Some ideas for wheat beer...

[Lachy]

G'day guys... A mate and I just had a conversation on the topic of some slightly unusual additions to a simple kit and kilo wheat beer, and we'd like your opinion on the following options:

(a) Nelson Sauvin - the theory being that the fruitiness from this hop might work in a wheat in the same way orange rind and coriander works in Hoegaarden.

(b) Lemongrass and coriander - again, kinda like the Hoegaarden, but shifting it in a more lemony as opposed to orange direction.

(c) Lime leaves - both Kaffir or Tahitian lime leaves are available, and Tahitian lime leaves are like a less bitter, more fruity lime flavour.

These options would all be added to the following base:

Wheat Beer Kit (possibly the Coopers one)
1kg dried wheat malt extract
K-97
Made to 22l.

Any takers?

[timmy]

I could go any of those.

If I was you I'd make one brew and split it 3 ways.

Go easy on the NS, though. You might want to consider using extract only and doing a short boil with lots of hops because normal wheat beers are not bitter (<20 IBU's)

There was someone on AHB who made a lime chilli beer using a Cerveza kit + kaffir lime + chili and it came out quite nice by all accounts.

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers,

Tim

[Throsby]

I recently mate a Hoegaarden clone with some advice from my HBS.

The hop bag he but together was absolutely spot on for that whole citric-coriander taste.

One bit of advice he gave me was to NOT tip the hop bag into the fermenter when you tip in the water you've boiled the bag in.

According to him, yeast + coriander is not a good mix due to some sort of chemical reaction.

I don't know the details or the science behind it, but I followed his advice and the beer is lovely.

So if you use coriander in your hops don't put the bag in the fermenter i guess.

[Lachy]

I recently mate a Hoegaarden clone with some advice from my HBS.

The hop bag he but together was absolutely spot on for that whole citric-coriander taste.

One bit of advice he gave me was to NOT tip the hop bag into the fermenter when you tip in the water you've boiled the bag in.

According to him, yeast + coriander is not a good mix due to some sort of chemical reaction.

I don't know the details or the science behind it, but I followed his advice and the beer is lovely.

So if you use coriander in your hops don't put the bag in the fermenter i guess.

Yeah? I've done a basic Hoegaarden clone a few months ago, and I didn't even bother with a hop bag. Orange peel, crushed coriander seed and hops went straight into the fermenter... no bag at all. Tastes absolutely fantastic.

[Throsby]

Yeah I dunno Lachy? As I said, that's just the advice from Mark at my HBS.
I didn't ask for details about his yeast/coriander theory.

My beer tastes great too. Next time I'm there I'll ask why he reckons coriander and yeast don't play well together.

[warra48]

Yeah I dunno Lachy? As I said, that's just the advice from Mark at my HBS.
I didn't ask for details about his yeast/coriander theory.

My beer tastes great too. Next time I'm there I'll ask why he reckons coriander and yeast don't play well together.

If I'm right, the Mark mentioned is actually Mark at Mark's Home Brew in Islington in Newcastle. He does know what he is talking about, as he is one of the very few HB shop owners who have actually done formal brewing training. He is also constantly in touch with the brewers at a mega brewer in the Hunter, as well as the brewer (an ex-employee of Mark) at a micro brewery in the Hunter.

[Bizier]

I have been tempted to use corriender in a wit.

I had been thinking about it for a while, then I read somewhere in "Brew Like A Monk" that some commercial examples use it.

Advice I remember was something like less than 1 stalk per standard 23L batch. I'd err on the lighter side as well, but I dislike what I think is over-spicing.

[tazman67]

Dry hop in secondary the Corriander ? Just a thought ?
Tried it myself in a Belgian Wit. The yeast does "scrub" out the flavour.
I found it a lot better

[KEG]

I have been tempted to use corriender in a wit.

I had been thinking about it for a while, then I read somewhere in "Brew Like A Monk" that some commercial examples use it.

Advice I remember was something like less than 1 stalk per standard 23L batch. I'd err on the lighter side as well, but I dislike what I think is over-spicing.

when you say stalk, are you referring to the leafy part of the plant? the leafy part has it's uses in cooking for sure, but the part normally used in witbiers is the crushed dried seed.

[Bizier]

I am cold trippin' (gf was prying me from beer+computer) I meant lemongrass

But I really suggest that you can half what you think is a good spicing level, and it will never hurt the beer unless it is insanely boring to begin with.

[Lachy]

Well, we ended up doing something a *lot* simpler in the end... we just used Hallertau.

I've got a lemon myrtle wheat on the bubble at the moment as the previous one I made was quite a hit with friends, and I'm thinking seriously about trying Tahitian lime leaves and coriander in my next wheat. I typically use K-97 to ferment my wheats, but are there any other dry yeasts available that would work better with these flavours?

[timmy]

That's probably the best one for neutral flavours. The other dry wheat yeasts give you the weizen banana and clove flavours that probably don't work too good with your other bits.

You possibly could try T-58 which might work well - I've never tried it with wheats but I've heard it works well.

[Lachy]

Hmm... that's an interesting thought. I always thought T-58 was the one to use in high gravity Belgians to give some funky spiciness to the finished product.

How does WB-06 compare to K-97?

[warra48]

WB06 is a dry wheat yeast.

K97 is not a wheat yeast, it is a German ale yeast, in spite of what HB shops frequently tell you.

If you want to use dry yeast, go for the WB06 or the Danstar Munich Yeast for hefeweizens, or the T-58 for Belgian wheats such as Hoegaarden etc.

[Kevnlis]

I mostly agree with warra here, except to say that WB06 is a very unique yeast which I quite like in certain instances, but is widely disliked as a wheat beer yeast.

[Lachy]

That's really interesting... I knew K-97 was a German Ale yeast, but I also thought that it was dual-purpose yeast that was equally at home in wheat beers. I have certainly used it without a hitch in a couple of wheat beers including my lemon myrtle wheat and in a Hoegaarden clone which turned out remarkably close to the real deal.

And WB-06 is disliked? Why is this so?

[warra48]

Of the two yeasts, Danstar Munich, and WB06, I personally think the Danstar Munich produces a result closer to a Bavarian hefeweizen. The WB06 gives a more tart and clovey beer.

Neither of these dry yeast gets close to the results produced by liquid yeasts such as WY3068 or WY3638, in my opinion and experience (yes, I've used them all).

[timmy]

I do thing that WB06 is comparible to 3068 but I may not be that fussy....

However I don't think either would work very well with the spices etc that are being discussed in this thread.

[Lachy]

Yeah... even though it's not technically the correct yeast to use, I must admit that I am pretty happy with the performance of K-97 in my wheat beers. As a neutral-tasting yeast for fermenting "flavoured" wheat beers, it seems to be quite good.

I tried a raspberry wheat this arvo, and it seems that the K-97 has worked fine yet again!

[wrighty]

Chucked down a wheat brew this arvo.
Hoegaarden (close i hope)
1 Coopers Brewmaster Wheat
500g spray dried wheat extract
200g organic puffed wheat (steeped 30 min @70c)
30g crushed corriander seed
5g crushed cardamon
2 jaffa orange rinds (dried)
saf 06 (started 500ml in 100g extract)
25 g hallertau

6l boil,wheat steep&extract 20min(cooled to 40c add tin)
25g hops 10min
2lt boil cory & orange, cardo, 5 min (strained to primary)
topped up 22lt chilled rainwater with 5g hardener for p.h.)
Pitch starter @ 22c in brewfridge set @18c.
sg 1024
Slammed down a 4 pack of Hoeyes last night @16 bucks that got a yay vote to make my own from SWMBO