Whisky Wife Wheat

I figured I needed a nice wheat beer to enjoy during the hot summer months, and ordered a Mr. Beer Whispering Wheat Weizenbier w/Golden Wheat Brew Pack.  I considered different spices and / or fruity additions to add, but in the end I decided just to go with the HME / UME combination.

The beer is a pale gold full bodied beer with slight fruity flavor, a classic Hefeweizen style beer.   I primed with honey to see if I could detect a difference.  Not sure if it made much of a difference, but it is sort of a fun addition to make it sort of special.

For my second batch, I added some Saaz hops and use a specialty wheat yeast to help maintain the traditional hefe cloudiness.  Other than that, it is the same.  NOTE:  this beer seems to be better "young".  I did not even need the original 2 week conditioning time to like this beer.

Then, I realized.  A hefe is not really what my wife likes.  She is more of a Blue Moon / Shock Top drinker.  So, I decided to change directions for this beer.  My spring of 2010 brewing experience will include both a Mr. Beer recipe and a non-Mr. Beer version (Whisky Wife Wheat II).  We'll see what she ends up liking better.

Whisky Wife Wheat batch 3--- cost $22.34

Style   Witbier   Batch Size   2.13 gal
Type   Extract   Boil Size   1.01 gal

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity   1.051 SG   Estimated FG   1.015 SG
Recipe Bitterness   17.9 IBU (Rager)   Alcohol by Volume   4.72 %
BU : GU   0.350        
Recipe Color   5.1 SRM  
Color
   

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
1 lbs 3.4 oz Mr. Beer Golden Wheat UME (5.0 SRM) Extract 39.74 %
1 lbs 3.4 oz Mr. Beer Whispering Wheat HME (5.0 SRM) Extract 39.74 %
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.32 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc  
0.50 oz Oranage Zest (Boil 5.0 min) Misc  
10.0 oz Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 20.53 %
1 Pkgs Safbrew WB-06 Wheat Beer Yeast (Fermentis #WB-06) Yeast-Ale  
 

Recipe Notes
Batch prime with 4oz of honey.
Date Note
   
   
   

 

Whisky Wife Wheat batch 2

Recipe Whisky Wife Wheat Style Weizen/Weissbier
Brewer Sheppy Brew Batch 2.13 gal
Extract

Recipe Characteristics
Recipe Gravity 1.050 OG Estimated FG 1.012 FG
Recipe Bitterness 20 IBU Alcohol by Volume 4.8%
Recipe Color 6° SRM Alcohol by Weight 3.8%

Ingredients
Quantity Grain Type Use
1.21 lb MrB. Golden Wheat UME Extract Extract
1.21 lb MrB. Whispering Wheat Weizenbier Extract Extract
.50 lb Briess Pilsen Light LME Extract Extract
Quantity Hop Type Time
1.00 oz MrB. Whispering Wheat Weizenbier Pellet 5 minutes
0.25 oz Saaz Pellet 15 minutes
Quantity Misc Notes
1.00 unit German Wheat yeast Yeast Mr. B Wheat liquid yeast

Recipe Notes
http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/44/nm/Wheat_Liquid_Yeast1
Boil 8 cups water, UME and hops for 5 minutes. Leave hop sack in keg for fermentation.
Batch prime with 4 oz honey.
Suggested lager time 2 weeks.

Batch Notes
Added in Briess Pilsen Light LME because have some to use up.

