Pretzel wheat beer

wolfie, i wonder if treating the malt like that before crushing and mashing would work? i'm no chemist, so no idea how that would affect ph, enzymes, etc.

what little i could find out there suggested that just using pretzels wouldn't really add anything to the finished beer. kinda like brewing with just pumpkin.
i did crack one of these open. it definitely wasn't ready, but it wasn't bad for my first clone attempt and i think i'm on the right track. maybe up the salt and toasty / biscuity malts for the next one

back when i bottled it, the yeast cake gave of a very doughy aroma. also, the bread yeast did not ferment cleanly. not that it's bad, but it's definitely no wlp001.

i'll have to give it a more formal tasting once it's ready.
 
we finally had a comparison taste test with the homebrew vs the commercial beer.

the homebrew is still a bit doughy smelling, not bad, just different. the "pretzel" taste is a bit subtle, and more of an aftertaste. it's not that salty either.

having the commercial beer right next to it, it's very clear that I was way off. It's got such a strong pretzel smell and taste, it seems fake in comparison to my recipe (not saying it is, I may have been way off base with my grain bill).

overall, they seemed to like it. but I know i can do better, even if it's not trying to copy their recipe exactly. I am quite pleased with the bread yeast, very surprised with how it performed. Not sure what other recipes or styles it would fit well with, but nice to know it's an option.

I think next time I'll up the crystal and brown malts, as well as the salt. i'll also use uniodized salt.
 
jmcnamara said:
we finally had a comparison taste test with the homebrew vs the commercial beer.

the homebrew is still a bit doughy smelling, not bad, just different. the "pretzel" taste is a bit subtle, and more of an aftertaste. it's not that salty either.

having the commercial beer right next to it, it's very clear that I was way off. It's got such a strong pretzel smell and taste, it seems fake in comparison to my recipe (not saying it is, I may have been way off base with my grain bill).

overall, they seemed to like it. but I know i can do better, even if it's not trying to copy their recipe exactly. I am quite pleased with the bread yeast, very surprised with how it performed. Not sure what other recipes or styles it would fit well with, but nice to know it's an option.

I think next time I'll up the crystal and brown malts, as well as the salt. i'll also use uniodized salt.
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Did you end up having any good successes with the pretzel wheat, or know of others that have tried? I'm extremely interested in this. This was the only Shock Top I liked and word is it won't be reappearing this fall/winter.
 
I haven't brewed it since, and I don't remember seeing any other threads about it here since then either.
Did you search the recipes to see if anyone else has brewed something similar?
Feel free to use mine as a starting point, but you'll have to tweak it somehow to get closer to the commercial beer. Good luck!
 
I am also interested in trying to make this. @jmcnamara Based on your 2 gallon batch test recipe you said your batch wasn't quite as 'pretzelly' - I'm curious, what would an adjusted recipe look like if you were to make it again for your 2nd try at making the Pretzel Beer?

I only ask because I've only brewed 2 All Grain batches so far so I honestly have no clue what to change in terms of ingredients and what their impact is... I'm still a rookie so any help is appreciated! :)

The only other mention of potential ingredients I've seen online is here: http://forum.northernbrewer.com/t/twisted-pretzel-wheat/6805/2
 
I'd probably add a bit more Munich malt, may be up that to 10% or so. A bit more salt, and I'd probably ditch the bread yeast and use a neutral yeast or one that's a bit more malt forward
These are total guesses here, so good luck!
 
You had mentioned you didn't think it was very close to the original Twisted Pretzel, but you're thinking just upping Munich a bit and changing yeast will make a significant change? I'm not trying to be condescending, I'm honestly still trying to learn how small tweaks like this impact the final taste of a brew since I've only done 2.

Also, I tried to adjust your recipe based off your comments, is this what you were thinking (just upped the Munich a bit)?

I'm not familiar with what types of yeast are malt forward and which ones are not, would one of White Labs WLP002 and Wyeast 1968 be OK?

Lastly, if I were to try to make a 6 gallon fermenter batch, I'd just multiply everything in your original recipe by 4, correct?

