First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

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Onthebrew

First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by Onthebrew » Fri Nov 18, 2016 1:25 pm

Tomorrow i will be attempting my first wheat beer, with a 5kg grain bill where 50% will be wheat malt. I understand wheat can be difficult to work with and i've read a lot about wort fountains so don't want to take any chances. Currently i enjoy brew days in the kitchen but if i end up with wort on the ceiling i will be banished outside from here on in.

my plan, after reading around here and elsewhere is to mash in slowly, giving it a good stir. a bit at a time at 38C, before following the schedule and giving it a stir again during a couple of the pump breaks. I am hoping that will suffice- but any other tips gents?

Rhodesy
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Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by Rhodesy » Fri Nov 18, 2016 10:06 pm

I have made several with a 50/50 grain bill. I have used rice hulls and without out. If you mash in as planned around the 40 mark and stir well it should be fine. I do request a 1.2mm crush when ordering large grain bills just to be sure but have been fine with 5KG or thereabouts.

Onthebrew

Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by Onthebrew » Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:59 pm

Ok cheers Rhodesy, all ready for tomorrow.

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Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by Dave S » Sat Nov 19, 2016 7:58 am

I've made only one wheat Beer and that was not on a BM but on a Grainfather. The mix was 50:50 and I paid it no special consideration above and beyond any other brew I've done. Turned out fine.
Best wishes

Dave

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Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by IPA » Sat Nov 19, 2016 9:19 am

I brewed a Wit last weekend with the BM 50 percent pilsner 25 pale wheat and 25 wheat flakes. 50 Grammes each ground coriander and dried bitter orange peel (50 litres). If you want to avoid wort fountains make sure that the grain is thoroughly mixed (mashed) with the liquor before fitting the top filters.
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Onthebrew

Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by Onthebrew » Sat Nov 19, 2016 10:15 am

Cheers guys. Just waiting to mash in now.

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First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by mbarn » Sat Nov 19, 2016 11:02 am

Late to the party, but my 2015 BM could not pump through wheat until higher temps (mash out). If I brewed again, I'd use Rice Hulls.
Hoping yours works out, because I was not giving mine a stir, which may have made the difference.
It was one of those "ahh" moments at the end when it clicked that I hadn't heard the water trickle noise.
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Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by IPA » Sat Nov 19, 2016 1:56 pm

mbarn wrote:Late to the party, but my 2015 BM could not pump through wheat until higher temps (mash out). If I brewed again, I'd use Rice Hulls.
Hoping yours works out, because I was not giving mine a stir, which may have made the difference.
It was one of those "ahh" moments at the end when it clicked that I hadn't heard the water trickle noise.
I learnt my lesson when my BM still had the old less powerful pumps and even with the new ones fitted it is still vital to thoroughly mix the grains when using flakes or wheat both when they are dry and when they are added to the liquor. Add the grains a bit at a time and mix them. Whatever you don't dump the whole lot in and then try to mix the mash. Strictly speaking that should be written "mash the grains". If you end up with a layer of gelatinous grains in the malt tube the pumps struggle to circulate the wort. If this does happen stop and start the BM several times and it usually sorts out the flow problem.
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Dean Martin

1. Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... "f*ck, what a trip

It's better to lose time with friends than to lose friends with time (Portuguese proverb)

Alone we travel faster
Together we travel further
( In an admonishing email from our golf club)

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Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by mbarn » Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:19 pm

Thanks IPA
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Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by richard080561 » Sat Nov 19, 2016 7:10 pm

I have a 2105 20litre BM and made a bavarian wheat beer with 60% wheat and 40% pale malt. I mixed the grain well before adding it and didn't have any problems
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Onthebrew

Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by Onthebrew » Sun Nov 20, 2016 1:57 am

Happy to say went well and no wort fountains, although not sure why I decided to try and fit a stir in during the minute pump break rather than just pause it, Quite a hassle getting the filters off out of hot wort!

Still new to the BM and brewing itself, and a bit unsure about the pump. When cleaning it etc, with just water it looks good, but on a brew, when mashing it hardly moves. It's working because you notice it drop during the pump break but it doesn't exactly sream over the sides of malt pipe in full flow. Is that normal though?

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First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by mbarn » Sun Nov 20, 2016 8:34 am

Ref the mash - it's hard to describe without pictures or a video, so probably best to check YouTube for a non-Speidel video. It's more of a consistent trickle over the sides.
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Re: First Wheat Beer Brew( BM)

Post by Dave S » Sun Nov 20, 2016 2:49 pm

richard080561 wrote:I have a 2105 20litre BM and made a bavarian wheat beer with 60% wheat and 40% pale malt. I mixed the grain well before adding it and didn't have any problems
Indeed, and mixing well in is something that should be done no matter what the grain mix is.
Best wishes

Dave

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