Aventinus

[JoKing]

So, Aventinus is the Hallmark of the Weizenbock style, and many many people have put their recipes online. Mine has been refined over about 6 attempts, and this one is the closest that I have been in capturing the essence of Aventinus. There is only one thing that I reckon would have made it spot on, and that was Dark Wheat - instead of pale wheat.

OG: 1.080
FG: 1.018
Colour: 16 SRM
IBU: 21
ABV: 8.2
25 Liter Boil

4.1kg Pale Wheat Malt (weyermann)
3.1kg Munich Malt
.25kg Caramel Wheat Malt (CaraWheat)
.075kg CaraFa III
Hallertau 6.7% Boiled 90min
Hallertau 6.7% Boiled 1min

Yeast wlp380

So the crux here is that the mashing process involved a tripple decoction - a true nightmare... believe me. However, out of the Aventinus beers that I made: this on is by far the most rich. Decoctions were as follows:

52 degrees, 66 degrees, 76 degrees.

Not a traditional temp scheme, but my knowledge of tradtional brewein was limited at the time!

[Greig McGill]

Interesting. I note The Pope is very critical/sceptical of the value of decoction mashing. He thinks you can get all that and more with other techniques and liberal use of melanoiden malt. I've always been in the opposite camp - "thousands of German braumeisters can't be wrong". What do others think?

I've never wanted to make Aventinus. I figured why mess with perfection? That and I prefer to brew beers to drink in quantity rather than experiment a lot. It's a failing, I know it. :) That said, I might just have to give this a go. Now I just need more time to brew, about 4 extra fermenters, and maybe a temperature controlled room. I don't ask for much.

Where do you get your White Labs yeast?

[JoKing]

At the time, I was getting it from morebeer, however this is no longer a necessity. If you can find some wy3068, wy3333, wlp300 - or any other phenolic / estery weizen strain will do the job. I have a couple of strains in the fridge ATM, Greig - give me a holla if you want a sample. I'll be doing a Roggenbier next week with wlp300... do you trust my hygine?

[Reviled]

Should post up your Roggenbier recipe too bud? :o)

[JoKing]

I could do - but it's untested... the recipe exchange would be the wrong forum to post it on... no doubt I'll blog it, then test it, then refine it.

[Greig McGill]

Of course I trust your hygiene, it's not like you're James "quick rinse with warm water" Kemp! ;) That said, I have a smackpack of 3068 in the fridge, and am backed up to June with things waiting to be brewed so it might be wasted on me. Thanks though. :)

[Doublehoppy]

Thanks for posting this Joking.

Just to clarify, Is the CaraFa II husked? I have some CaraFa Special III (dehusked) that I thought would be appropriate for this.

[JoKing]

You are welcome - I posted it for you after reading your comments earlier this week.

It is CaraFa Special III dehusked... and you are correct, it is perfect.

[Doublehoppy]

Thanks. I'm going to have a crack at this brew after next.

You've either since edited the recipe above or I misread your CaraFa III as II. Lol.

[Reviled]

So whats the diff between the husked and the non husked? Do you not get the roast/coffee notes from the dehusked one?

[JoKing]

I'm pretty sure all the CaraFa in NZ is the special. What you get are the coffee notes without harsh/astringent flavour as you do with chocolate malt, black malt and roast barley.

I did my 1st Aventinus with Chocolate - and it was good, but haven't gone back to chocolate since I found CaraFa III. I still have about 3 - 4 kilos of it! It's my go to dark malt!

I also like black malt over chocolate too - dont ask me why... I just to. I made a killer Porter with Black Malt and CaraFa III. It was a massive hit... hmmmmmmmmm hold on a sec....

[Stu McKinlay]

No, we have Carafa and Carafa Special in NZ.

The difference, from Weyermann's site:
Roasting germinated barley tends to scorch the grain's husks and give the finished malt a slightly, or even severely, burnt flavor. Some dark beers, however, taste much better -- at least according to some brewers and consumers -- without the bitterness that comes from scorched husks. We at Weyermann have found a way, therefore, to remove most -- though not all -- of the husks before sending the barley through the malting plant and into the roasting drum. The de-husking process is similar to commercial rice polishing. It is desirable, howver, to leave about 40% of the husk material intact, because the husks also protect the kernel from damage. The de-husked finished malt is our CARAFA® Special. Like our regular CARAFA® (the roasted malt with all the husks), we make CARAFA® Special available in three color variations: Type I with a color rating of approximately 300 - 340 °L, Type II with a color rating of approximately 375 - 450 °L, and Type III with a color rating of approximately 490 - 560 °L.

On a recent SOBA trip to Peak Brewery, near Masterton, the porter was tasting particularly good. I asked Rhys what his grain bill was and he said 80% pale malt and 20% carafa (can't remember if he said which colour). It was a great combo - even though it seemed a lot more than I'd ever use.

[Reviled]

Yeh pretty sure ive got carafa I, but its an awesome malt!