NB Wheat kit question

[ssorck]

So I'm trying to plan my next few batches around available fermenting space...

One of the batches I need to get done before Xmas for one of my stepsons is a Northern Brewer American Wheat Extract kit: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/amer ... t-kit.html

Pretty Simple kit, 6 lbs wheat extract, 1 oz each of Wilamette & Cascade, S-05 yeast.

I'm thinking a few things. First of all I think my son is looking for a Blue Moonish experience. So I think I'm gonna cut both the hop additions to 1/2 oz. each as I think the it may be too hoppy for him as is. Secondly I'm gonna add 1/2 oz. sweet orange peel and maybe 1 tsp coriander. Most importantly though (for me) I think I want to cut the batch from 5 gallons to 4 gallons, mainly because I can then ferment it in a 5 gallon bucket I'll have coming available early November when I bottle my Winter Warmer, and can use my 6.5 gallon bucket and carboy for other things!

My newbie question is what can I expect from using the same amount extract in 4 gallons versus 5? Obviously a bit higher alcohol, but anything negative? I seem to think it may turn out pretty good as some of the reviews on NB make it sound a bit thin...

[swenocha]

Yes, a higher ABV is the most obvious result. Also, having more extract and half of the hops, you'll have a lower bitter and potentially a sweeter beer with more body, but it's hard to really say without running the numbers thru Beersmith (and I don't have complete specs). My gut is you'll be fine here, though.

FWIW, here's the Blue Moon's original brewmaster's take on a homebrew version of this. Maybe this will help you on the additions you mention...

The amounts of grains we used are roughly:
50% 2 row pale malt. (The first couple of batches were made with Great Western)
40% white wheat malt
10% flaked oats.

Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hops were added for a 90 minute boil. Bittering should be around 17.5 IBU. Only one addition.

Blue Moon has always used pre-ground corriander and Valencia orange peel. Keith did not want the bitterness of Curacao oranges. He preferred the sweetness of the ground Valencia.

Try 1.25 tsp of ground corriander added to the kettle 10 minutes before the end of boil. This is for a 5-6 gallon batch.

Add 0.33tsp of ground Valencia orange peel 5 minutes before the end of boil.

The Chico strain would work well in this recipe. You want a neutral taste from the yeast. Keith has said that the flavors that should come through are the orange peel and corriander, not the yeast.

Note a couple of things... they only do a bitter hop addition. No flavor/aroma hops. Also, Chico strain refers to US-05 (dry) or WY1056/WLP001. You should be able to break his coriander/orange peel additions down to your sized batch.

Good luck, and keep us posted...

[philm00x]

I did 1/2 oz of tangerine peel in last year's RCE brew I did with Gizmo and I felt it could have used more, and that was for an LBK batch. Maybe it just really needed the juice of the tangerine along with the peel. The coriander will definitely be enough for 5 gallons. I used just under 1/4 oz of coriander which volume-wise should be at least 1 tsp, and it may have been too much for LBK size. With shrinking the batch to 4 gallons, I don't really see a negative. Since you're using dry yeast, I wouldn't worry about a starter, but I would pitch the whole pack.

[RickBeer]

The 5 gallon recipe that I posted in the recipe section uses an oz of Saaz, and 1/2 oz each of Coriander and sweet orange peel, with S-05. It definitely needs more orange peel, possibly more coriander.

[ssorck]

Thanks for the advice folks!

So I dialed in the IBU's to match what Swenocha posted. I'll be doing one 60 min addition of .5 oz. Cascade, which gives 18 IBU's (vs. 17.5). I'm using Cascade because I have an extra pack from Mr. Beer so I can leave the 2 1 oz. packs from NB unopened for other projects.

Also based off phil & rick's comments and digging around on a thread on homebrewtalk I'm gonna bump up the corriander & the orange peel. Also picked up the idea of adding a bit of cornstarch to add some to haze to the finished beer so I'll give that a shot as well.


So that being said here is the plan, hopefully will brew this Nov 2 or 3 if the Winter Warmer is ready to be bottled:


Blue Moon Clone??
-----------------
Brewer: Ssorck
Style: American Wheat or Rye Beer
Batch: 4.00 galExtract

Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.054 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 18 IBU
Recipe Color: 5° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.014
Alcohol by Volume: 5.2%
Alcohol by Weight: 4.1%

Ingredients
-----------
NB Wheat Malt Syrup 6.00 lb, Extract

Cascade Pellet Hops – .5 oz. 60 minutes

Corn Starch - 2 TBS 15 minutes before flameout
Coriander - .375 oz 10 minutes before flameout
Orange Peel, Sweet – 2.5 oz 10 minutes before flameout

Safale S-05 Dry Ale Yeast


Notes
-----
Recipe Notes: Will do 3 lbs extract at start of boil, 3 lbs extract at 15 minutes before flameout