at 18C

OG = 1.050, FG = 1.011, 14 IBUs, 6 SRM

The 3638 gave a mild but complex flavour with banana, clove and bubblegum. Of the wheat yeasts I've used, it is my favourite by far.

cheers,
Colin

 

[johnno]

I will also be doing a single infusion.
Not game enough to take on a multi step yet.

johnno

 

[colinw]

You can make a perfectly good wheat with single infusion, all of my previous ones were.

But, having tried the decoction for my most recent weizen, I must say that I do prefer the malty but dry character of a decocted weizen. Its a lot of messing around 'though, so weizen is prbably the only style where I will bother with a complex mash schedule. The ferulic acid rest had a profound effect on the amount and quality of clove character, which is a flavour I desire in my German wheats.

 

[Justin]

Johnno, look up this link to explain and calculate BU:GU ratio

http://beercolor.netfirms.com/balance.html

There's not too much to it.

Cheers and have fun. Easy style to brew.

JD

 

[Snow]

Johnno, BU:GU ratio is simply your target Bitterness in IBUs divided by the target gravity. So if you're going for a 1.050 weizen, then 17-18 IBUs will give you 0.34-0.36 BU:GU ratio - perfect for a weizen!

Rice hulls don't impart flavour. I just thought that they would be a waste of time, given only 50% wheat malt. If it was raw wheat, I'd say include them. But if it's for your peace of mind, then go for it!

Cheers - Snow

 

[warrenlw63]

Johnno.

I've got to agree with what Colin said. You can make a perfectly good Weizien with a single temp rest. However it seems to be the main style that benefits from a step/decoction mash. Just seems to add that "something" to the finished beer. :beerbang:

If you go single infusion I'd add a small amount of Munich or Melanoidin Malt just to maybe emulate that character a little.

I must confess it's a style I've done a few times but still haven't captured that wow factor a lot of the better Weizens posess.

Warren -

 

[Justin]

All fair comments.

Interesting you say that too Warren, that's part of the reason I used Vienna in my last hefeweizen-to give it that extra bit of something without going to the trouble of decocting. I love Vienna malt too so thought I'd try it in the Hefe. Hmmm.

My mash schedule was to give something high in the fermentable side, lending the crispness side of it-with out getting into proper step mashing and the 72C was just to finish off the conversion quickly and completely.

I do agree with nailing the style. Easy to brew style, but a bit more challenging to get a really good one. Hard to stuff up I guess is what I'm saying. Let the yeast go at a high temp and you'll end up with a wild one Can you say "I love lolly banana's in my beer"

Cheers, Justin

 

[johnno]

Thanks for all the help everybody.
I must admit I am not a big fan of the style so I will just go ahead with a single infusion.
As long as it is tart. That is what I am looking for.

cheers
johnno