Wetland Wheat

DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 147.5°F (64°C) for 45 minutes. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off—slowly—into the kettle.

Sparge at 160–165°F (71–74°C), topping up as needed to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate.

Boil for 60 minutes, adding the hops and finings according to the schedule. After the boil, do a whirlpool step: Stir or recirculate to create a vortex, cooling the wort to 195°F (91°C); add the whirlpool hops, spin 15 minutes, then allow 15 more minutes to steep and settle.

Chill to about 66°F (19°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 68°F (20°C) for 4 days, then raise to 70°F (21°C). After 2 more days, add the dry hops. (If possible, drop/remove hop trub each day thereafter.) After 4 more days, crash. Keep cold 2 days, then package and carbonate to 2.9 volumes of CO2.

BREWER’S NOTES
Water: Issaquah and the greater Seattle area have incredibly soft, neutral water. This beer was designed to lean into that and not make too many salt adjustments.
Mash and lauter: Adjust the amount of rice hulls accordingly, depending on your system. I want this beer dry, so I mash thin—3.5 liters per kilo of malt, or about 1.7 quarts per pound. And I lauter very slowly, over 2 hours, for extra wheaty character.
Yeast: For this beer I pitch Omega OYL-430 West Coast Ale I+, a diacetyl-reduced version of OYL-004, but it’s available only as a commercial-scale pitch.
pH: I’m aiming for a post-boil pH of 5.1, with 4.4 in the finished beer.

GABF Gold 2025