[blschubert]

I am brewing for the first time next weekend on my own.

I have a Dunkelweizen recipe that I put together browsing the great content on this site, but I am a little hung up on the amount of hops to use.  Would love your feedback on the recipe as a whole, but most importantly what you think about the hops I am using and the amount.

Here is my recipe:
6 gallons wort after boil

6 pounds - White Wheat
5.4 pounds - German Munich Light
.6 pounds - CaraMunich I
.3 pounds - Carafa III

***.35 ounces - Magnum at 60 minutes***

Wyeast 3068

I appreciate all of your help!

-Bryan

[majorvices]

That's probably about right, but I can't tell with knowing the AA. You want to keep the BUs low. Under 18.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

your hop choice is good, as mentioned, just keep IBU around 15-18.

here's my recipe that many of my German friends enjoy quite a bit.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Ken's Dunkelweizen
Brewer: Ken
Asst Brewer:
Style: Dunkelweizen
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.75 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.50 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.75 gal   
Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 14.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 15.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.1 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                                  Type          #        %/IBU         
4 lbs                 Pale Wheat (Weyermann) (1.6 SRM)          Grain         1        31.8 %       
4 lbs                 Wheat Malt, Dark (Weyermann) (7.0 SRM)  Grain         2        31.8 %       
3 lbs                 Munich Malt (Best Malz) (7.0 SRM)            Grain         3        23.9 %       
8.0 oz                Caramunich II (Weyermann) (50.0 SRM)     Grain         4        4.0 %         
8.0 oz                Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)                        Grain         5        4.0 %         
3.0 oz                Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM)                          Grain         6        1.5 %         
3.0 oz                Carafa II (Weyermann) (430.0 SRM)         Grain         7        1.5 %         
3.0 oz                Melanoidin (Weyermann) (30.0 SRM)         Grain         8        1.5 %         
1.00 oz               Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min          Hop           9        15.1 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP300) [35. Yeast         10       -             


Mash Schedule: Ken's Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 9.1 oz
----------------------------
Name                   Description                  Step Temperat Step Time     
Mash In                Add 22.00 qt of water at 165 154.0 F       75 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 3.76gal) of 168.0 F water

[dmtaylor]

All you need is a small bittering addition with any noble hop or German bittering hop, such as Hallertau, Tettnang, Spalt, Northern Brewer, or even the American equivalents such as Liberty, Crystal, Magnum, etc.  This style should have minimal spicy hop character that you get from bittering additions of these German derived hops.  I agree with keeping the IBUs to 18 or even lower... I might go for like 13-14.

[blschubert]

That's probably about right, but I can't tell with knowing the AA. You want to keep the BUs low. Under 18.

The AA on the Magnum is about 12%.

Would you recommend sticking with the small amount of Magnum (I saw that it is a comp to Northern Brewer), .35 ounces - Magnum at 60 minutes as I mentioned, or as dmtaylor recommended going to noble hop or German bittering hop and then using more of it?

Thanks again!

[HoosierBrew]

I often use ~ 15-18 IBU of Mt Hood (a Hallertau offshoot) for 60 min. Nice soft bitterness, low IBUs are key for the style.

[dmtaylor]

In theory, the lower the alpha, the more hop flavor you might get because you need to use more of them to get the IBU level that you want.  So, it's up to you... higher alpha Magnum will be very clean, while lower-alpha noble hops might give you a little extra spice.

[blschubert]

In theory, the lower the alpha, the more hop flavor you might get because you need to use more of them to get the IBU level that you want.  So, it's up to you... higher alpha Magnum will be very clean, while lower-alpha noble hops might give you a little extra spice.

Great, thank you, that is helpful.

Thank you all for your input, can't wait to see how it turns out!

[HoosierBrew]

In theory, the lower the alpha, the more hop flavor you might get because you need to use more of them to get the IBU level that you want.  So, it's up to you... higher alpha Magnum will be very clean, while lower-alpha noble hops might give you a little extra spice.

Dave, I agree that low AA hops can contribute more than just bitterness, especially in a clean beer. But in this beer it works out to ~ 1 oz of Mt Hood IIRC, and whatever floral/spicy thing there might be is lost under the banana/clove (to me).

[Wort-H.O.G.]

In theory, the lower the alpha, the more hop flavor you might get because you need to use more of them to get the IBU level that you want.  So, it's up to you... higher alpha Magnum will be very clean, while lower-alpha noble hops might give you a little extra spice.

Dave, I agree that low AA hops can contribute more than just bitterness, especially in a clean beer. But in this beer it works out to ~ 1 oz of Mt Hood IIRC, and whatever floral/spicy thing there might be is lost under the banana/clove (to me).

+1 agree. i've used both and prefer hallertauer, mt.hood.