Help With Wheat Beer

[J_P]

Hi all

I was wondering if I could pick your brains regarding brewing a wheat beer this weekend. I am a big fan of the Acorn Brewery's "Summer Pale" and ever since finding out it was a wheat beer I have been intrigued in seeing if I could make a beer in the same vein. The beer is extremely pale and lightly hopped with a slight sweet wheaty haze and doesn't have chunks of stuff floating round in it or taste overly earthy like some wheat beers can.

I am planning to go for a 4.5kg grain bill split 50:50 between lager malt and wheat malt - does this sound about right?

Does anyone know a good aroma hop to use in wheat beers please, it has to have aroma to compliment the sweetness without being too bitter. While we're on the subject of recommendations what would be the ideal yeast to use with wheat beer bearing in mind I don't really want to serve it with the yeast in the glass?

Two final questions and then I promise to leave you alone, what is the potential extract figure for wheat malt in kilos per litre please and how soon can you drink a wheat beer as I've heard that you are supposed to drink them young.

Cheers in advance

J_P

[oblivious]

Hi J_P

I prefer pale malt over larger, add a little more flavour. If you have any Munich, melanoidin malt can also add some, as a lot of hefe’s are decoction mashed which is supposed to give a more malty flavour.

You could also add a little crystal malt to give a little sweetness

I have used Brewferm Blanche dry wheat yeast, although I though the flavour was more suited to a wit, but great as a summer beer, also my bottles where crystal clear. So you can have a cloudy or clear wheat beer if you want!

Hope this is of some help

[J_P]

Brilliant - Cheers Oblivious.

So you recckon the 50:50 split is ok but the taste would benefit from using pale malt instead of lager malt or low colour maris otter? I was thinking of using a lager hop (Saaz or similar) to hop with do you think this is a good Idea?

I'm not sure what a "wit" is Although I had a beer called "sparkling wit" at the weekend and it tasted fabulous. I think I ill try and get hold of some of that yeast you mentioned as I will be bottling too, what's it like for sticking to the bottom of the bottle? I use Safale S04 and it's ace for bottling.

Cheers Again

[awalker]

Maybe just add some oat husks to guard against a stuck mash.

As its not too much fun

[oblivious]

I'm not sure what a "wit" is Cheers Again

Hoegaarden, is the best known

Sazz would be interesting, Hallertau works well of hefe’s, you dont realy want much for that 20 IBU's in the beer

The Americas make a wheat beer with neutral ale yeast (US-05 or cal ale), no bananas or other phenols. But the late addition of a little American hops adds an nice critic note to the beer, or at least what I have heard

[oblivious]

Maybe just add some oat husks to guard against a stuck mash.

As its not too much fun

Yea a lot of people do it, re-hydrate them before adding them to the mash, to reduce water absorption

I have not, but have increased the water ratio to reduce a stuck mash

[Matt]

I got good clear beer with the Brewferm Blanche too, but that was after about 6 weeks bottle conditioning. IMHO you could try the Safbrew T-58 yeast for a whit style, and clear, beer.

Have fun J_P

[oblivious]

I got good clear beer with the Brewferm Blanche too, but that was after about 6 weeks bottle conditioning. IMHO you could try the Safbrew T-58 yeast for a whit style, and clear, beer.

Have fun J_P

Yep,T-58 is another good yeast

[J_P]

Thanks for this.

Tonight I shall be conducting some research into the field of wheat beer.



I have 2 Hefe wheat beers which I think has the yeast in the bottle and is supposed to be served cloudy. I have a Kristall wheat beer which should be clear and a bottle of erdinger which I seem to remember is quite cloudy.

Let's see if any of them taste like Summer Pale

[J_P]

I've just gone all Homer Simpson at the thought mmmmmm field beer!

[oblivious]

Nice research!

Schneider-Weisse I believe use it primary stain to bottle or at least their Aventinus is. Weihenstephan may not and the other use lager yeast at bottling.

[J_P]

First up the Weihenstephaner - it's quite earthy and tastes a bit like bananas, not sure it's my cup of tea, but in true mastermind fashion I've started so I'll finish!

Edit: I have been reading a couple of other threads and it appears that the banana taste is a big feature of the style of beer

[steve_flack]

The Weihenstephaner is brewed using the wheat yeast that both White Labs (WLP-300) and Wyeast (3068) sell.

[steve_flack]

Edit: I have been reading a couple of other threads and it appears that the banana taste is a big feature of the style of beer

It is of the GERMAN wheat beers. It does come from the yeast. If you don't brew with a German wheat yeast you won't get that. The Belgian wheat yeast (think Hoegaarden) are more spicy, phenolic but if you brew with a clean yeast you'll get a clean tasting beer that just tastes of the wheat - I think (but I'm not sure) is the basis of the 'American Wheat Beer' style.

[J_P]

Cheers for that Steve it's good to have a scientific mind on hand when conducting experiments!

I have moved on to the Schneider Weiss and that has a much softer less smoky or earthy taste, it does still have the banana taste but the softness of the rest of the beer lends itself to it. This is a hefe wheat beer so I have stirred the yeast back up into suspension consequently it looks like pre fermentation kit wort but it does taste the part

I don't suppose you have tried Summer Pale have you? That supposedly is a wheat beer but it tastes nothing like what I'm drinking at the moment.