It’s more than just color to me. Dunkelweizens are richer than a straight up hefe. I like about 30% Munich, a half pound of CaraMunich III and then a dehusked roast malt to adjust for color (Carafa Special or Midnight Wheat).
What Eric said is pretty much spot on…and Jon. Dunkelweizen has a bit less of the yeast character and a bit more of the munich malt sweetness, in my experience.
I’ve never used the dark wheat malt. Is it like the wheat equivalent of Munich? What kind of flavor do you get out of it.
I haven’t brewed a dunkelweizen in a while. I might have to schedule one for the early spring. It’s actually a fun style to play around with spices. I brewed a Vanilla Dunkelweizen a few years ago that was really nice. I’m thinking some combination of cacao, cinnamon and/or vanilla the next time I brew one.
I like the dark wheat. I’ve done all dark wheat and Munich with a percentage of pils to assure complete conversion with good results. I’ve also done the regular wheat with dark Munich and a touch of carafa or midnight wheat with also great, though different, results. You can’t go wrong with either one. Though I think I do prefer the dark wheat and munich grist.
yeah ive done the pils additions, but at some point i decided to skip the pils so i could keep 60%+ wheat and still have my 30% munich malt in the grist. the pale wheat or white wheat seem to convert well and have higher diastatic power for conversion.
That’s why I said I add pils to the dark wheat version. Anytime you have a majority base malt darker kilned malts it is a very good idea to have some pils in there to assure conversion. In my case - dark wheat, dark munich - a small portion of pils does the trick.
so whats your water profile for your dunkelweizen? i use the brown malty in bru’n water.
i haven’t done it yet but seems like the munich boil profile is reported as being very good for this mash. its low in calcium at 12ppm and really under 20pppm for everything except bicarb at 100ppm. im nervous to try but nonetheless might give it a whirl one of these days and see.
edit: ok i got the bug to brew a dunkel ;D- ordered everything yesterday and brewing next week since i have my pale ale going this weekend.