Munich Malt Syrup Substitute? ...and Extract Weizens

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Lukass, Aug 25, 2020.

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  1. Lukass

    Lukass Pooh-Bah (2,891) Dec 16, 2012 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    Am looking into brewing an extract Weizenbock soon for the fall, but I've been having trouble finding Munich LME nowadays. What other LME would be the best substitute? Amber possibly?

    Of all the hefeweizens, weizenbocks, and any other German weizen style where clove/banana esters are desired, I've had the most success with extract over all-grain. AG versions always seem to fall short on the banana, no matter which type of wheat beer yeast I try, attempting multi-step / decoction mashing, fermentation temps, you name it. My best versions have all been extract. Anyone else notice this? or is it just me...

    Thanks in advance
     
    #1 Lukass, Aug 25, 2020
  2. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I don't think any other extract is going to taste like a munich LME. Buy Morebeer has it in stock, at least some sizes. (50/50 pils/munich.)
     
    #2 VikeMan, Aug 25, 2020
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  3. scottakelly

    scottakelly Maven (1,487) May 9, 2007 Ohio

    You could consider doing a mini mash of Munich malt and adding Pilsner malt extract.
     
    #3 scottakelly, Aug 25, 2020
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  4. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I don't that there is a real substitute for it. You could always try for a pale weizenbock using just wheat DME. Maybe Rye LME would be interesting, though. You'd probably get similar color with it, but not the same flavor, or mouthfeel.

    I recall reading in Brewing With Wheat that Briess says that their Bavarian Wheat DME has been processed to be "4GV" ready for the clove phenolics, but I've never read anything about extract giving better esters. I always thought that esters kinda happened due to the conditions of fermentation (pitch rate, oxygenation, temperature), and not due to the substrate like phenols (is enough Ferrulic Acid free to be converted into phenols by a POF+ yeast?)
     
    #4 MrOH, Aug 25, 2020
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  5. Lukass

    Lukass Pooh-Bah (2,891) Dec 16, 2012 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    This is another possibility, thanks!

    Thank you, I guess I should've dug a bit deeper when searching for Munich LME. And by a bit deeper, I mean 2nd link on Google! :stuck_out_tongue:
     
    #5 Lukass, Aug 25, 2020
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  6. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    I see morebeer has a munich DME. I never used it, but if brewing extract, DME is my preference. I used Briess Munich LME once when I wanted to make a quick extract batch. For me, I don't think I got the level of maltiness out of it that I wanted. It is derived from 50% pale base malt and 50% munich. I also used Briess Bonlander Munich in an all grain dunkelweizen (about half the grist was munich) and didn't think that was all that either. It may be that I just don't find Briess munich pushes all my buttons. If partial mash is on the table, I'd recommend getting at least some of your Munich as grain from Germany. I've used Weyermann and Best in some malty altbiers -- buttons were pushed.
     
    #6 pweis909, Aug 25, 2020
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