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Haystack Wheat

(5 gallons, partial-mash and extract)

Ingredients:

• 1/8 tsp. winemaker’s acid blend
• 2 lbs. Belgian pilsner malt
• 2 lbs. Belgian wheat malt
• 0.5 lb. medium crystal malt, 55° to 60° Lovibond
• 0.5 lb. flaked wheat
• 4 lbs. unhopped wheat dry malt extract (+/- 50% wheat)
• 1 large pinch loose Saaz hop flowers or 1 Tbsp. or so of Saaz hop pellets (3.6% alpha acid) for15 min.
• 1 gram spice blend (equal parts coriander, cumin, ginger, wintergreen, and star anise, groundand mixed thoroughly)
• 1 qt. yeast slurry (see note)
• 7/8 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Heat 7 qts. water to 162° F. Add acid blend. Crack pilsner and wheat malts. Add malts and flaked wheat to mash water. Hold at 153° F for 90 min. Run off to kettle; sparge with 2 gal. water at about 168° F. To the kettle add dry malt extract and bring to a boil. Total boil is 75 min. Boil 60 min., add hops (loose hops in a mesh bag, pellets as is). Boil 15 min. more, add spices and remove from heat.

Cool and pour into fermenter. Top off with enough pre-boiled, chilled water to make 5.25 gal. Aerate well! At 70° F or so, pitch yeast.

Ferment cool (60° F) for two weeks, rack to secondary, and condition for two weeks near 55° F. Prime with corn sugar and bottle. Age in bottles 10 days.

All-grain version:

Mash 5 lbs. each malted wheat and pilsner malt, plus the same amounts of crystal and flaked wheat, same temperature and time but increase mash water to 3.5 gal., sparge water to 4 gal. Time your boil to reduce to 5.25 gal. (add water to kettle if necessary).

All-extract version:

Steep the crystal and flaked wheat in 3 gal. of water, heating gradually to 179° F, then remove grains. Increase dry malt extract to 8 lbs.

Wheat malt extract:

Although there are a few all-wheat extracts on the market, you will get a better fermentation using the malt extracts that are a blend of wheat and barley — usually about 50/50, but similar proportions will work fine.

Malts:

In this recipe I prefer to use Belgian malts (from DeWolf-Cosyns) as they give a fuller, richer malt profile than their German counterparts. But use what you can find; you won’t be far off.

Spices:

The blend I suggest above is a balanced one, especially if used in moderation. It is very easy to overdo. If you really object to one of the spices, leave it out.

Yeast:

Because this is more or less a Belgian recipe, I prefer to use a Belgian yeast. Wyeast has two strains of Belgian wheat beer yeast, 3944, which is better suited to a real "witbier" — which this is not — and 3942, softer, less acidic and, I think, perfect for this recipe. Avoid using the Bavarian or Weihenstephan wheat strains as they are too fruity and estery for this recipe.

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