Light Wheat Lager

Classification: pale lager, extract, wheat

Source: joshua.grosse@amail.amdahl.com Issue #732, 9/26/91

My thinking was that I wanted to extract as much fermentable sugars as possible from the wheat I was using as an adjunct, as the wort is an extremely light one. I made it lightly hopped so that the hopping wouldn't overpower the tanginess of the small amount of wheat. I also lagered to hopefully get a smoother, less estery quality. You might consider mashing wheat with added enzymes. I did it because I partial- mashed; you might wish to do so because of a high wheat to barley ratio.

Ingredients:

3.3 pounds, M&F light extract
1 pound, Malted wheat
3/4 ounce, Hallertauer (boiling)
1/4 ounce, Hallertauer (finishing)
2 teaspoon, Gypsum
1/4 teaspoon, Alpha Amylase
1 teaspoon, Irish Moss
3/4 cup, Dextrose (for priming)
Wyeast Pilsner Culture

Procedure:

Mash the wheat with Alpha Amylase at 135 degrees for 1-3 hours in 1 quart of water. Test with Iodine. Sparge with 3 quarts of water and boil before adding the extract to avoid enzymatic changes to the barley malt. Irish Moss for the last 10 minutes of the boil and the finishing hops for the last 2 minutes. Ferment at 40-45 degrees for 6 weeks to 3 months. I found that all the starch completed conversion at the end of one hour. I held the mash temp at 130-135 in about 1 quart of water by mashing in a microwave oven with a temperature probe. The dissolved sugars were fairly low. SG was 1.027.

Specifics:

O.G.: 1.027
Primary: 6 weeks
Secondary: 3 months at 40-45 degrees