Wheat Extract Combination?

[boriskane]

just picked up 1.5kg of brewcraft wheat LME, 1kg of brewcraft wheat DME, 1kg of dextrose.

ive read in a couple of books and online that that around a 70-85% of extract and 15-30% of dextrose are ideal.

anyone have an opinion on certain amount percentages or exact proportion amounts that theyve played with in the past?

 

[Verbyla]

It depends on what your making but yes those percentages are correct in many instances.

I usually use 200-500g of dextrose but not because I've read that I should, I use it only for the purpose of increasing the ABV% without thinken the beer or adding any extra flavour. Put your recipe into a gravity calculator and use dextrose to adjust the ABV% to that which suits the style of beer your going for.

Any idea on what hops your going to be using or the recipe?

 

[boriskane]

It depends on what your making but yes those percentages are correct in many instances.

I usually use 200-500g of dextrose but not because I've read that I should, I use it only for the purpose of increasing the ABV% without thinken the beer or adding any extra flavour. Put your recipe into a gravity calculator and use dextrose to adjust the ABV% to that which suits the style of beer your going for.

Any idea on what hops your going to be using or the recipe?

yeah the plan is to use it to increase the abv%, but i dont want to sacrifice flavour, thats the main reason im asking about specific amounts. this is only my third batch so i haven't delved into hops, but maybe if this one works out well.

im making a bavarian wheat

 

[jakub76]

I've punched your recipe into my BrewPal iPhone app and the ABV is about right at 4.9% If you're taking hydrometer readings you can expect an estimates starting gravity of 1.052 after a 60 minute boil. It'll finish around 1.014, most extract brews especially DME finish pretty sweet but that could work well in a Bavarian Wheat as long as you use the right yeast. I love hefeweizen and I use Wyeast 3068 but I hear WLP300 works well too. The right yeast will give your brew that unique clove-like character. If you're using a kit yeast or trying to keep a clean yeast profile it'll probably come out tart up front with a sweet finish - sweet & sour.

As for hops, Hallertau Mitellfruh can't be beaten for a true Hefeweizen. If you can get the 6.3% Alpha Acid then 22 grams boiled for 60 minutes will be magic. Try the sponsor's links for mail order goodies

 

[boriskane]

I've punched your recipe into my BrewPal iPhone app and the ABV is about right at 4.9% If you're taking hydrometer readings you can expect an estimates starting gravity of 1.052 after a 60 minute boil. It'll finish around 1.014, most extract brews especially DME finish pretty sweet but that could work well in a Bavarian Wheat as long as you use the right yeast. I love hefeweizen and I use Wyeast 3068 but I hear WLP300 works well too. The right yeast will give your brew that unique clove-like character. If you're using a kit yeast or trying to keep a clean yeast profile it'll probably come out tart up front with a sweet finish - sweet & sour.

As for hops, Hallertau Mitellfruh can't be beaten for a true Hefeweizen. If you can get the 6.3% Alpha Acid then 22 grams boiled for 60 minutes will be magic. Try the sponsor's links for mail order goodies
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hmm ok. the brewcraft calc says a little different but we might be punching in different dex values. our lhbs says the saf wb-06, had any experience with it? we used this yeast in our last batch of this same bavarian wheat (but only dme+lme) and we still retained a slight cidery flavour. the lhbs said prepping yeast isnt that necessary, but once again ive read otherwise...

 

[jakub76]

WB-06...I've never used it but it looks like an interesting dried yeast that seems true to style. The word 'subtle' in the description could be a bit of a cop-out, the liquid yeasts impart an assertive ester character, clove and banana just like the good commercial examples. Try a Weihenstaphan Hefeweizen if you haven't already. Wheat yeasts tend to be vigorous fermenters so a starter isn't going to be imperative. Let us know how it goes.

 

[boobiedazzler]

Boris, keep in mind that pre prepared wheat malt, liquid or dry, isnt 100% wheat, it is a combination of wheat and barley, 50/50 I think. if you wanted a more true to style weizen you could use two cans of the brewcraft and forget about the LME.

With that ingredients list of yours that would be more suited to a Golden Ale style, where your end beer will be around 20% wheat. In general, a wheat beer should be made up of up to 70% wheat malt in the final wert.

