Just me, but I think you have too much wheat malt. Those more skilled will tell us why this won't work well, but most Weizens are at least 60-40% wheat to barley.
Steve, the LME is mixed wheat amd barley. The crystal would be a specialty grain, not making any real impact on the wheat-barley balance.
You might consider using Munich malt instead of crystal. It is more traditional, and will contribute some melanoidin character in addition to a little sweetness.
__________________
-Beerking
"Asking whether computers can think is like asking if submarines can swim."
Inventor of the Rauch HellerBock style of beer!
GABF 2008 Pro Am Silver medal! (Rauch HellerBock)
1st place Smoked/Wood Aged Beer - 2008 Longshot NE Region
I wanted to make a wheat with a little caramel flavor to it, this is what I was thinking:
6.6 lbs wheat LME
.5 lb crystal 60L
1 oz tettnang 60 min (4.4%)
Wyeast 3056
Thoughts or suggestions?
My first hefe was very similar, except I used 1 lb of carawheat. At the time, I had read how specialty grains makes extract taste better, so I used them in EVERY batch. I thought it was pretty good at the time, but don't think I'd ever do it again. A hefe should have some maltiness and body, but a lot of crystal is not really appropriate.
Wyeast 3068 (very fresh pack, no starter)
pitched and fermented at 62F for about 10 days, then bottled
1.047 OG
1.012 FG
Without a doubt, this is the best hefe I've ever made.
__________________
Primary: Belgian Dark Strong
Secondary: Flanders Red 10, Flanders Red 08/09
Bottle Conditioning: Cyser
Kegged: DIPA
Drinking: Witbier, IPA, Flanders Red 08/09, Vanilla Brown Ale, Black DIPA, Imperial Chocolate Brown Ale, Cascade/Centennial IPA, Imperial Witbier, English Barleywine, Historical Imperial Stout, Belgian Dark Strong, US Barleywine
I definitely suggest Wyeast 3068 instead for that authentic Bavarian Hefeweizen flavor. 3068 is by far the best German Hefe yeast out there hands down.
On the grain, I'd consider doing it here as 8 oz of Weyermann's CaraMunich 57L instead of 8 oz Crystal 60. Its not a lot of caramel malt so it won't be all that sweet, but it's got a better flavor than Crystal 60 (IMO). I'd bet Otis will agree.
My .02-
__________________
-B'Dawg
Give a man a beer and he'll waste an hour. Teach him to brew and he'll waste a lifetime. - Nuco Gordo
I haven't used munich or caramunich before, will they give the caramel flavor I'm after? I'm not looking to make a traditional hefe, I've had them, love them, but I want to do something a little different. That's one of the great things about this hobby, you can basically do or make whatever you want.
You will get a malty, melanoidin sweetness, which is different from caramle/crystal, and IMHO better.
__________________
-Beerking
"Asking whether computers can think is like asking if submarines can swim."
Inventor of the Rauch HellerBock style of beer!
GABF 2008 Pro Am Silver medal! (Rauch HellerBock)
1st place Smoked/Wood Aged Beer - 2008 Longshot NE Region
Ok, so from the advice provided this is what I'm looking at:
6.6 lbs wheat LME
.5 lb caramunich
1 oz tettnang 60 min (4.4%)
Wyeast 3056
Do you think that'll balance well or should there be another hop addition? I'm not really going for a sweet beer I just thought that a little caramel flavor in a hefe would be good.
He's gonna have to be careful enough with his steep that it's a mash.
BD, what is meant by that? Are you referring to time/temp for steeping? This looks like a very nice recipe to me, only because you all seem to endorse it and my wife likes dunkelweizen, so I'd like to hijack it sometime soon. But I want to do it right. Thanks for your input.
Additional question: I have some 3333 yeast on hand. Can I use that in place of the 3068 or will I get a significantly different character?
__________________
Beerbreath
"Beer; it's not just for breakfast anymore!"
Last edited by beerbreath : 06-06-2009 at 11:24 AM.
Reason: additional question germaine to the topic
A mash does more than soak sugars out of the grain. It actually puts sugar into the grain by causing the enzymes already in the grain to convert the starches in the grain into sugars. At soil temperatures these enzymes slowly convert the starch into sugars to feed the germinating plant. We dunk the grain in hot water so the enzymes work at warp speed and a process that would take a week is over in a half hour. The key to mashing is to hold the malted and milled grain and hot water mixture at a specific temperature (~150-155 F) for long enough (1/2 hour or a little longer) until all the starch has become sugar. I could write a whole treatise here, but since others (e.g., Miller, Papazian) have done so I direct you to their fine reference works.
Anyway, specialty grains like crystal and dark roasts are already converted to all sugar, so those don't need to be mashed, only steeped. Munich malt, as well as other base malts like pilsen, vienna, english pale ale, etc., do need to be mashed so you don't end up with a starchy, unstable beer.
__________________
On deck: a clone of Carolina Beer Co's Rye Stout, clone of Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter,
Primary: Holiday brew
Secondary: Alt
Keg Conditioning: Big Muddy Monster clone attempt, RyePA, Honey Koelsch
On tap: Okto, , Bourbon Stout, Dunkelweizen, Tastebuddicide
Bottled: Mead, Quad Rajet, Granola Bar Braggot
Too much of everything is just enough.
- J. Garcia
Linear Mode
