Man's Best Friend Update

So I've been a bit busy here the last few weeks. Jess and Ike came down to visit last week. Ike ended up bringing a cold from "Up North" and infecting all us southerners! While they visited, the Man's Best Friend fermented in the fridge!

Hefeweizen yeasts are known for their banana/clove/bubble gum flavors when they're fermented at the higher end of their temperature range. For Man's Best Friend, I did not want to get any esters into the flavor. Leah and I racked it to the secondary tonight, so in about a month, I'll be able to taste it. Based on the initial tasting during the racking, this beer may turn out to be very tasty!

Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.013
Alchohol By Volume: 5.08%
Calories: 231 cal/pint
Color: 4.8 SRM
Bitterness: 14 IBUs

Man's Best Friend

I've finally put the finishing touches on what I've called "Man's Best Friend". It's a german style Hefe with a blend of Wheat, Pale, and Aromatic Malts.

1.00 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 7.84 %
6.00 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 47.06 %
4.50 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 35.29 %
1.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 7.84 %
0.25 lb Aromatic Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 1.96 %

60 min 1.00 oz Hallertauer [3.90 %] (60 min) Hops
7 min 1.00 oz Select Spalt [2.00 %] (7 min) Hops
5 min 2.00 oz Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5.0 min)

Full Recipe

It will definitely be exciting to try my first all grain wheat beer. The first of many to come!! I chose to go with close to a 60/40 blend of white wheat malt and pale malt. This ratio, along with the flaked wheat should bring out a strong wheat flavor in the brew. The flaked wheat should also provide the chill haze to the beer that is desirable in Hefes. The aromatic malt will lend a distinct, almost exaggerated malt aroma and flavor to the beer, while the malto-dextrine is there to add a bit of body. Hallertauer hops are used a lot in wheat beers. It has a soft, pleasant, and slightly flowery, spicy flavor and aroma. The Select Spalt will be used just for a bit of aroma.

I also wanted to share a great graphic I found online in regards to hop utilization. As you can see, this graphic depicts how your hops will contribute to the beer depending on different boiling times.