In my opinion (and its just my opinion, yours might differ) that seems like a lot of dextrose, but there are no hard and fast rules with extract brewing. My advice would be to try it out, see if you like it, then adjust accordingly for your next one. Even if you stick with what you have it will still be a pretty good extract beer that you'll be happy with.

A lot of the magic of a wheat beer is in the yeast, which doesnt flocculate as much and sticks around to add to the flavour profile, so if you are able to grab some WB-06 dry yeast for $5 then that will suit the style. If you want to spend up to $15 on yeast then the Whitelabs liquid yeast WLP300 can bring some more complex flavours to your beer, but at that price you want to start considering recycling the yeast cake for future brews.

All the best, and whatever you make will be fine, Im sure.

 

[Weizguy]

I used to brew weizen beer with LME and DME. Would not recommend the dextrose at all, but up to 15ish% should be OK and not diminish the flavour too much.
The right yeast and temp control are also key, as well as the right hop selection. Any German noble (aromatic) hop is good, or Czech Saaz (not sure about NZ Saaz).
I prefer liquid yeast, but have only used WB-06 once. W3608, W3506, or W3638 are my preferred yeasts, having no experience or availability of the WhiteLabs yeast.
I direct your attention to one of my previous Hausbrau recipes for contemplation. This is a session beer, and is very drinkable.
I once brewed this for Superbowl day and it fairly evaporated.

Ingredients list:
1.5 kg Muntons wheat DME
1.0 kg Muntons DME
25g Saaz hops (or enough to produce about 15 IBUs of bitterness)
W3068 yeast
add water to 22 litres

 

[boriskane]

Boris, keep in mind that pre prepared wheat malt, liquid or dry, isnt 100% wheat, it is a combination of wheat and barley, 50/50 I think. if you wanted a more true to style weizen you could use two cans of the brewcraft and forget about the LME.

With that ingredients list of yours that would be more suited to a Golden Ale style, where your end beer will be around 20% wheat. In general, a wheat beer should be made up of up to 70% wheat malt in the final wert.

yeah see i didnt realise that, thanks for pointing that out, completely slipped my mind that the wheat malt isnt 100% wheat.

wait im slightly confused here...i thought the brewcraft can is a liquid malt extract?

 

[boriskane]

I used to brew weizen beer with LME and DME. Would not recommend the dextrose at all, but up to 15ish% should be OK and not diminish the flavour too much.
The right yeast and temp control are also key, as well as the right hop selection. Any German noble (aromatic) hop is good, or Czech Saaz (not sure about NZ Saaz).
I prefer liquid yeast, but have only used WB-06 once. W3608, W3506, or W3638 are my preferred yeasts, having no experience or availability of the WhiteLabs yeast.
I direct your attention to one of my previous Hausbrau recipes for contemplation. This is a session beer, and is very drinkable.
I once brewed this for Superbowl day and it fairly evaporated.

Ingredients list:
1.5 kg Muntons wheat DME
1.0 kg Muntons DME
25g Saaz hops (or enough to produce about 15 IBUs of bitterness)
W3068 yeast
add water to 22 litres

hmm ok, thanks for the advice on the max 15%, ill make sure we have a proper think before putting it all in. did you rehydrate the wb-06 before using it?

 

[boobiedazzler]

yes the can would be liquid - but it still wont be 100% wheat.

 

[boriskane]

yes the can would be liquid - but it still wont be 100% wheat.

but earlier you said: Boris, keep in mind that pre prepared wheat malt, liquid or dry, isnt 100% wheat, it is a combination of wheat and barley, 50/50 I think. if you wanted a more true to style weizen you could use two cans of the brewcraft and forget about the LME.

so what would be the ideal way to getting a more weizen style? if the can is LME? whats the difference in proportions between DME and LME?

 

[boobiedazzler]

Sorry mate, my bad. I misread your post, thinking you have normal dry malt. Disregard what I said. Those ingredienst are fine, at least the best you can achieve doing a wheat beer with an extract brew.

Apologies for confusing you.

 

[boriskane]

Sorry mate, my bad. I misread your post, thinking you have normal dry malt. Disregard what I said. Those ingredienst are fine, at least the best you can achieve doing a wheat beer with an extract brew.

Apologies for confusing you.

that's ok, just relieved to hear that that combination of ingredients are whats necessary to make a wheat out of extract...

we managed to get an OG of 1046.

anybody have a rough idea of what kind of FG i might come to expect based on experience rather than the calc?