What can I brew with Bavarian Wheat Malt (LME) ?

[AnbyG]

Hi all,

I need help formulating a brew recipe. I am very inexperienced when it comes to wheat beers, drinking as well as brewing. Here is what I have got in my pantry right now,

30lb of Bavarian Wheat LME
1 lb of Sparkling Amber LME
1/2 lb of wheat malt

Hops
4 oz of Willamette
1 lb of Cascade hope

Yeast
1 packet of Safale US-05 (dry)
1 packet of Safbrew WB-06 (dry)

Spices & Stuff
1 oz of Bitter Orange Peel
1/2 oz of Sweet orange Peel
1/2 oz of Coriander Seeds

What can I brew (a 5 gallon batch) with the stuff I already have ?

 

[chickypad]

Wheat beer recipes tend to be pretty uncomplicated, often just wheat + pilsner or 2-row. The extract will have this mix, so you could do something like this for a German style hefeweizen:

7 lb of your wheat LME
0.5 to .75 oz willamette at 60
WB-06 yeast
Should be in 10-15 IUB range but you may want to plug it into a calculator with the actual AA of your hops.

For an American style wheat something like:
7 lb wheat LME
1 oz Willamette at 60
1 oz willamette at 5
1 oz cascade dry hop
US-05
here trying to target about 20-22 IBU

I would add the bulk of the extact at flameout to keep the beer light.

 

[AnbyG]

Wheat beer recipes tend to be pretty uncomplicated, often just wheat + pilsner or 2-row. The extract will have this mix, so you could do something like this for a German style hefeweizen:

7 lb of your wheat LME
0.5 to .75 oz willamette at 60
WB-06 yeast
Should be in 10-15 IUB range but you may want to plug it into a calculator with the actual AA of your hops.

For an American style wheat something like:
7 lb wheat LME
1 oz Willamette at 60
1 oz willamette at 5
1 oz cascade dry hop
US-05
here trying to target about 20-22 IBU

I would add the bulk of the extact at flameout to keep the beer light.

Thank you. So wheat beers do not use any specialty grains or wheat malt at all ? And what are some good examples of German style hefeweizen and American style wheat beers ? I will pick up a couple of each and drink tonight to see which one I like more. The only wheat beer I have drank often if Blue moon and the clones I make of it.

What if I use US-05 in the hefeweizen ? Will the beer taste radically different than one brewed with WB-06 all other things remaining the same ?

 

[MaxStout]

What if I use US-05 in the hefeweizen ? Will the beer taste radically different than one brewed with WB-06 all other things remaining the same ?

US-05 will make for a cleaner taste, with much less estery flavors, something more akin to an American Wheat. WB-06 will give more clove-like flavors if fermented cool (low 60s), and banana-like at higher temps. The two yeasts yield much different flavors.

You really don't need specialty grains. But if you want a darker color, such as for a Dunkel, a little dehusked Carafa will do.

 

[chickypad]

Thank you. So wheat beers do not use any specialty grains or wheat malt at all ? And what are some good examples of German style hefeweizen and American style wheat beers ? I will pick up a couple of each and drink tonight to see which one I like more. The only wheat beer I have drank often if Blue moon and the clones I make of it.?

Yes wheat beers use wheat malt, which is in your LME. Weihenstephaner Heffeweiss is sort of the classic example of a German hefe that you might be able to find, also Paulaner, Franziskaner,or Schneider Weisse. Widmer is considered an American style though not a clean as others, I like Oberon from Bell's. A lot of what are marketed as American wheats probably really more IPA's with a high percentage of wheat.

 

[Lefou]

German wheats .... I would recommend Weihenstepaner, Paulaner, Franziskaner, Erdinger, Ayinger, or Hacker-Pschorr as good examples. Some examples of Schneiderweisse can be exceptionally good, too. These are some of the more recognizable names. Choose for freshness and look for dates. Quality of imports will vary, the fresher the better.
I usually avoid most American wheat beers because none of them I've tried have ever measured up to the German beers. I've tried ShockTop, Magic Hat's Circus Boy ... the rest were forgettable.
Your ingredients are for American-style wheat beer, but to make your brew, I'd recommend US-05 over the WB-06 and keep your starting gravity near 1.045 to 1.050.
If you'd like to brew something more akin to an American-style wheat with liquid yeast, WLP320 would work well. For the German taste, use WLP300. Ferment low-mid 60F.

 

[chickypad]

Re: your question about US-05, really the biggest thing defining a German hefeweizen is the yeast (it's in the name, after all). If you don't use a German wheat yeast you just won't get a German hefeweizen, period. I think this is one of the situations where you may want to consider a liquid strain, I haven't personally used WB-06 but I've heard that from people who brew a lot of hefeweizens. So Wyeast 3068 or WL300 which supposedly came from the Weihenstephaner strain would be typical choices.

 

[Croesius]

Get a pile of Amarillo and create a Gumballhead clone! It's my go-to for a great wheat ale.

 

[AnbyG]

US-05 will make for a cleaner taste, with much less estery flavors, something more akin to an American Wheat. WB-06 will give more clove-like flavors if fermented cool (low 60s), and banana-like at higher temps. The two yeasts yield much different flavors.

You really don't need specialty grains. But if you want a darker color, such as for a Dunkel, a little dehusked Carafa will do.

A dunkel will probably be the next brew as I really want to explore more styles of wheat beer.
The issue is that I have no way of controlling the fermentation temperature. Generally I just leave my 5 gallon Ale Pail bucket in my kitchen. I can leave it outside, but that means the temperature will fluctuate significantly.

