Wheat Beer - Secret Ingredient?

[eddy401]

thanks for all the info!

i ended up using morgans golden sheaf wheat beer with 1.5kg of morgans wheat malt extract on the advice of the HBS owner, just as a standard kit to try give myself a bit of a base to compare future brews with different yeasts, but i think ill put some vanilla in half of it and bottle the other half to see how that turns out

thanks again! :icon_cheers:

 

[beerdrinkingbob]

just wondering where you can buy 3068 or 3638 they sound great, had a look on G&G and brewcraft and they only appear to stock safwheat

 

[glaab]

just wondering where you can buy 3068 or 3638 they sound great, had a look on G&G and brewcraft and they only appear to stock safwheat

try here; http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=1640

 

[beerdrinkingbob]

try here; http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=1640

Thanks Glaab :icon_cheers:

 

[waggastew]

When you say traditional I think you mean Witbier which is the more recently popularised (in comparison to the German style) Belgian take on wheat beer. German weizen/weissbier does not usually have additions of citrus peel or spice. If you haven't already, check out the BJCP guidelines for some more info Witbier Weizen I think a weizen would be more suited to fruit additions, not sure how they would go the coriander/citrus.

Your right in that I am aiming more for a Belgian (Hoegaarden) style of wheat beer. Apologies if I confused things. Will post on here the results of the passionfruit version in a couple of months.

 

[jakub76]

If you're doing a wit then don't be shy with your spices. The coriander seeds (ground with a mortar and pestle) are great but I only added a few teaspoons. If I was doing it again I'd add around 12 grams for a 22 litre batch - those thin masterfoods jars are 18 grams worth. Also don't bust a gut finding bitter orange peel - fresh citrus zest is so much better, use the small side of your grater and zest a few oranges and maybe a grapefruit or lemon.
Best

 

[StewTurner]

hey there very interesting post, sounds just what I'm looking for, so no dextrose or sugars of any kind required then, I am a huge favourite of Erdinger weisbeer

Hi Kiwiev,

Nope, no dextrose at all, just malt extract. It might finish at a higher gravity than a 'kit and kilo' brew (mine finished around 1020). It's an easy procedure, no more complicated than making a Cup-a-Soup (except you boil it for an hour). Give it a bash. Send me a PM, or reply to tis thread if you don't understand the full procedure. I would happily give you a step-by-step guide. The people on this forum have given me so much information for free that I would love to return something to new brewers.

Regarding the flavour, I haven't bought a commercial wheat beer for ages, but I did live in Germany for a while, and I suspect that this will be comparable to any good german Weizen.

Cheers,

Stew

 

[MeLoveBeer]

just wondering where you can buy 3068 or 3638 they sound great, had a look on G&G and brewcraft and they only appear to stock safwheat

I regularly buy wyeast (including 3638) from G&G... try this link

 

[StewTurner]

Also, the other thing that I would say to the OP (and other new brewers, like myself) is that the 'secret ingredient' to elevate your beer to new heights is not lurking on the shelves of your local Coles. Beer essentially consists of four ingredients:

Water
Malt
Hops
Yeast

The key to great beer lies in those ingredients, not in vanilla essence, treacle, coriander or Bulla Chocolate Ice cream. You can add all kinds of stuff to your beer, but the best things you can do are:

Use better yeast
Control the temperature of your fermentation
Use real hops
Use malt extract
Add specialty grains (crystal malt)

All these things sound like complicated alchemy, but they are SO EASY. I have brewed about 5 batches, and I am turning out extract brews that are (hand on my heart) better than anything I can buy. It is a piece of piss. You can make awesome extraact brews right now. You don't have to 'serve your time' on 'kit and kilo' brews (I did one, then switched to extract). You can start making awesome extract beer today.

I'm happy to offer what (limited) knowledge I have to anyone who wants to step up to extracts. It is just so cool to crack a beer and realise that it craps on most commercial berers. I guarantee a response to PMs from anyone who wants help. (And I guarantee that when I get a question that I can't answer that I will refer it to the wiser heads on AHB.)

Best hobby ever.

Cheers,

Stew

 

[jakub76]

Stew - nice post..."best hobby ever" ...well it's got to be close. I love your enthusiasm!

