I'm not entirely sure that this beer fits the Dunkelweiss category, but the German translation "dark wheat" certainly makes it a literal fit. I have always been intrigued by a recipe in brewer Randy Mosher's excellent Radical Brewing for a Tangerine Porter, which he likens to a "chocolate orange creamsicle." and my Oatmeal Dunkel is a close approximation of this.
Grain bill:
4lbs Munich Malt
3lbs Bavarian Lager Malt
.75lb Carafoam Malt
.5lb Black Patent Malt
.25lb Special B Malt
1lb rolled oats
2lbs unmalted wheat
.25lb rice hulls (filtering aid)
Hops:
.5oz Columbus - 60 minutes
.25oz Amarillo - 30 minutes
.5oz Amarillo - at heat shut-off
zest of 2 tangerines at heat shut-off
Mashing grains like unmalted wheat and rolled oats is always a challenge. They need to be boiled for a period along with a portion of malted barley to break down their complex starches, and even when that is done correctly, they can still be troublesome. My mash seemed fine, until I began to drain the liquid and the flow abruptly ceased. Anyone who has ever left a bowl of uneaten oatmeal on the counter will know what I'm talking about. The mash temperature had fallen below the gellatinization threshold and turned into a substance resembling sticky cement. After working the mixture a bit, infusing with hot water and recirculating the wort I got it flowing again, but it added a couple hours onto an already long brew day.
9/27/09
It's been a week and the primary fermentation is complete. I'm going to leave this to ferment for a couple more weeks, before bottling or kegging.
Stay tuned...
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