Is the flavor of Franziskaner similar to the banana flavor you are talking about ?

Yes wheat beers use wheat malt, which is in your LME. Weihenstephaner Heffeweiss is sort of the classic example of a German hefe that you might be able to find, also Paulaner, Franziskaner,or Schneider Weisse. Widmer is considered an American style though not a clean as others, I like Oberon from Bell's. A lot of what are marketed as American wheats probably really more IPA's with a high percentage of wheat.

I picked up a six pack of Franziskaner yesterday, and I really like it. If Shock Top is a good American wheat then I prefer the German hefeweizen.

German wheats .... I would recommend Weihenstepaner, Paulaner, Franziskaner, Erdinger, Ayinger, or Hacker-Pschorr as good examples. Some examples of Schneiderweisse can be exceptionally good, too. These are some of the more recognizable names. Choose for freshness and look for dates. Quality of imports will vary, the fresher the better.
I usually avoid most American wheat beers because none of them I've tried have ever measured up to the German beers. I've tried ShockTop, Magic Hat's Circus Boy ... the rest were forgettable.
Your ingredients are for American-style wheat beer, but to make your brew, I'd recommend US-05 over the WB-06 and keep your starting gravity near 1.045 to 1.050.
If you'd like to brew something more akin to an American-style wheat with liquid yeast, WLP320 would work well. For the German taste, use WLP300. Ferment low-mid 60F.

Franziskaner is nice! I drank a couple yesterday. If I can brew something similar I will be very happy with it. I can't use liquid yeast or control the temperature at low 60s as I have very limited space and equipment.

Re: your question about US-05, really the biggest thing defining a German hefeweizen is the yeast (it's in the name, after all). If you don't use a German wheat yeast you just won't get a German hefeweizen, period. I think this is one of the situations where you may want to consider a liquid strain, I haven't personally used WB-06 but I've heard that from people who brew a lot of hefeweizens. So Wyeast 3068 or WL300 which supposedly came from the Weihenstephaner strain would be typical choices.

So is WB-06 a German yeast (or something similar to it) or not really, when it comes to the flavor in the end ? I have seen that opinions of people differ on it I must stick to dry yeasts as I just don't have the setup or space for it.

 

[MaxStout]

I just brewed a wheat with WB-06, and it turned out nicely. Not a true hefe, but just a recipe I cobbled together using some leftover ingredients. I fermented at about 63F, so the flavor leaned more toward the clove than banana. If you want to use dry yeast, it isn't bad. But I think WLP300 may be more authentic. Either way, you'll get good beer.

If you want to control ferm temp, you can put together a "swamp cooler," using a big plastic tub and some ice packs. Set your fermenter in that, fill the tub with cool water and add ice packs as needed. You'll need to change out the ice packs day to day to keep the temp fairly consistent. You can freeze water in a bunch of 16oz. plastic pop bottles to use for ice packs.

 

[motosapiens]

The issue is that I have no way of controlling the fermentation temperature. Generally I just leave my 5 gallon Ale Pail bucket in my kitchen. I can leave it outside, but that means the temperature will fluctuate significantly.

an issue that you can solve by writing a check is not an issue, it's an expense. for under $100 you can control your temperature (non-summer temps in a cool-ish climate), so just do that. An inkbird thermostat/temp controller and one of the wrap-around warming jackets and you're set. I put a tshirt over that and set it in the garage (never gets above 55 from october through april here). Fermentation temp makes a pretty big difference in the flavors of authentic bavarian hefeweizen. I don't know if it makes a difference in american style wheats, and I don't care because they suck stale dogbathwater, but after 6 years in bavaria I developed a taste for their style of beer, so that's what I make.

If you like the bavarian beers, I recommend trying both the authentic weihenstephan (3068) strain, as well as the boringazz bavarian strain, and see what you prefer. In my experience, 64-68 degrees fermentation temp will produce a delicious beer with all the characteristics of authentic bavarian beer in varying degrees. Below 64 I found I didn't get much of the spicy clovey esters that I like. Above 70 and you can start to get a little too much bubblegum and banana, but it's still perfectly drinkable to me.

What I did before I stopped being such a scottish frugal cheapskate was put one of those thermometer tapes on the bucket, and just set it in the garage for a couple hours if it got too close to 70 degrees. we usually keep the house in the 65-68 range, and the corner of the laundry room is a bit cooler if I close the heater vent, so between the kitchen, laundry room and garage, I could monitor the beer and keep it just under 70 degrees. I would love to have that time back tho, so I recommend just spending the coin on the temp controller and heater jacket. then you can just set and forget, and spend the extra time drinking beer, making out with your wife, reloading pistol ammo, doing yardwork, or whatever your thing is.

If you refuse to use liquid yeast (which don't really require any more muss and fuss than dry), I would at least try a dry yeast that claims to be similar to the real bavarian yeast. Mangrove Jacks M20 *sounds* like it's barking up the right tree, but I have never used it. I have only ever used the wyeast 3068 and the 3056 (one time only, because 3068 is so much better and so much more authentic). Honestly you will have acceptable results with liquid yeast even if you don't make a starter. Then when you bottle, save a cup of the slurry at the bottom for the next batch. I pour it into a sanitized mason jar, put a little saran wrap over the top, and set it in the fridge for a week or so until a brew again. Takes up only 5-6 more cubic inches than a dry yeast packet, and if you reuse it just one time, it costs less than dry yeast.