Need help with wheat beer?

[chrisf1]

New home brewer, have the coopers micro brewery kit currently brewing the coopers larger, so far so good!

 

A while ago in western Australia i went to the duckstein brewery in Margarete river, found a really nice beer there called Duckstein Hefeweiss and i was wondering how to use coopers products to get a similar result! Maybe using the coopers wheat beer kit with the recommendations on that particular kit, or should i alter the brew? with the clove, vanilla and banana flavour, do they get that from just the mix it self or do they use actual banana, clove and vanilla flavouring or something?

 

Thanks guys

[PB2]

**admin** moved to the correct room

 

Haven't tasted any Duckstein brews so I can't help you there...

 

Yeast contributes a number of the characters you describe. If you want to stick to dry yeast WB-06 is a good one to try. It's available at good home brew stores (HBS) and comes in a 11.5g pink/purple coloured sachet.

[GaryF1]

Hiya chrisf1, mmmm, I might have to pop down to the Duckstein!!!!

As a homebrewer, you can be totaly upfront with the brewer and ask him/her. Hell, as soon as someone starts to dish out the praise, I'm only too willing to describe the brew - we aren't talking sheep stations. And the brewer knows, that because you love a particular beer, word is going to get around....'hey, that Duckstein makes a good brew..etc' i.e. I'd never heard of the D till your post. Hell, now where's my map :-)

Gaz

[PB2]

You have a point there Gary. Home brewers are quite often the most active advocates of micro-breweries.

 

Apart from talking about how good our own brew is, we love to tell people about "this beer I tasted at a little brewery I stumbled upon"...

[GaryF1]

True. There are a number of great MB's in the SW of Oz and a few brews I would imagine are in the top 10% of the world (along with Coopers!!!) The fact that the patron can chat to the brewer, see the set up - enjoy the great food (another plus) can inspire them to give it a shot themselves. A trip down south for me is long overdue.

[chrisf1]

Hiya chrisf1, mmmm, I might have to pop down to the Duckstein!!!!

As a homebrewer, you can be totaly upfront with the brewer and ask him/her. Hell, as soon as someone starts to dish out the praise, I'm only too willing to describe the brew - we aren't talking sheep stations. And the brewer knows, that because you love a particular beer, word is going to get around....'hey, that Duckstein makes a good brew..etc' i.e. I'd never heard of the D till your post. Hell, now where's my map :-)

Gaz

 

Here is the Treasure map!

 

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=duckstein+brewery&fb=1&gl=au&hq=duckstein+brewery&hnear=Perth+WA&cid=0,0,8833322793868247110&ei=StnWS5a5KoH66QON-uSNAw&ved=0CAkQnwIwAA&z=16&iwloc=A

[chrisf1]

Any way id like to re-create the taste of this beer using coopers products, love my coopers but looking for that particular taste! I will be doing the coopers wheat brew in a few weeks just as instructions are for the controlled taste, then i plan on playing with another batch straight after that but alter the recipe to chase that taste!

 

Ill post any progress. If anyone else does get a good result doing the same id love to hear about it

 

Cheers

 

Chris

[Bud]

Hey Chris,

I have heard from other brewers that the banana notes from a Hef are traditional flavors that come from the unfiltered wheat beer itself, maybe the yeast, and that this is something most brewers try to accomplish. As for the vanilla and clove, I bet a very small amount added to the initial fermentation would go a long way. Good luck and let us know how great it turns out!!

 

[Coopers Dad]

Hi Chris hope you liked the rest of our town. Did you eat at Duckstein? I had the pork shank thinking same as lamb but this thing came out the size of my head! We laughed and my wife took a photo of it. Laughed even more when this lady about 70 had one put in front of her. The look on her face.

Do not know how close this is but it is from a Coopers Malt beer recipes. Paul might be able to tell you more.

Thomas Coopers Wheat Beer

Thomas Coopers Malt Extract

Hersbrucker 12gm

Wheat Beer yeast 15gm

Mix to 23 litres.

 

And Gary Duckstein is a cross the road from that stupid thing known as the chick on a stick on Caves Road.

 

[chrisf1]

Yeah had food there, massive feed and really nice. Beer was excellent well the wheat beer was any way!

 

As for the brew I'm going to do the standard coopers wheat beer mix to taste it and work out how i will reach the desired flavor I'm chasing!

 

Just brought the wheat beer and all i need on the coopers website.

Including another 30 PET bottles.

 

Possibly moving to a keg system in a few months though. but will bottle some beer to try the aging thing too!

 

Will keep progress posted.

 

Cheers

[chrisf1]

Ok so i emailed the head brewer at the duckstien brewery and this was his reply:

 

"Hey mate,

 

You've come up with a query about the Clove and Vanilla flavours, they are formed by Vinyl-guaiacol (4VG) which is created by the yeast from a phenolic precursor from the grain called ferulic acid. Now this is where you may encounter some troubles Chris, as you are using extract for your wheat in you malt bill, you are at the mercy of the Cooper vendors as to how much ferlulic acid makes it's way into your can. You can either A) experiment with different extracts or B) Start using actual malted wheat for your bill.

 

To obtain the maximum amount of 4VG during mash in make sure you have a temperature rest of around 20 minutes @ 44 degrees C, this is the temperature that is optimum for ferulic acid extraction.

Also not only with wheat beers..... make sure you have a healthy boil, a good boil will also convert the ferulic acid to 4VG

 

Make sure you experiment with different yeast to find a flavour you like, you could find one you like better than the one I use!

 

As for you bill, as long as you keep the wheat side of things above 50% it's flavour will dominate proceedings, if your feeling a little bit cheeky, A little bit of orange peel in your brew will give it a bit of a radical feel, more like a Wit bier but exciting non the less......

 

Happy Brewing ........

 

Shannon "The Hairy Bear" Grigg"

 

So there you have it!

Well dont know exactly the way I'm going to go but i will experiment with this information to come up with a goop recipe!

 

 

 

[PB2]

Did you get all that? :-)

 

Back to the WB-o6 yeast. I have used it with the Thomas Coopers Wheat beer kit and, YES, it produces a good amount of 4VG character. The clove is there, although I think it is more bubble gum than vanilla.

 

Also tried variations using Saaz, orange zest, coriander seed and even star anise - very interesting.

[chrisf1]

what is the yeast that comes with the coopers wheat beer?

[Muddy Waters]

Chris - it is an ale yeast.

 

Here's a list for future reference:

 

COOPERS HOMEBREW KIT YEAST STRAINS

 

Original Series:

Ac (26807)

 

International Series:

Australian Pale Ale - Ac+L (26807 Int)

Mexican Cerveza - Ac+L (26807 Int)

European Lager - L (26807 P)

Canadian Blonde - Ac (26807)

English Bitter - Ac (26807)

 

Brewmaster Selection:

Wheat - A (26807 W)

IPA - Ac (26807 IPA)

Irish Stout - A (26807 IS)

Pilsener - L (26807 P)

 

Premium Selection:

Ac+L (26807 PS)

 

Note: Ac = Coopers ale yeast, A = ale yeast and L = lager yeast

 

[chrisf1]

Cheers guys, Thank for all the help.

Will post recipe once iv reached the taste I'm looking for with the coopers wheat beer!