Dark wheat beer (Dunkleweizen) AG With pictures

[pittsy]

Was gonna make this a few weeks back but never did . However i've changed yet again the recipe ( more reading) Hopefully i can nail this as i want a steady recipe for a dunkle .
So planned for sunday , my herms set up making brewing easier for me (plus 2 decoctions)
Dunkel 2
Dunkelweizen
Type: All Grain Date: 31/05/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 23.00 l Brewer: pittsy

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
2.00 kg Wheat Malt, Dark (Weyermann) (16.0 EBC) Grain 1 44.0 %
1.00 kg Pale Ale (Dingemans) (9.0 EBC) Grain 2 22.0 %
0.90 kg Munich I (Weyermann) (15.0 EBC) Grain 3 19.8 %
0.25 kg Caraamber (Weyermann) (70.0 EBC) Grain 4 5.5 %
0.20 kg Acid Malt (5.9 EBC) Grain 5 4.4 %
0.20 kg Aromatic Malt (51.2 EBC) Grain 6 4.4 %
15.00 g Perle [8.00 %] - Boil 70.0 min Hop 7 12.1 IBUs
12.00 g Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 8 3.6 IBUs
12.00 g Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 9 2.3 IBUs
1.0 pkg Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP300) [35.49 ml] Yeast 10 -

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.046 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.049 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.008 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.9 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.8 %
Bitterness: 18.0 IBUs Calories: 458.6 kcal/l
Est Color: 17.7 EBC Beersmith does not adjust for decoction so this colour is way out (prob around 30 ebc ish)
Mash Profile
Mash Profile

Mash Name: Decoction Mash, Double Total Grain Weight: 4.55 kg
Sparge Water: 19.45 l Grain Temperature: 14.0 C
Sparge Temperature: 75.6 C Tun Temperature: 14.0 C


Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash Step Add 16.00 l of water at 39.5 C 37.0 C 5 min
Mash Step Heat to 47.0 C over 10 min 47.0 C 0 min
Mash Step Add -0.00 l of water and heat to 50.0 C over 3 min 50.0 C 15 min
Mash Step Add -0.00 l of water and heat to 53.0 C over 10 min 53.0 C 10 min
Mash Step Decoct 4.44 l of mash and boil it 64.0 C 15 min
Mash Step Decoct 4.21 l of mash and boil it 72.0 C 20 min
Mash Step Heat to 76c over 4 mins 76c 10 mins
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 19.45 l water at 75.6 C
Mash Notes: Used for some authentic German styles. Attempt to draw decoction from the thickest portion of the mash. Profiles vary. Some traditional German mashes use a long acid rest at 40 deg C. Also some sources recommend the decoction amount be given a 15 minute saccharification rest at 158 F (70 C) before boiling it.
Carbonation and Storage

Carbonation Type: Bottle Volumes of CO2: 2.8
Pressure/Weight: 154.23 g Carbonation Used: Bottle with 154.23 g Table Sugar
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 21.1 C Age for: 30.00 days
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage Storage Temperature: 20.0 C

 

[bunkerbrewer]

That looks lovely - very interesting recipe :thumb:

Pics and taste test please!

 

[pittsy]

will do :

 

[troutie]

Looks good

Mash Step Decoct 4.44 l of mash and boil it 64.0 C 15 min

Bit unsure what this bit means

 

[pittsy]

Beersmith doesn't really do decoction justice , what that means is take around 4 to 5 liters of the mash liquid with grain (thick ) then you would heat it up to 71c for a sacc rest for 15 mins then you heat it up till it's boiling and hold for at least 15 mins ( longer for dark wheats ) and then return to mash tun which will increase the overall mash temp . There are many reasons to do a decoction one being to darken the colour another is a more malty taste ( ideal for dunkle) does that help.

 

[mattrickl06]

Sounds like a beauty - can you put some pic up when its done, I am tempted to make a dunkelweizen my next brew.

I notice you always use White Labs yeast - have you found this better than Wyeast? I have used Wyeast for my Hefe and for a Tsingsao clone - both times it was excellent so not tempted to try alternatives at the moment.

