In praise of wheat beer

[Oneflewover]

I'm coming to the end of a couple of batches of German wheat beer - one dark and one pale - and I'm really going to miss them. Very simple recipes, but sooooo good. Hadn't fully appreciated wheat beers beforehand, but will be exploring them further in future. I used dried yeast in both - MJ M20 - and whilst I've no wish to start a dried Vs liquid yeast debate (there's already plenty threads for that!) I was very pleasantly surprised at the depth of the yeast driven flavours in both beers.

Favourite wheat beer / recipe?

 

[Linalmeemow]

I'm coming to the end of a couple of batches of German wheat beer - one dark and one pale - and I'm really going to miss them. Very simple recipes, but sooooo good. Hadn't fully appreciated wheat beers beforehand, but will be exploring them further in future. I used dried yeast in both - MJ M20 - and whilst I've no wish to start a dried Vs liquid yeast debate (there's already plenty threads for that!) I was very pleasantly surprised at the depth of the yeast driven flavours in both beers.

Favourite wheat beer / recipe?

I'm most of the way through a batch of the Hughes Hefeweissbier done with WLP300, and it's one of my favourites since I started 5 1/2 years ago. I've got the Hughes Dunkelweizen in the fermenter now with harvested yeast from the first batch.

I've been surprised at how long they've taken to finish given how active the fermentation was in the first week. In both cases it's taken 2 weeks to drop from circa 1055 to 1020, then a third week to finish at 1010 or so. I'm used to US05 / BRY97 being done in 4 days!

 

[samale]

I really enjoyed my weizenbock
3kg wheat
2.5 kg pilsner
800g Munich
200g cara aroma
100g chocolate
50g carafa 1
Bittering hop will be magnum and yeast wb-06.

 

[dad_of_jon]

wheat beer
3 kg dwe
500g GS
MJ Bavarian yeast
100 saaz 2.2% alpha- 20 min boil in 4.5 litres of water
21.5 litres - 1059 -1017 pitched at 26
5.51%

 

[Linalmeemow]

Oh yeah, the recipe...

2.8kg wheat malt
2.8kg pilsner

Mash at 65c for 60 minutes

17g Saaz at 60 minutes
26g Hallertauer Mittelfruh at 60 minutes

WLP300 at 16c to start then increase a degree every couple of days up to 19c.

Came out really well balanced, neither clove nor banana was overpowering but both were clear and obvious. It was surprisingly close to Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, which is what I was aiming for. Far closer than I expected it to be.

 

[An Ankoù]

I, too, had one of the last of my batch of heffeweissen. Made it pretty much according to Greg Hughe's but substituted half the wheat malt with dark wheat malt. The latter is only about 17 ebc so it's nowhere near the realms of a dunkelweiss, but it really brings up the grainy flavour of the wheat.

 

[Clint]

wheat beer
3 kg dwe
500g GS
MJ Bavarian yeast
100 saaz 2.2% alpha- 20 min boil in 4.5 litres of water
21.5 litres - 1059 -1017 pitched at 26
5.51%

500g of German shepherd...very original!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Niagara Wheat Beer 21 litres
3000g wheat malt
3000g Pilsner malt
300g Honey malt
250g Maple syrup
20g Northern Brewer 60 minutes
25g Willamette 15 minutes
CML Kristallweizen yeast
OG 1065
ABV 7.5%

 

[Oneflewover]

Oh yeah, the recipe...

2.8kg wheat malt
2.8kg pilsner

Mash at 65c for 60 minutes

17g Saaz at 60 minutes
26g Hallertauer Mittelfruh at 60 minutes

WLP300 at 16c to start then increase a degree every couple of days up to 19c.

Came out really well balanced, neither clove nor banana was overpowering but both were clear and obvious. It was surprisingly close to Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, which is what I was aiming for. Far closer than I expected it to be.

Brilliant how you get so much flavour out of such a simple recipe

 

[Oneflewover]

Niagara Wheat Beer 21 litres
3000g wheat malt
3000g Pilsner malt
300g Honey malt
250g Maple syrup
20g Northern Brewer 60 minutes
25g Willamette 15 minutes
CML Kristallweizen yeast
OG 1065
ABV 7.5%

Interesting. How do the maple syrup and the late hop addition play with the yeast? I've used the CML kristallweizen and quite liked it, but would've thought it's got enough character to go solo?

 

[Hanglow]

I love wheat beers, a german wheat beer was one of those beers that I learned that not all beer had to taste like Tennents or McEwans Export.

My basic dunkelweisse recipe is:

og 1.051
fg 1.012
60% Continental Wheat Malt
30-35% pils
5-10% caramunich 1, 2 or 3, depending on how dark I want it
20 IBU tinseth from one bittering addition @ 60mins

standard hefeweiss:
65% Wheat malt
30% Pils malt
5% carahell.
20 IBU from one bittering addition. Everything else the same

Alternative Hefeweiss
60% Wheat Malt
34.5% Pils malt
5% CaraRed
0.5% Black Malt

Ur-Weiss:
60% Wheat Malt
40% Munich 1.