I remember a few years ago sampling Franziskaner Hefeweizen for the first time and remarking how interesting the flavour was, "Is it cloves...tastes like cloves!"
Someone enlightened me about the German purity law, they're a bureaucratic bunch, only malt, hops, water & yeast (once they worked it out) + all weizen need to be at least 50% wheat. I was astounded, how could something so clovey contain no cloves? So it turns out the secret ingredient is the yeast...well kind of...it's a strain of yeast that needs the wheat and the ferulic acid it produces in the mash to create these incredible clove flavours. The Belgians couldn't work it out so they just threw a bunch of spices into their wheat beers - and that's cool too, I love Hoegaarden - hence the Wit.

Also I feel I need to say...if you've been brewing for 6 months and feel your brews are better than anything you can buy than THAT'S AWSOME ***double thumbs up*** but I reckon you should broaden your horizons. There's thousands of different brands brewing around a hundred different styles. There's an inspiring world of beer out there...get some :beer:

 

[Tezz]

If you choose to use WB-06, always ferment @ 20C+. Below that, it'll taste like shit
I found Wyeast Weihen & Bav do this too.

I'm planning to add some mixed berries & manuka honey to this summers wheats.
Maybe some Nelson Sauvin towards the end too.

 

[jakub76]

If you choose to use WB-06, always ferment @ 20C+. Below that, it'll taste like shit smile.gif
I found Wyeast Weihen & Bav do this too.

I disagree. I love a hefe, I use the wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephaner) fermenting at 18 then finishing at 20. I have even pitched this yeast at 12C once to test out a theory I heard on the brewing network from JZ - the 30 degrees C rule. Some old brewer told Jamil that when making a weizen the sum of your pitching temp and your ferment temp should be 30C...example pitch at 12C and ferment at 18C. He swears by it, says it had a huge impact on his beers.
A bit hocus pocus for me, but I tried it.

Every weizen I make I ferment under 20C and they don't taste like shit. Of the two distinct yeast derived flavours - cloves and banana - a hot ferment will promote the banana while a cooler ferment will highlight the cloves. The choice you make is a matter of taste.

 

[GrumpyPaul]

I dont even pretend I know what I am doing yet....but heres a simple kit/extract recipe I tried.

It was my first go a something other than a straight kit.

I didnt even know what a Hoegarden was at the time - but I am told I accidentally made something like it.

I like to think it was pretty good. A few guys at Melbourne Brewers tasted it and gave some good feedback. I fermented it at about 22-23 and should have done it a lot cooler I'm told 18 would have been better.

If you looking for something that is a bit more than a kit and something like a wheat beer - this is worth trying

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...7&hl=orange


Like I said - I am still learning......but happy to pass on what I have tried.

 

[unrealeous]

One question: Why do you want to rack it for a week or two after fermentation? What do you hope to achieve with this?

So when is the best time to start drinking this stuff? As soon as it hits FG? I've heard it's better fresh... But I would have thought some conditioning might do it some good (even if its only a few days).

 

[warra48]

So when is the best time to start drinking this stuff? As soon as it hits FG? I've heard it's better fresh... But I would have thought some conditioning might do it some good (even if its only a few days).

Start drinking when it's carbonated, although I bottle all my brews.
If you keg, then others will have better ideas.

 

[bconnery]

Start drinking when it's carbonated, although I bottle all my brews.
If you keg, then others will have better ideas.

No, your advice is correct for kegs too.
Start drinking when it's carbonated

 

[Pennywise]

Yep, as soon as a wheatie is carbed, drink it. Dunno why but wheat beers tend to lose their character pretty quickly. I my experience any more than a month after it's carbed and they can become quite flavourless

 

[marksy]

Grated orange peel skin 1cup and 10g crushed corriander 5-10mins before end of boil and for 23L.

 

[gap]

Grated orange peel skin 1cup and 10g crushed corriander 5-10mins before end of boil and for 23L.

Sounds good if you were brewing a Belgian Wit, not necessarily as good
if you are brewing a German Wheat Beer.

Regards

 

[unrealeous]

No, your advice is correct for kegs too.
Start drinking when it's carbonated

Great advice - except that doesn't answer the question. I know you weren't trying to though...

One question: Why do you want to rack it for a week or two after fermentation? What do you hope to achieve with this?

Most recipes say secondary it for a couple of weeks then carb. It would appear if you are bottling, then bottle straight after primary, and drink as soon as carbed. If you are kegging though - do people generally give it a couple of weeks in the secondary (which most of the recipes in the database suggest), then carb and drink?