Date Note
11/01/2009 Sun Mixed up batch #2 in Tuke.  Probably pitched at a higher temp than I should have (around 85) so am starting the fermentation in the conditioning cooler.
11/02/2009 Mon Got things cooled down.  Fermentation very active.  Will leave in conditioning cooler for a couple days and then move to the spare room.
11/03/2009 Tues Tuke in the spare room.  Up to 66 and will probably go up to 70.
11/14/2009 Sat Thinking of going with the Fermentis Wheat Yeast WB-06 next time.
11/14/2009 Sat 2 cups water to boil the 4oz honey.  Bottled in 20 12 oz and 2 liter bottles.  Sample had more of the traditional hefeweizen banana and clove taste than the last batch.  Very little trub on the bottom.  2 LB bottles.  Looking forward to tasting this around mid-December.
11/28/2009 Sat Carbing phase is over, but Rutt is in the conditioning cooler.  I'll just leave these at room temp for about a week and probably put them in the fridge after that.  I did put 3 bottles in the fridge to taste either tomorrow or later in the week.
11/29/2009 Sun Tried 2.  Ok.  One of them seems to have a hint of a soapy taste.
12/01/2009 Tues Placed all bottles in conditioning cooler.
12/03/2009 Thur Moved a few into the fridge.  Also had one with dinner.  Tasting good.  Can certainly taste the extra hops.  Not sure if the whisky wife will like the extra hops over the first batch.  We'll see and adjust as necessary.
12/06/2009 Sun Put most of these in the beer fridge.  Need to start drinking up, because I am really running out of room in there.  Had some watching football and then dinner.  Like the taste, but think maybe next time will go less on the Saaz more for the wife than for me.
12/10/2009 Thur Had one tonight.  Really liked it.
12/13/2009 Sun Last 3 into the beer fridge.  Had one while watching the Broncos lose to the Colts.  The spiciness of the Saaz is still in the fore front of this beer which tasted very good to me today.  Still do not think Tracy has had any.
01/08/2009 Fri Had one the liters.  Really enjoyed it.  The hops and wheat really seem to be perfectly in balance at this point.  Guess its been about a month of conditioning.
01/23/1010 Sat Down to just one 12 oz bottle after tonight.  My next attempt at WWW is going to be completely different I think.  It is will be more of a witbier ala Shock Top.  I think I am done attempting hefes.
01/24/2010 Sun Finished these up while watching the Saints and Vikes.  Sort of have to be in the right mood to really like this beer.  Tonight I was in the right mood.

----

Whisky Wife Wheat batch 1

Recipe Whisky Wife Wheat Style Weizen/Weissbier
Brewer Sheppy Brew Batch 2.13 gal
Extract

Recipe Characteristics
Recipe Gravity 1.047 OG Estimated FG 1.012 FG
Recipe Bitterness 10 IBU Alcohol by Volume 4.5%
Recipe Color 5° SRM Alcohol by Weight 3.5%

Ingredients
Quantity Grain Type Use
1.21 lb MrB. Golden Wheat UME Extract Extract
1.21 lb MrB. Whispering Wheat Weizenbier Extract Extract
Quantity Hop Type Time
1.00 oz MrB. Whispering Wheat Weizenbier Pellet 5 minutes
Quantity Misc Notes

Batch prime with 4 3/8 oz honey

 

Date Note
05/14/2009 Thur. Brought 4 cups water to boiling and then added UME and HME.  Everything went "by the book".
05/25/2009 Mon Looked up on tastybrew.com's carb calc.  Will carb. with 3.5oz sugar when the time comes.
06/02/2009 Tues Due to packing for camping the day I intended to bottle and then the camping trip, I let this one ferment a few extra days.  This time I batch primed with honey.  To figure out how much, I looked on the honey bottle and divided the grams per serving by the grams of sugar per serving (21/17) and multiplied with number by the 3.5 oz I got from tastybrew.com , giving me 4.32 oz (rounded up to 4.375 oz).  The beer tasted really good coming out of the keg.  I have a feeling that my lighter beer drinking people will like this one a lot.
06/15/2009 Mon Put bottles in conditioning cooler.  Also put a couple bottles into the fridge in anticipation of a possible beer tasting this weekend.
06/19/2009 Fri I accidentally grabbed one of these when I meant to grab a Dragon Spit.  Even though it has only been conditioning 4 days, it is great.  I like it better than New Belgium Sunshine Wheat.  Have a feeling this beer will not last long.
07/06/2009 Mon Had a few during Tracy's birthday weekend up in Breckenridge.  Still very good, but I thought I liked it better on 6/19. 
07/22/2009 Wed Put the remaining bottles in the beer fridge.
08/25/2009 Wed Had one of the liter bottles while watching the Rockies.  Rocks beat LAD.  The beer was still great.
08/28/2009 Fri Compared the WWW to Sam Adam's Hefeweizen.  My beer does not quite have the banana taste.  For my next batch of www, I've already decided to use WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast along with some  Saaz hops.  While my beer is very tasty, it is not quite a Hefeweizen, and I think those minor tweaks will take care of that part of the taste.
09/11/2009 Fri Shared WW, WB, P&T, Northern Amber, Eric's Red, and Dragon Spit with Jerry, Lisa, and Grammy.  This one was ok, but I think the Wheat should be consumed faster.

 

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