The local farm has started cherry picking, so I was thinking about making a classic cherry wheat ale as my summer lawn mower.
Then the shit hit the fan.
I was watching TV with the better half with a tulip of Evil Twin Even More Jesus, a bowl of cherries, and some chocolates she brought back from Geneva. I had one of those moments of culinary bliss that only comes once in a very rare occasions.
Cherries, chocolate, and stout?? Damn… I was inspired, but I still liked the cherry wheat idea. As we discovered this past week, love is love, regardless of what form it comes in. :blah:
Wheat Stout with cherries and cocoa nibs?? This can be interesting. What do you think about this recipe?
Personally, I would cut the bittering addition down a little. Maybe 1/2oz. And I’d remove the flame out. I don’t want/like a lot of hop presence in anything where chocolate and/or fruit should stand out. I’m also not sure about your use of the nibs. Mash, boil, flame out? What are you trying to gain from each of those steps? I’m more or less just curious. I’ve always thrown the nibs in the secondary.
With an estery ale yeast, I find that the nibs and the esters play off each other and accentuate the fruitiness of some cocoas. I have a chocolate milk stout on draft now that has a big “dark chocolate fruit” back flavor.
[quote=“muddywater_grant”]So you call something a cherry wheat stout and you don’t think the wheat needs to come through? Well then why should the cherries either?
If that’s the case I will serve you water with food coloring.[/quote]
I heard thats the recipe for all your beers.
But seriously, what is there about wheat malt that is so disticntive that you think its going to shine through a bunch of dark malt, cocoa nibs and cherries? White wheat malt is really very neutral and makes for a very light colored, low flavor base beer. Wheat beers are generally all about the yeast character and/or the hops. This guy is making a wheat stout, it seems a little like a gimmick in the sense that it won’t be a whole lot different than a regular stout. But its an interesting idea and one that should make for a tasty stout in any case. Plus he’s saving the good barley malt for us!
[quote=“tom sawyer”][quote=“muddywater_grant”]So you call something a cherry wheat stout and you don’t think the wheat needs to come through? Well then why should the cherries either?
If that’s the case I will serve you water with food coloring.[/quote]
I heard thats the recipe for all your beers.
But seriously, what is there about wheat malt that is so disticntive that you think its going to shine through a bunch of dark malt, cocoa nibs and cherries? White wheat malt is really very neutral and makes for a very light colored, low flavor base beer. Wheat beers are generally all about the yeast character and/or the hops. This guy is making a wheat stout, it seems a little like a gimmick in the sense that it won’t be a whole lot different than a regular stout. But its an interesting idea and one that should make for a tasty stout in any case. Plus he’s saving the good barley malt for us![/quote]
That’s my point it won’t show through. Why even use it? He can make a cornflake rhubarb stout for all I care. I just thought it was a waste of wheat.
I was just giving my thoughts, criticism, & insults. He asked for them, I obliged.
He has to use something, why not wheat? Its no more expensive, and he explained the evolution of his thought process. I thought it was kind of a novel idea. In fact the specialty stuff will show through albeit maybe not with a really unique flavor profile compared to a standard stout. As long as he’s not entering in BJCP competition I see no down side. Might even do well in comp as a specialty or fruit beer.
You have all these wheat specialty products like midnight wheat, chocolate wheat, carawheat, and there are really no recipes out there that specifically call for them, so he made up a reason. I tend to buy these new products myself, and then wind up just hording them. I might just borrow this recipe or at least the basic idea, and use up some of the oddball stuff I accumulate myself.
[quote=“tom sawyer”]He has to use something, why not wheat? Its no more expensive, and he explained the evolution of his thought process. I thought it was kind of a novel idea. In fact the specialty stuff will show through albeit maybe not with a really unique flavor profile compared to a standard stout. As long as he’s not entering in BJCP competition I see no down side. Might even do well in comp as a specialty or fruit beer.
You have all these wheat specialty products like midnight wheat, chocolate wheat, carawheat, and there are really no recipes out there that specifically call for them, so he made up a reason. I tend to buy these new products myself, and then wind up just hording them. I might just borrow this recipe or at least the basic idea, and use up some of the oddball stuff I accumulate myself.[/quote]
Thank you, Tom!
To quote John Lennon, “turn of your mind, relax, and float down stream.”
Why am I doing this? Why not? What am I hoping to get out of this? Something different with a balance between the various flavors. What happens if you add dark, roasted grains to a wheat beer? Would a stout work with a very yeasty character? Cherries love yeasty, light wheat beers and roasty, dark stouts, can the two live together? You must unlearn what you have learned.
Regarding the cocoa nibs. I have read various articles about using cocoa nibs in a beer and there is no consistent opinion. I used this schedule in an Imperial Bittersweet Chocolate Oatmeal Stout to great affect. If it works, don’t knock it.
Regarding the hops. I think I will ditch the Willamettes and rely on bittering hops only. 1oz of Galena gives me 43 IBUs with a BJCP range for an American Stout as 35-73. The sweetness of the cherries should also help counter the bitterness.
Yes, this will be entered as a specialty beer. It is one of the most competitive categories up this way.
