Friday, June 28, 2013

Wedding Wheats

A couple of weeks ago, my friend and my brother's roommate, Matt Jones, stopped by and had a proposition.  Matt is like a second little brother to me.  He was my brother's friend in elementary school, and joined cub scouts with him.  We went through Boy Scouts Together, and we both have our Eagle rank.  We've been to many mountain tops, on numerous hiking treks, and we've even shared a few homebrews over the years.

Me (front), Matt (middle), and My Brother (Back) sitting on a boulder half way up Mt. Harvard in Buena Vista, Colo.

Just like every homebrewer in history, I now have the chance to make his "signature" brew for his wedding coming up here over labor day weekend.  It's also a great distraction while I am waiting for the new progeny, my first son, to arrive.  We all know my passion is in IPAs, sweet hop nectar.  But Matt requested something light and summery, again, it's labor day weekend.  So I will make an IPA, because why not?  But I will also make a few different wheat beers and see which Matt will choose.

When crafting a wheat I like a good amount of wheat in my grain bill, over 55%, if it's any less, I am just trying to increase the head retention.  The wheat bill contributes very little to the overall flavor of the beer, but increases the silky, smooth mouthfeel.  This makes it an excellent choice when looking for something to casually sip on all night at, let's say, a wedding reception.

I decided to make three wheat beers and let Matt choose his favorite, the other two i will, sadly, have to consume myself.

My first Wheat will be a Hefeweizen.  Simple grain bill, mellow hop, and bold yeast flavor.  This traditional wheat beer is where it all started, and where I'm starting.  The wheat and barley will give it a subtle malty character with that refreshing smooth mouthfeel.  The Nobel Hop, Tettnang, will balance the sweetness with a little bite, and finally the yeast.  It will impart banana and clove notes, but keep the beer balanced and refreshing.  I love Hefes and I really look forward to this one finishing.

Too bad you can't grow these in a garden
Recipe:
5 lbs. White Wheat
4 lbs. 2-Row Barley
1/2 lbs. Carapils

1 oz Tattnang 60 minutes
White Labs Hefeweizen WLP300


Single Infusion Mash at 152 F
60 Minute Boil
Chill and pitch yeast

Small Boilover, nothing I can't handle... Need a bigger kettle

I thought about doing a protein rest at 122 F for 12 minutes, but decided against it.  I figured I would boil most of the proteins out, and hopefully the Irish Moss and a good secondary fermentation will clarify the beer as much as I need it to.  If I still have some protein cloudiness, I will add some gelatin filings.

I had a great conversion efficiency and my Original Gravity is 1.052, so this should be very drinkable at about   5-5.5% alcohol by volume.  All I can do is wait...
Hochzeit im Sommer Hefeweizen
Update: 7/23/13
I had a glass of the Hochzeit Hefeweizen last night and it was fantastic.  Rebekah, Wilder, Izzy, and I had just come home from a walk.  The cicadas were buzzing their twilight song and the warm, sunset light was slowing fading to night.  We sat on the front porch and I listened to Rebekah sing to Wilder while I sipped on a cold hefeweizen.


The aroma is very nice, malty, with some clove.  The initial flavor is very clean.  Banana and clove finish with a sweetness lingering until the next sip.  As with all wheats, the head lasted thought the entire glass and left a nice lace.  The mouth feel is full, but not thick, very sipable, with a nice carbonation bite.  Great beer for Sommer!


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