Session Wheat Ale recipe suggestions

Personally I would try a different yeast. A hefe yeast would really change this beer (for the better, in my view, but obviously it's a matter of taste). In that case I would try it without fruit, at least at first.

If you like sour beers, you might consider dialing back the hops (or really, leaving them out altogether) and fermenting it with Lactobacillus and a neutral yeast (1010 would probably be fine actually, 1007 is also commonly used). In this case, fruit would probably complement the tartness nicely.

 

I like a Kolsch yeast for a wheat, fermented warm, around 65F. Another thing to consider is dry hopping. Can’t go wrong with a little Amarillo.

 

I've never brewed a Kolsch, so I can't really comment on most of those yeasts. What I'll say is that they will probably provide fairly clean fermentations not that different from what you are already doing. But one of the joys of homebrewing is experimenting, so absolutely you should try them out and see what difference it makes.

Personally I much prefer the character of a good hefeweizen, and so I would recommend trying Wyeast 3068. You might also play around with your malt bill a little to make it more like a traditional hefe recipe, but honestly I think it would work fine as is. A hefe is a very different beer, with tons of yeast character. It would be a much bigger change than shifting to a Kolsch yeast. A totally different beer really.

 

I just did this beer, not exactly the same grain bill but close, and I used Chimay yeast (WLP500 Monastery) and the yeast makes the beer. I didn't feel it needed anything else. Fantastic dark fruit notes! I also used a little bit of Amarillo in the whirlpool.

However, I then dosed it with orange and cinnamon to make it a "winter wheat" and that's excellent as well but in the end I question whether I really needed that as it was just so simple and easy to drink as it was. Next time I'll split the batch. I like your idea of doing strawberries in one, that would have worked with the Chimay yeast as well.

 

I also like using Kölsch yeast for a little more character in American wheats.
One of my favorite wheat recipes uses mostly pale ale malt, then a blend of red wheat malt, torrified wheat, and carawheat.
Kölsch yeast and sorachi ace/montueka hops.

Really tasty, unique beer with a ton of lemon/lime character.

 

Two notes... my beer was all red wheat. It's a little more wheaty and rustic tasting but not by much - and keep in mind if you're milling, it's a lot harder than white wheat. I think it worked for what I was going for, and I called it "winter wheat" because that's what it is, but honestly, I really only used it because it was on hand and I needed to get rid of it.

Second, although I love the Chimay yeast, it's a bitch to get it to drop out. I can cold crash it and hit it with Biofine Clear but it still sticks around. A cloudy wheat beer is OK but a yeasty looking beer is a tough sell so be prepared to wait it out if you choose to use it. Fortunately the yeast itself only adds a little bit of acidity and very little "yeast" flavor so I'm enjoying it right now but I don't think this batch will be ready for another two to three weeks if I want it to be partially clear.