 

[troutie]

Thank you Pittsy yep that clears it up :
got three months before I go see my German friends is that long enough to get a Dunkle ready to drink

 

[pittsy]

Thank you Pittsy yep that clears it up :
got three months before I go see my German friends is that long enough to get a Dunkle ready to drink

3 months !! try 3 weeks mate lol , maybe a little longer but 10 days fermenting 2 weeks in warmth (bottles) 1 day in fridge but at it's best from around 1 to 2 weeks conditioning and will only last a few months (6 ish ) if kept at cellar temps ,

 

[pittsy]

@ matt , i've only used wyeast once and the pack didn't expand but have always had excellent results with white labs ( i make large starters and split them )

 

[bunkerbrewer]

@ matt , i've only used wyeast once and the pack didn't expand but have always had excellent results with white labs ( i make large starters and split them )

They do have slightly different strains, but I guess it all comes down to freshness. I've just had brilliant results with WLP565 (Saison) purchased from The Malt Miller*. The vial had a "best before" date in August, so it must have been very fresh. But must be very difficult for homebrew shops to manage a big stock of yeasts.

I tend to go for White Labs simply because Chris White seems to do a lot for the homebrew community and I like to support that (plus I can re-use the vials :) )

* 90% attenuation!!

 

[troutie]

Thank you Pittsy yep that clears it up :
got three months before I go see my German friends is that long enough to get a Dunkle ready to drink

3 months !! try 3 weeks mate lol , maybe a little longer but 10 days fermenting 2 weeks in warmth (bottles) 1 day in fridge but at it's best from around 1 to 2 weeks conditioning and will only last a few months (6 ish ) if kept at cellar temps ,

Whoa thats quick will get some stuff ordered and copy your recipe if you dont mind .

will it be a disaster if I use some yeasts slurry from a Saison I have fermenting
its the Belle saison yeast

 

[pittsy]

It may well be nice but you mentioned some German friends , they may be critical as it will have some lovely flavours from the yeast but I brewed a dunkle with a milder yeast (still wheat yeast ) but not right as it needs a strong banana flavour yeast like wlp 300 imo but it s your beer , your choice .

 

[troutie]

Very interesting
Seeing as I am not time limited on this and my mashtun is big enough
if I go to 40 litrs I can spilt the ferment and do half with the saison yeast
and get the WLP 300 yeast for the othe half

 

[pittsy]

very drunk last night , infact still am but brew on :thumb: pictures to follow

 

[troutie]

Have You fallen asleep we are all waiting for the pics :drink:

 

[pittsy]

Hey i've only just finished , It's a long mash after all. I've got an og of 1045 only 1 point lower than expected so that'll do for me.
well here they are ,
First off lactic acid to drop the ph


Grain shot all mixed up


Under letting , first mash step .


Mixing well to make sure , notice how big my paddle is lol , never realised when i ordered it how big it was.


Herms in action






The herms is just pipe in hot water




Now it's time for decoction , heat up slowly while stirring to ensure grain doesn't scorch

Then rest at 72c for 15 mins before boiling .

Now heat up slowly till boiling , no stirring needed now as it's rolling , hold here for 20 mins and it will darken nicely




First runnings , looks lovely


I mostly brew pale wheats and witbiers so this is very dark for my brews


Hops in just hitting boiling point

Boil on , time for a cuppa .


And that's it , yeast pitched job done .

 

[bunkerbrewer]

Looks great! :thumb:

(I also now have paddle envy)

 

[troutie]

Only Joking

pics look fab so tasting report in 3 weeks :thumb:

 

[Baldbrewer]

Hi Pittsy,

How is the Herms rig working out for you ?
Is it a worthy upgrade for weissbrewing?

I'm intrigued :hmm: ans ever so slightly envious :

 

[pittsy]

it is so much easier , all i have is a s/s pot (around 6 litre) a bit of copper coil , some pvc tube (from local hbs) and a pump . As i use gas all i do is heat herms pot to a few degrees hotter than wort temp lets say mash is 40c and i want to get to 50c so herms is around 45c and i slowly heat it up a little while running the pump , easy , in an ideal world you want to raise temp around 1c per minute