Water is pretty soft with about 50ppm Ca from CaCl. No sulphate needed.

Target mash pH of 5.8, so higher than most beers - helps the ferulic acid rest and cloudyness.

step mash is very useful and essential imo.
45.5c for ferulic acid rest 30mins
64c 40mins
72c 30mins
mashout if you want

I adjust the wort ph down to 5.1 after the boil with lactic acid, although proper hefeweizen yeasts can usually easily push the pH down enough on their own
Really like Munich Classic Ale as a dried yeast. ferment at 18c. Carb well to at least 3 volumes.

Other yeast - Schneider Weiss is excellent and can be stepped up from a bottle as can Gutmann

 

[Deadhead]

Wheat beers are one of my favourites to drink and brew! Yum!

 

[jMac]

A lot of love for the German wheats here, so, moving slightly west, I just wanted to pipe up that my Earl Grey Witbier is perhaps my favourite home-brewed beer...

Graaf Grijs Wit (20L)
Witbier

4.7% / 11.8 °P

Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity (Fixed): 1.012
IBU (Tinseth): 16
Color: 7.3 EBC

Malts (2.35 kg)
2.35 kg (47.1%) — Warminster Lager Malt — Grain — 3 EBC
Other (2.64 kg)
2.35 kg (47.1%) — Wheat (Flaked) — Adjunct — 4.9 EBC
260 g (5.2%) — Oats (Flaked) — Adjunct — 3.9 EBC
30 g (0.6%) — Bergamot Marmalade — Adjunct — 2 EBC

Mash (Stepped)
Strike Temp — 59.5 °C
Strike — 55 °C — 30 min
Infusion 1 — 66 °C — 60 min

Hops (45.2 g)
25 g (16 IBU) — Goldings (Kent) 4.9% — Boil — 60 min
20 g — Goldings (Kent) 4.9% — Aroma — 0 min hopstand

Miscs
30 g - Bergamot Marmalade - Boil - 5 min
13 g — Coriander — Boil — 5 min
10 g — Lemon Zest — Boil — 5 min
250 ml — Earl Grey Tea — Primary

Yeast
1 pkg — Fermentis T-58 SafBrew Specialty Ale

Fermentation
Primary — 18 °C — 3 days
Primary — 22 °C — 11 days
Carbonation: 2.8 CO2-vol

Notes
3 earl grey tea bags cold brewed in 250ml cooled boiled water for 10mins. Liquor added to primary at start of fermentation. This is really just to say there’s actual tea in it, not sure it provides any flavour. Slowly raise fermentation temperature to 22°C once fermentation has slowed around 3-5 days.

 

[An Ankoù]

Niagara Wheat Beer 21 litres
3000g wheat malt
3000g Pilsner malt
300g Honey malt
250g Maple syrup
20g Northern Brewer 60 minutes
25g Willamette 15 minutes
CML Kristallweizen yeast
OG 1065
ABV 7.5%

That looks nice! Which honey malt? Gambrinus or Colorado?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

That looks nice! Which honey malt? Gambrinus or Colorado?

Gambrinus

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Interesting. How do the maple syrup and the late hop addition play with the yeast? I've used the CML kristallweizen and quite liked it, but would've thought it's got enough character to go solo?

No idea really but I've made it a few times and it's always turned out nice. I've never used liquid yeast so I've nothing to compare.

 

[Hagrid]

I love wheat beers. There nothing better than sitting in the sun on top of a snowy mountain drinking a weizen bier and waiting for your grub to arrive.

But, I remember reading somewhere that they’re mashed at two or three different temperatures? Have I made that up?

I’ve not a wheat beer before but wouldn’t mind having a go one day.

 

[MickDundee]

Very simple, tasty and quick to brew.

My recent wheat beers have been wits rather than hefes but this thread has put me in the mood of one.

Erdinger was the first beer that made me realise there was more to beer than macro lagers.

 

[Baz Chaz]

Been thinking about a wheat beer for a while, this thread has some pretty straightforward recipes.... would appreciate feedback on my planned recipe please.

Looking for a pale wheat beer.

50% Europils malt
50% Wheat malt

SAAZ @ 1.5 g per litre 60 mins
Hallerttaur Mittelfruh @ 2 g per litre 60 mins

Mangrove Jack's M20 Bavarian wheat yeast
Or Munich Classic

 

[chthon]

Like @Linalmeemow , 50% wheat, 50% pilsner, except for the hops, Goldings hops for 18 IBU at 32 minutes, and Goldings hops for 8 IBU at 15 minutes. Was very tasty, was also fermented at relatively high temperature at the end, because it was in a room which caught much sun in May. I think it climbed up to 28° C. Oh yeah, MJ M20!

Fermented one week, bottled, and tasted already a week later.