Overall Impression: Refreshing wheat beers that can display more hop character and less yeast character than their German cousins. A clean fermentation character allows bready, doughy, or grainy wheat flavors to be complemented by hop flavor and bitterness rather than yeast qualities.
Aroma: Low to moderate grainy, bready, or doughy wheat character. A light to moderate malty sweetness is acceptable. Esters can be moderate to none, although should reflect relatively neutral yeast strains; banana is inappropriate. Hop aroma may be low to moderate, and can have a citrusy, spicy, floral, or fruity character. No clove phenols.
Appearance: Usually pale yellow to gold. Clarity may range from brilliant to hazy with yeast approximating the German weissbier style of beer. Big, long-lasting white head.
Flavor: Light to moderately-strong bready, doughy, or grainy wheat flavor, which can linger into the finish. May have a moderate malty sweetness or finish quite dry. Low to moderate hop bitterness, which sometimes lasts into the finish. Balance is usually even, but may be slightly bitter. Low to moderate hop flavor (citrusy, spicy, floral, or fruity). Esters can be moderate to none, but should not include banana. No clove phenols. May have a slightly crisp finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body. Medium-high to high carbonation. Slight creaminess is optional; wheat beers sometimes have a soft, ‘fluffy’ impression.
History: An American craft beer adaptation of the German weissbier style using a cleaner yeast and more hops, first widely popularized by Widmer in the mid-1980s.
Characteristic Ingredients: Clean American ale or lager yeast (German weissbier yeast is inappropriate). Large proportion of wheat malt (often 30–50%, which is lower than is typical in German weissbiers). American, German, or New World hops are typical.
Style Comparison: More hop character and less yeast character than German weissbier. Never with the banana and clove character of German weissbier. Generally can have the same range and balance as Blonde Ales, but with a wheat character as the primary malt flavor.
Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.040 – 1.055
IBUs: 15 – 30 FG: 1.008 – 1.013
SRM: 3 – 6 ABV: 4.0 – 5.5%
Commercial Examples: Bell’s Oberon, Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer, Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale, Widmer Hefeweizen
SRM 5 = EBC 9,85 / OG 1.050 = 12,37 Brix = 12,37 °Plato = 12,37% sugar / FG 1.010 = 2,56 Brix
where:
TWM = Total Weight of Malt (in kg)
4,15 = a constant value, it depends on the Brewhouse Efficiency (in this case 80%)
vol = the final wort volume in liters after boil (total volume: 25 liters of beer)
OGt = targeted OG = 1,050
TWM = 4,15 x 25 x [1,050 - 1,0]
TWM = 5,19 kg
Pale Wheat Malt - 3,4kg (65,4%) --> 1.039
Wheat Caramel Malt - 0,2kg (3.8%) --> 1.025
Caramunich II - 0,3kg (5,8%) --> 1.033
LME Pilsner - 1,3kg (25%) --> 1.036 (considering 1kg LME = 1,3kg of Malt)
Average = (1.039x0,654)+(1.025x0,038)+(1.033x0,058)+(1.036x0,25)
Potential Malt SG = 1.037,4 (Proportionally Averaged)
PPG = 37,4 (Points per Gallon)
where:
TWM = Total Weight of Malt (in kg)
0,1234 = a constant value based on the conversion of pounds to kg and gallons to liters.
vol = the final volume in liters after boil (total volume: 25 liters of beer)
Eff = the brewhouse efficiency (in this case 0,80 = 80%)
OGt = OG targeted in points per Gallon (PPG) = 50
SGp = Potential Malt SG in points per Gallon (PPG) = 37,4
TWM = (50 / 37,4) x (25 / 0,80) x 0,1234
TWM = 1,34 x 31,25 x 0,1234
TWM = 5,17 kg
Proportion of Wheat Malt around 70% of total Malt (considering 1,0 kg of LME is equivalent to 1,3 kg of Malt)
Ale yeast SafALE US-05 (10g maybe not enough for 25 liters of wort)
Hop Tettnanger Cascade from Germany
1kg LME to be added with 10 liters of water after Boiling.
Initial Water/Grist Concentration: 3,8 l/kg
Liquid Malt Extract + water added after boiling
Water pH not informed
Maybe less than 35 liters of water will be used for a final of 25 liters of beer
Used water: 3,9 liters absorbed by the Malt + 4 liters evaporated +25 liters of beer
Total of 33 liters of water
p BG @ 20°C
14 Brix = 1.057 SG
pre-Boiling Gravity
(without LME)
a BG @ 20°C
15 Brix = 1.061 SG
after-Boiling Gravity
(without LME)
OG @ 20°C
13,5 Brix = 1.055 SG
Original Gravity
(with 1 kg LME + add. 10 liters of water)
Corrected WG = 1,050 + (Wort Gravity - 1,050) / 0,33 (for Wort higher than 1,050)
IBU = (Weight x Bitterness% x AA% x 1000) / (Vol x Wort Gravity)
Fermentation temperature = room temperature = 21°C to 23°C
OG (20°C) = 13,5 Brix = 1.055 SG
FG (20°C) target = 2,5 Brix = 1010 SG
FG1 (20°C) = 4,0 Brix = 1.016 SG (after 7 days - air lock bobbling each 1-3 minutes)
FG2 (20°C) = 3,5 Brix = 1.014 SG (after 8 days - air lock bobbling each 2-5 minutes)
FG3 (20°C) = 3,0 Brix = 1.012 SG (after 11 days - air lock still bobbling)
FG4 (20°C) = 3,0 Brix = 1.012 SG (after 13 days - air lock still bobbling)
FG1 @ 20°C
4 Brix = 1.016 SG
FG2 @ 20°C
3,5 Brix = 1.014 SG
FG3 @ 20°C
3 Brix = 1.012 SG
FG4 @ 20°C
3 Brix = 1.012 SG
ABV % = (OG – FG) x 131,25
ABV% = (1.055-1.012) x 131,25
ABV% = 43 x 131,25
The Fermentation seems to be ok.
The beer was bottled in 5 litters mini Kegs, in total 5 mini Kegs.
In 3 of them I put a 5g Cascade Hop (as Dry Hopping) using small Tea Bags with a string (to facilitate removing them as soon as the Keg is empty.
In 2 of them I put 25g of Sugar as a priming.
In one of them there is only beer inside.
In the kegs without priming I will do a forced carbonation (it means 3 kegs will have forced carbonation).
In the table (at the right hand side) it is shown what is the content of each keg.
Very difficult to say exactly the EBC/SRM.
The targeted SRM was 5, that means EBC around 10.
The estimated SRM was 6,3 and EBC was 12,8. Already higher than targeted.
Visually I would say SRM between 8 and 13 or EBC between 16 and 26.
It means, double of the target.
Based on the table below we should decrease the quantity of Wheat Caramel or Caramunich II.