Am I buying the right ingrediants?

[gregfreemyer]

I'm going to do a DunkelWeizen next weekend. All of my recipes have come from the LHBS so far, so they had the exact ingrediants. This time I think I'm trying something from the web.

If there is a known good recipe let me know, otherwise I'm going to try this one:

http://byo.com/european-pale-lager/item/579-dunkelweizen-and-belgian-tripel-style-profile

The ingrediants are:

8 oz. German Munich malt
7 oz. Belgian cara-Munich malt
1 oz. British chocolate malt
6.25 lbs. Muntons wheat dry malt extract (DME)
4 AAUs Tettnanger bittering hops (1 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
1 pt. starter of Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen)
1-1/4 cups Muntons wheat dry malt extract for priming

My LHBS carries the ingredients shown at:
http://www.hopcitybeer.com/?pg=5

I'm assuming I should buy:
German Munich malt => Munich Malt 10L
Belgian cara-Munich malt => Caramunich
British chocolate malt => Chocolate Malt
Muntons wheat DME => Bavarian Wheat DME
Tettnanger bittering hops => Tettnang hops

If any of that is wrong, please scream.

For the yeast, I have a Wyeast 3944 Belgium Witt I bought a month ago, but didn't use. (I re-used the yeast cake instead last week).

Would the Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen) be close to the 3944, or should I throw out the pack I have and get the 3068?

Also, I've only done LME with steeping grains before. This only uses DME, but it seems very similar to what I have done. 2 questions:

1) It doesn't mention using a grain sock during the steeping phase. It seems far easier to use one so I will unless someone screams! Does that change the quantities of grain etc.?

2) It says "Strain the grain into the brewpot and sparge with one gallon of 170° F water." What does sparge mean in that context? I normally poor cool tap water over my grain sock when I take it out. Am I sparging? Should I be using 170° F water? I happen to have a hot water dispenser next to my sink that dispenses 170° F water, so I always have it available if it is a better choice.

Thanks
Greg

 

[Schol-R-LEA]

I'm going to do a DunkelWeizen next weekend. All of my recipes have come from the LHBS so far, so they had the exact ingrediants. This time I think I'm trying something from the web.

If there is a known good recipe let me know, otherwise I'm going to try this one:

http://byo.com/european-pale-lager/item/579-dunkelweizen-and-belgian-tripel-style-profile

The ingrediants are:

8 oz. German Munich malt
7 oz. Belgian cara-Munich malt
1 oz. British chocolate malt
6.25 lbs. Muntons wheat dry malt extract (DME)
4 AAUs Tettnanger bittering hops (1 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
1 pt. starter of Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen)
1-1/4 cups Muntons wheat dry malt extract for priming

My LHBS carries the ingredients shown at:
http://www.hopcitybeer.com/?pg=5

I'm assuming I should buy:
German Munich malt => Munich Malt 10L
Belgian cara-Munich malt => Caramunich
British chocolate malt => Chocolate Malt
Muntons wheat DME => Bavarian Wheat DME
Tettnanger bittering hops => Tettnang hops

If any of that is wrong, please scream.

This is more or less right, though 'German Munich' could be either light (10 degrees Lovibond) or darker (20°L or 50°L, depending on the specific malt). More than likely, it is the 10°L, which is what you want.

The wheat extract may be a little different, but it shouldn't significantly so. Most 'wheat character' comes from the yeast used, not the malt; American wheat beers are often quite neutral, for example, because they use fairly ordinary ale yeast rather than the Bavarian or Belgian strains.

For the yeast, I have a Wyeast 3944 Belgium Witt I bought a month ago, but didn't use. (I re-used the yeast cake instead last week).

Would the Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen) be close to the 3944, or should I throw out the pack I have and get the 3068?

They would be quite different. The Bavarian weizen yeast is unique to that style, and is the source of the clove and fruit character of the beer (BTW, if you want to emphasize the clove over the fruit, pitch two or more of the yeast packs, or make a starter. The amount of yeast you start with makes a large difference in the style.) The Witbier yeast is also specific to that style, being a more attenuating and slightly souring yeast.

Also, I've only done LME with steeping grains before. This only uses DME, but it seems very similar to what I have done. 2 questions:

1) It doesn't mention using a grain sock during the steeping phase. It seems far easier to use one so I will unless someone screams! Does that change the quantities of grain etc.?

I would use the grain sock; more than likely, the recipe simply overlooked that detail.

2) It says "Strain the grain into the brewpot and sparge with one gallon of 170° F water." What does sparge mean in that context? I normally poor cool tap water over my grain sock when I take it out. Am I sparging? Should I be using 170° F water? I happen to have a hot water dispenser next to my sink that dispenses 170° F water, so I always have it available if it is a better choice.

Yes you are sparging; the temperature doesn't change that, and many brewers do a cool-water sparge. However, if you use the 170°F water, you will get a slightly better extraction rate, though with such a small amount of grain the difference will be minor. It becomes much more of an issue with all-grain brewing, where you are often rinsing the sugars out of 8-10 lbs. of malt for a five gallon batch of average gravity (around SG 1.045-1.055). Be careful not to go over 170°F, however, as around 175°F you start leaching out tannin from the malt hulls, which would give an astringent taste and mouthfeel.

 

[JLem]

The biggest thing I see concerns your yeast. A wit yeast is not appropriate for this beer style (it might still make a good beer...just not a dunkleweizen). You'll want a German wheat yeast for this style.

It is interesting that the BYO web link puts this recipe under "European pale lager" as it is neither pale nor a lager

 

[gregfreemyer]

The wheat extract may be a little different, but it shouldn't significantly so. Most 'wheat character' comes from the yeast used, not the malt; American wheat beers are often quite neutral, for example, because they use fairly ordinary ale yeast rather than the Bavarian or Belgian strains.


They would be quite different. The Bavarian weizen yeast is unique to that style, and is the source of the clove and fruit character of the beer (BTW, if you want to emphasize the clove over the fruit, pitch two or more of the yeast packs, or make a starter. The amount of yeast you start with makes a large difference in the style.) The Witbier yeast is also specific to that style, being a more attenuating and slightly souring yeast.

I had the first day of brewing Saturday. This is a new style to me so a couple more questions.

- The OG was only 1.055 to 1.056 per the recipe, but the wort was really sweet. Could it be the Bavarian Wheat DME I used was a lot sweeter than the Muntons that the recipe called for? (I did not measure the OG. I was behind schedule.)

- Is there a (cheap) way to measure alcohol content later on.

- I only used one yeast pack, but I left it outside for about 6 hours and the pack looked like it was ready to burst. (Outside temp was 65 degrees and overcast) My primary fermenter is 6 1/2 gallons (I think). I just used a fermentation lock and not a blow-off tube. The krausen came up through the fermentation lock last night. About a bottles worth of beer appears to have spilled. No big deal, but is there anything I should do other than clean up the mess? (I had the bucket sitting in a pan, so the mess is localized to the bucket and pan.)

- If I do this recipe again, should I get a bigger fermentation bucket? What size?

Thanks