THEY SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE (or How Whead Was Invented) --------------------------------------------------------- Ray Tell There are some who brew with specific techniques following recipes to the letter; then there are those who brew succumbing to no discernible rationale. I guess I fall somewhere in between. I have never followed a recipe, someone else's that is. Some of my best, if not most unusual, efforts are derived from the ephemeral region of semiconsciousness twixt sleep and wakefulness. Occasionally I drag an essence from that netherland flux to the light of consciousness; usually related to brewing. Well this winter, not having the fortitude to face 12 hour days in unpredictable weather, and not willing to cave in to the convenience of extracts, (surely John Phillips is the only one in the world who can consistently brew extraordinary extract beers), I've been thinking a lot about mead, which I can make inside. I awoke recently with the inspiration! How come no one's ever done this before? After all, wheat and honey together are as natural as Nabisco. The dream seeking redemption through life was simply to brew a honey/wheat mead (or should it be called a whead?, a new paradigm is born). As the notion crystallized it became clear that the fermentables should consist of approximately 40% wheat sugar with the rest being Star Thistle Honey from Gary Starbuck. All I had to figure out was how to extract 4 gallons of liquor of 1.040 to 1.050 specific gravity from 100% malted wheat. Undeterred by stories of unconvertible malts and undrainable grain beds, I forged ahead in confidence that my equipment could do the job; equipment gathered over many years and honed into brewing prowess through many mistakes and adaptations. The key items being a monel bottle sterilizer of about 9 gallons capacity and a magnetic drive pump, which allows me to recirculate my mash liquor through the grain bed. It may occur to you that this adventure would not keep me out of the weather; it didn't, one never knows where acted upon motivations will lead; often contrary to original intent. By utilizing dry champagne yeast; not having to prepare a starter; the endeavor could be canceled at the last minute without loss. Anyway, jeez, you can't call this winter. Last Sunday morning broke with a clear sky and prospects of 60 degree temperatures. The moment was fortuitous; going for the gusto, I preheated 8 gallons of charcoal filtered Los Alamos water and added 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid powder to drop the ph to 5.8. When the H2O reached 110 degrees 5 gallons was added to the sterilizer. It had equalized at about 100 when I added 10 lbs of Great Western malted wheat; the mix settled to about 98 and was allowed to sit for about 10 minutes with the liquor circulating from the drip pipe (a split and flattened section of 3/4 in. copper pipe) through the grain bed and polyester bag, over the heating element, down the drain to the pump, then back to the drip pipe. The sterilizer thermostat was then set to 125 degrees and in 20 minutes the mass had achieved the setting. After allowing for a 20 minute protein rest, the setting was raised to 155 degrees. It took about 25 minutes to reach the setting, at which time I checked for starch with iodine. NO STARCH in about 57 minutes! Mash ph was about 5.4. I could not discern any difference in grain bed permeability between all barley and all wheat. Continuing the recirculation, the thermostat was set to 180 degrees while I added the last 3 gallons of water heated to 180. When the grain bed had reached 180, I started the runoff; once again noticing no difference in drainage rate from all barley batches. Ran off for about 45 minutes, capturing 7+ gallons of sweet wort. Boiled for 115 minutes to reduce the volume to 4 1/2+ gallons. The wheat wort was almost as clear as an all barley wort. Chilled the wort to approximately 66 degrees by pumping it through 45 ft of copper coil partially immersed in water and 16 lbs of ice. Added 3 quarts of Star Thistle Honey (about 9 lbs) that had been sanitized by heating in water bath to 160 degrees. The mix evened out at 69 degrees. The 4 1/2 gallons of wheat wort came in at 1.056 specific gravity. After the addition of the honey, the mix (must/wort, murt?) gravity measured 1.096, but I'm sure that some of the honey was not dissolved. My estimate is that the actual original gravity is around 1.120. Pitched 2 packages of hydrated Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast and had bubbles within three hours. Placed the fermenter in a draft box controlled between 65 and 68 degrees, by morning the fermentation was belching CO2 at an asphyxiating rate. One lesson learned is that the honey should be added at a temperature at which it can dissolve readily and completely. It a couple of months we can judge whether this was a whim worth pursuing; see you at the June meeting.