Fermentables
Amount Fermentable PPG °L Bill %
1.25 lb American - Wheat 38 1.8 40.8%
1.25 lb American - Vienna 35 4 40.8%
3 oz American - CaraCrystal Wheat Malt 34 55 6.1%
3.25 oz American - Munich - 60L 33 60 6.1%
3 oz United Kingdom - Brown 32 65 6.1%
3.31 lb Total

Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
4 g Columbus Pellet 15 Boil 60 min 30.65
Show Summary View

Mash Guidelines
Amount Description Type Temp Time
1 gal Infusion 152 F 90 min
Other Ingredients
Amount Name Type Use Time
4 g salt Flavor Boil 5 min.
 
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A small change could make a big impact. Using wlp001 on a batch, and using a really funky Belgian or saison yeast would drastically make a different beer, all else being equal.
I was thinking of doubling the Munich, but that's just my initial thoughts. Wish I took notes during our tasting...
Wlp002 was what I was thinking, really any English yeast should do the trick to make it seem maltier.
As for scaling, that should be in the recipe tools menu, then click scale. Choose the new batch size and it will adjust all the ingredient amount accordingly. I'll round them to more measurable amounts though (say 1.75 lbs instead of 1.83 or whatever)
 
Also, I suggest doing a few small batches first. That way you can get used to your brewing process and you could even make a small tweak here or there easily.
And if a batch doesn't turn out how you wanted, you're not stuck with a lot of it on hand
 
OK so if I change based on your suggestion of doubling the Munich malt below, do I lower anything else to offset that or just double the munich malt and keeping the rest of the ingredient ratios the same?

Fermentables
Amount Fermentable PPG °L Bill %
1.25 lb American - Wheat 38 1.8 40.8%
1.25 lb American - Vienna 35 4 40.8%
3 oz American - CaraCrystal Wheat Malt 34 55 6.1%
6 oz American - Munich - 60L 33 60 6.1%
3 oz United Kingdom - Brown 32 65 6.1%
3.31 lb Total

Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
4 g Columbus Pellet 15 Boil 60 min 30.65
Show Summary View

Mash Guidelines
Amount Description Type Temp Time
1 gal Infusion 152 F 90 min
Other Ingredients
Amount Name Type Use Time
4 g salt Flavor Boil 5 min.
 
Just double the Munich and keep everything else the same amount.
If you change a lot of things at once, it's hard to tell what effect each change had.
Since you're relatively new to all grain, have you thought about doing SMaSH beers (single hop, single malt)? You read about how toasty Vienna malt is or how much citrus Amarillo hops have, but it's totally different when you get it front and center as the only thing in a beer. Splitting a batch and pitching different yeasts can help too.
I also like to chew on the different grains when I go to my lhbs. It's going to taste different in the final product, but it's going to give you an idea
 
jmcnamara said:
This is a good read. Scroll down for the hot steep method, another way yo get an idea of a malts contribution
http://blog.brewingwithbriess.com/malt-sensory-methods-you-can-perform-in-your-own-home-or-brewery/

And now you have to report back with how your tweaked brew tastes ;)
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So I'm about to order these grains, but I have a strange question. I've only ever done 6 gal mash into 5 gal fermenter... What do you do a 1 gal mash in and where do you put it for fermenting? Could I just buy a 1 gal jug of water and dump it out and put the air lock in the top?

I don't want to put it into my big carboys cause those are going to be full with good batches.
 
I mash in the same thing, regardless of batch size. You might lose temperature faster than normal though, since there's a lot more empty headspace than your normal mash
You can ferment in whatever you like, my only concern with your idea is that there won't be much headspace in the jug if you do a full gallon batch. It'll clog the airlock really quick. I've got a few 2 gallon buckets for when I do smaller test batches that work pretty well.
 
jmcnamara said:
Here's what I have so far. I'm wondering if I shouldn't just stick to Columbus for the hops. I'm not looking to get any flavor or aroma, and I already have those on hand.

Any ideas?

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... tzel-wheat
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i recently purchased the ingredients from your recipe and am anixious to try it. i really like the the twisted pretzel beer but they didnt make any this season. I'm hoping your recipe is similar. my problem is i am new to the home brew scene and don't have much experience with it but I'm learning as i go. was wondering if you could help me out with some boil directions keeping in mind that I'm pretty new at this. thanks
 
bradg said:
i recently purchased the ingredients from your recipe and am anixious to try it. i really like the the twisted pretzel beer but they didnt make any this season. I'm hoping your recipe is similar. my problem is i am new to the home brew scene and don't have much experience with it but I'm learning as i go. was wondering if you could help me out with some boil directions keeping in mind that I'm pretty new at this. thanks
Click to expand...
Sure, what'd you like to know?
 
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