German Wheat and Other Wheat recipes please

[Cozzyb]

Hi guys and gals

Can someone give me some good wheat recipes, looking to make one in a couple of weeks once I have FV space, and really want something good, tried a couple of decent wheat beers at this weeks CAMRA Sheffield Ale Festival, one called itself a German wheat and was very nice, so would love to clone it, or something similar.

As always, open to any other great recipes too . Thanks

[Barley Water]

I can likely help you but it would help if you were a bit more specific about what kind of wheat beer you are looking to make. There is German wheat bier (heffe and Dunkel weiss) both are which are going to have that clove/bananna thing going. There is Belgian Wit beer, that would be the coriander/orange thing and there is what I'll call American/British wheat ale most of which is pretty bland in my opinion (but I have found a solution for that). Other more obscure styles include Weisenbock, Berliner Weiss, Wheat Wine and finally we are starting to see Wheat IPA's. I have extensive experience with the German wheat beers (specifically heffe) and I've messed around with American wheat ale a little. One of these days just for fun I may try a Wheat IPA (interesting idea but I do wonder if all the hops would just completely cover up the wheat).

[Cozzyb]

I can likely help you but it would help if you were a bit more specific about what kind of wheat beer you are looking to make. There is German wheat bier (heffe and Dunkel weiss) both are which are going to have that clove/bananna thing going. There is Belgian Wit beer, that would be the coriander/orange thing and there is what I'll call American/British wheat ale most of which is pretty bland in my opinion (but I have found a solution for that). Other more obscure styles include Weisenbock, Berliner Weiss, Wheat Wine and finally we are starting to see Wheat IPA's. I have extensive experience with the German wheat beers (specifically heffe) and I've messed around with American wheat ale a little. One of these days just for fun I may try a Wheat IPA (interesting idea but I do wonder if all the hops would just completely cover up the wheat).

Wow, mind blown.
Okay, ermm German Wheat, Belgian Wit and Berliner Weiss probably any of these three would be interesting.

[Barley Water]

In some respects, the first of the three beers you listed is the easiest to make but like anything else there are some tricks to it. As is the case with most German beers, the recipe is simple and it's really no secret. I use 70% German malted wheat (Wyermans) about 1/2 a pound of Munch malt and the rest German pils malt (I generally do 5 gallon batches). I do one bittering hop addition (any German noble hop will do) and I shoot for about 14-15 IBU's. You want the beer to have an O.G. of between 1.050 and maybe 1.055, any more and it starts getting too heavy.

Now for the tricks: first of all, a German heffe benefits from a decoction more than any other style I can think of. Also, you want a nice balanced mix of clove and bananna so to get good clove action going I recommend doughing in at say 115F for 15-20 minutes, that will increase the precursors of the compound that gets you the clove taste. I would then bring the temperature of the mash up to about 150-152F for an hour then mash out. When I do it, I do a double decoction and yeah, it's alot of work. Now pay attention because this is by far the most important part: fermentation temperature is absolutely key, you want to ferment at about 62F and the yeast is extremely sensitive to differnces in temperature and it massively affects the flavor of the beer. If you go hotter, you'll get more bananna. Above say 68F, you will start throwing fusels, a very bad thing. Hotter than 62F, you are quickly going to loose the clove and in contests, that just won't fly, you want balance. Going colder is going to start suppressing all the loverly flavors and again, to win in a contest you need that clove/bananna and it needs to be agressive. I do a couple of other things to enhance the yeast flavors, I under-pitch on purpose and I also never oxigenate (the only beer I do this with). An open fermentation set up will also increase phenols and esters so I do this also. I prefer WLP 300 and that stuff will blow out of your fermentation vessel every single time so be prepared to clean up a mess. Oh and never use the yeast more than one time, again you want to do everything possible to coax the maximum flavors out of the yeast (that's why I under-pitch).

Let' see, am I forgetting anything? Oh yeah, carbonate the hell out of the beer, you want it fizzy with a great big head. I naturally carbonate in corny kegs and I do a poor man's krausen by using wheat DME, I want yeast in the final product whether kegged or bottled 'cause you want it cloudy, just like out buddies the Germans do.

Wit beer is spiced and for some reason I have almost never had a homebrewed Wit I thought was all that good. Most don't have the correct mouth feel, I suspect the only way to get that is to use a bunch of unmalted wheat and do a ceral mash the get a creamy consistency in the final product. I have not messed with this style enough to give you a decent recipe so I'll let others chime in on this one but I have ceral mashed unmalted wheat so I know that part works pretty well. Because of the way you asked the initial question I can tell that you are just starting out in this hobby, I would start with the heffe, your chances of success are higher. Oh and by the way, Berliner Weiss is a soured beer and if you are not fairly experienced you probably don't want to screw around with the wild bugs needed to brew one of these correctly. Anyhow, good luck and have fun, this is an adventure.

[seymour]

1. GERMAN WEIZEN
From BREWING THE WORLD'S GREAT BEERS, A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE, by Dave Miller, ©1992

GRAINS:
33.3% = 2.5 lbs = 1.13 kg, Pale 2-row malt
66.6% = 5 lbs = 2.27 kg, Wheat malt

HOPS: 5 AAU pellets or 6 AAU whole hops: Hallertauer, Tettnanger, Spalt or Perle. 2/3 added at 45 minutes remaining, 1/3 added at 15 minutes remaining.
Example: 1.25 oz/35 g, Hallertau @ 45 min + .75 oz/21 g, Hallertau @ 15 min

YEAST: Wyeast 3056 "Bavarian Wheat Blend" (Wyeast 3068, White Labs WLP300, and Safbrew WB-06 are all good, too)

(These stats assume 82% mash efficiency and 75% yeast attenuation)
OG: 1.047
FG: 1.008 – 1.012
ABV: 4.5%
IBU: 17 (low)
Color: 3° SRM = 6° EBC

Mash at 122°F/50°C for 30 minutes then raise to 150°F/66°C, 2 hours total
Ferment at 62-68°F/16-20°C
Priming sugar: 1 cup corn sugar
Store bottles 1 week at fermentation temperature, then 3 weeks at 40-50°F/4-10°C.

