Recipe ideas for leftover ingredients?

[coyote85]

Ok so really not leftover, but I have 6# pale wheat and 5# german pilsner from a hefe I didn't brew. The grain was crushed about four months ago and ended up not being able to brew at that time. I am about to brew a hefe using edwort's recipe using fresh grains and wheat, but now I still have this old grain that I figure I either throw out or use. I am planning on throwing it on the yeast cake (wyeast 3068 weihenstephan) from my current batch since I will already have it on deck. So I am looking for ideas on what to add or use, experiment with, etc. the only parameters are using the current grain bill and the yeast, I would be willing to add a small amount of another grain, but looking for hop ideas, secondary additions, anything unique to not just brew another hefe, preferably something light for summer. Let me hear your ideas

 

[crusader1612]

What about Edworts bee cave brewery kolsch? Mix isn't quite right. But u could just use extra wheat for the missing oils? It's only like 1# ish

 

[coyote85]

Having almost exact opposite grains and not be able to use the kolsch yeast, it'll prolly end up more like the hefeweizen. I'm really looking at this opportunity as a way to go off the deep end and see what happens. I'm just still too new to brewing to really know what works well and make up my own recipes. Just seeing if someone had some crazy idea close to my grain bill that they never tried out or anything that may sound good.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Since the grain has been crushed for 4 months, it's probably getting a bit stale. Most likely not bad (chew a bit to see how it tastes), but past its prime. Instead of brewing something light where you'll obviously notice it's past its prime, try something with some other flavors that will cover it up a bit. A heavily wheated porter would be good. Get some midnight wheat or similar huskless roasted grain, go moderate on the hops, and use an English yeast strain. The wheat and huskless roasted grain will give you a smooth and mild porter which, I'd bet, would have wide appeal.

 

[coyote85]

I was going to throw them out because I thought they would be stale, but I tasted em and they were good but I'm not an expert, but that's why I decided why not wing it. I appreciate the ideas but I've been drinking porters and stouts all winter and really wanted something lighter and bbq appropriate for summer and to reuse my wyeast 3068 to limit more investment. You are right about masking the stale flavor if it exists though, I think I may just add a half # of carapils, light hopping with tettnanger, and find some good strawberry extract and make a strawberry wheat, do you think these would be enough to cover up any off flavors? I haven't made any fruit beers yet.

 

[crusader1612]

Google 8wired brewing haywired. 50/50 pils/wheat split with Brit yeast

 

[MrOH]

You could always do something like New Glarus Crack'd Wheat or Schneider Hopfenweisse, a slightly bigger hefeweisse that uses a slightly more bittering hops and a decent amount of late hops.

 

[GuldTuborg]

You are right about masking the stale flavor if it exists though, I think I may just add a half # of carapils, light hopping with tettnanger, and find some good strawberry extract and make a strawberry wheat, do you think these would be enough to cover up any off flavors?

I've brewed with old malt before. I wouldn't say you get off flavors, just not as much flavor. So if it's a beer that gets much of its flavor from the malt, expect it to be bland, not nasty. That's where the recommendation for another source of flavor came from. Think of a beer where the malt is more in the backgorund. A weizen may work (yeast), but so might a saison (big yeast influence), amber (healthy amount of crystal malt), or as you suggested, something fruited. Maybe a fruited or soured weizen or wit, even. Maybe a wheat IPA. Anything that gets its main source of flavor from something other than the malt is probably going to be just fine.

 

[crusader1612]

Heres the link as i said earlier:http://8wired.co.nz/our-brews/haywired

tastewise is a 50/50 wheat and pale malt, which can be switched for pils, focusing on late additions and its more of a plae wheat ale, beautiful beer.