Category Archives: wheat beer

2016 Orange Summer Wheat Ale

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One of the better brews during the “early” stage of my homebrewing career was an orange wheat ale. Inspired by Hangar 24’s offering, my overall recollection is that I got some nice orange flavor into the mix. I would like to make this again, but with the massive changes in my brewing techniques (particularly the switch to all-grain), I needed a nearly complete reformulation. I’m also adjusting the recipe for the hops I have on-hand.

It’s still a fairly simple recipe, and one that I hope turns out well. My other experimental change this time is to modify the way I handle the oranges. In the previous batches, the whole oranges (crushed) went into the fermenter along with the zest. For this iteration of the recipe, I’m going to soak the zest in vodka and add it at kegging.

2016 Orange Summer Wheat Ale

  • 5.75 lbs. white wheat malt
  • 2.5 lbs. 2-row malt (Great Western Malting Co.)
  • 0.5 lbs. 10° L crystal malt
  • 0.25 lbs. rice hulls
  • 1.25 oz. Mt. Hood hops pellets (5.75% alpha, 30 minute boil)
  • 1 pkg. American Hefeweizen Ale yeast (White Labs WLP320), prepared in 1.25 L starter
  • Zest of 3 medium to large oranges (1 navel, 2 Valencia), steeped in a few ounces of vodka
Procedure
  • The day before brewing, I made a starter of 1.25L water and 125 g of light DME. I added the yeast culture, and let it run for around 20 hours.
  • I mashed in with 3.6 gallons of water at 164.5°, to hit a mash temperature of 152°. The temperature was down to 149.5° after 40 minutes.
  • After 60 minutes, I added 1.25 gallons of water at 185°, which raised the mash temperature to 154°. I let it sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the first runnings. Then, I added 3.75 gallons of water at 190°, and a little ice to cool the mash down, and got a temperature of 165°. I let it sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the rest of the runnings.
  • All told, I collected 6.9 gallons of wort with a gravity of 1.036. This equates to 74% mash efficiency.
  • I started the boil, and added the hops after 30 minutes. After 60 minutes total, I turned off the heat and chilled the beer to 72°. I pitched the yeast and sealed the fermenter.
  • Starting gravity was 1.043, with 5.5 gallons into the fermenter. Fermentation had taken off within 12 hours. Because my fermentation chamber was currently on hold for lagering, I am fermenting this beer at ambient temperature. This means the brew is about 68°, give or take a degree.
  • I brewed this up on Monday, February 9.

Beer Tasting: West Coast Wheat Beer

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As my first all-grain wheat beer (and an American wheat beer at that), this batch has been a complete success. Check out the details below!

  • The Basics
    • Original gravity = 1.049, final gravity = 1.012, abv = 4.8%, estimated IBU = 23
  • Appearance
    • The head is white, creamy, and fine; almost meringue-like in consistency. It is incredibly persistent, too; even though it thins out some time after pouring, the head sticks around down to the very end of the glass. In fact, if anything the head is a little too dramatic – it takes a slow pour, a steady hand, and a bit of patience before the glass is full and ready to drink. I initially had chalked this up to potential over-carbonation, but now I’m pretty satisfied that it is a happy consequence of an all-grain beer with a heavy percentage of wheat. The beer itself is light gold and modestly hazy (it has clarified some over the 2-3 weeks since tapping the keg).
  • Aroma
    • Tart and lightly malty, with perhaps a hint of tropical fruit. Delicious!
  • Flavor
    • Slightly tart taste, balanced against a clean malt backbone. Smooth and light bitterness. Wonderfully balanced! 
  • Mouthfeel
    • Crisp and light bubbles; it could be carbonated a touch more, but is still within style.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • I would brew this beer again and again. It’s one of the best brews I’ve made to date, and is quite popular in our household. 
  • Overall rating
    • 10/10

West Coast Wheat Beer On Tap

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Because I didn’t have any “summer beers” on tap, I opted to speed-carbonate my West Coast Wheat Beer. This entailed two days at 40 psi and 42°, which did indeed carbonate things quite nicely. If anything, it might have overcarbonated a touch (based on the foaminess when I tapped the keg and poured the initial glasses). My hope is that this will get reduced as the beer sits at the standard serving / carbonating pressure for my system.

In any case, the beer has a positively thick and massive head, almost meringue-like. I guess this is what happens when you do an all-grain wheat beer! I’m quite pleased. The beer itself is quite delicious too, and I’ll do a full tasting once it has had a chance to mature a bit more.

West Coast Wheat Beer Update

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Today I kegged up the West Coast Wheat Beer, after 10 days in the primary fermenter. During the course of fermentation, I agitated the beer a few times to keep the yeast in suspension and ensure a full fermentation. At the time of kegging, the beer is at a gravity of 1.012 (down from 1.048), which works out to around 4.7% abv. The flavor is delicious, with a nice balance between tartness, citrus aromas, and a touch of fruitiness. This all bodes quite well! I’m “speed carbonating” at the moment (high pressure for two days, then down to serving pressure), with a hope to sample over the weekend.