--------------

2. SEYMOUR'S BASIC BELGIAN WIT
Like Blue Moon but better. My recipe calls for wheat malt, but you can save money on unmalted wheat (especially if you use a traditional De Clerk multi-step mash.) Swipe the next two ingredients from your kitchen. The cane sugar (not corn or beet) further reduces the cost and body. You can substitute some brown sugar if you want to darken the color. The oats (plain 'ol quick oats, flaked, rolled, steel-cut, Scotch, etc) improve head retention and lace and add some smoothness/silkiness back into the mouthfeel. This beer's most distinctive traits come from the coriander and true Belgian Wit yeast, so don't skip 'em.

All-grain recipe, 5 Imperial gallons = 6 US gallons = 22.7 liters

GRAINS:
47.6% = 5 lbs = 2.27 kg, Pale 2-row malt
38.1% = 4 lbs = 1.81 kg, Wheat malt
9.5% = 1 lb = 454 g, Cane sugar
4.8% = ½ lb = 8 oz = 227 g, Oats

HOPS:
Bittering: 1 oz = 28 g, Crystal or Challenger, 90 minutes remaining
Flavor/aroma: 1 oz = 28 g, Hallertauer, 15 minutes remaining

YEAST: any true Belgian wit strain such as Hoegaarden, Celis, Moortgat, De Dolle or Wittekerke bottle cultures, White Labs WLP400 or WLP410, Wyeast 3942 or 3944, Zymoferm 36, etc.

90 minute boil
Mash at 122°F/50°C for 30 minutes then raise to 152°F/67°C, 2 hours total, otherwise single-mash temp @ 66°C
Ferment at 62-74°F/16-23°C

When primary fermentation is complete, add 1 oz crushed coriander seeds (and optionally some dried orange peel) and let sit another two weeks before bottling.
Prime keg/bottles with ½ cup sugar boiled in a little water to sanitize. Store 1 week at fermentation temperature, then 3 weeks at 50-60°F/10-16°C if possible.

Estimated stats assume ≈ 80% mash efficiency and 77% yeast attenuation
OG ≈ 1.054
FG ≈ 1.012
ABV ≈ 5.4%
IBU ≈ 15
Color ≈ 4°SRM/8°EBC

--------------

3. JJ Berliner Weisse
Adapted from a Ratebeer recipe by JoeMcPhee

6 US gallons = 5 imperial gallons = 22.7 liters

GRAINS:
50% = 4 lbs = 1.8 kg, Maris Otter malt
50% = 4 lbs = 1.8 kg, Wheat malt

HOPS:
0.25 oz = 7.1 g, Admiral

YEAST: Nottingham

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Crush malt and combine. Remove 0.5 lbs/227g from total bill, set aside.
2. Dough-in at 120°F/49°C and do a protein rest for 30 minutes.
3. Stir hops into the mash, raise temperature to 154°F/68°C for 60 minutes.
4. Mash-out at 172°F/78°C for 10 minutes.
5. Sparge to collect 6 US gallons/5 imperial gallons/22.7 liters of wort.
6. Cool the wort and split the batch (this is a no-boil recipe) into a 4.5 US gallon batch and a 1.5 US gallon batch.
7. Pitch your yeast pack into the 4.5 US gallon batch and ferment normally.
8. To the 1.5 US gallon batch add the grain you set aside at the beginning and allow to sour outside, the hotter the better. Let it go for at least 3-4 days, we got good results after 6 days of souring. This batch will look disgusting, a thick white film will cover the surface and it will smell and taste extremely sour.
9. Pour this batch through cheesecloth or strainer into the larger batch, stir.
10. After 1-2 days rack to secondary for one week.
11. Prime for high level of carbonation and bottle/keg.

STATS:
OG : 1.031
FG : 1.006
ABV : 3.2%

Here's some more great background info on Berliner Weiss: http://hopwild.com/2010/04/01/recipe-be ... -naturale/

[Cozzyb]

Haha, still trying to sell me the sour mash Seymour? I am doing a Berlin Wheat similar to what you posted at the min, and making a Berliner Weisse with proper White Labs sour yeast tomorrow, but once I know how it tastes in a few months, I will try sour mash to compare. Thanks Seymour

[seymour]

Haha, still trying to sell me the sour mash Seymour? I am doing a Berlin Wheat similar to what you posted at the min, and making a Berliner Weisse with proper White Labs sour yeast tomorrow, but once I know how it tastes in a few months, I will try sour mash to compare. Thanks Seymour

You know it! Yours will be great, too. Maybe better, who knows? I've just been too cheap to pay for yeast/bacteria that's blowin' in the wind around us
Best of luck!

[Cozzyb]

Well to be fair to you, it cost me £6, which is £3 a batch, which when it costs me £6 to make 11ltr is pretty pricey, but I am going to try and wash the yeast, hopefully the lacto will stick around, but if not still got a decent wheat/experiement yeast.

[seymour]

Hi Cozzyb,
How did your Berliner Weiss turn out?