I found 2 Whispering Wheat refills on clearance at World Market, only $10 a piece. I thought that was a pretty good deal. I really had no plans for a wheat beer. I had some stuff laying around and wanted to get some opinions. This is would be my first, non Mr.B recipe.

2 cans Whispering Wheat
1# dark malt extract
1 can Oregon Cherries
1/2 c cocoa powder
1c date sugar
booster

I'm uncertain about the booster, I also have some Turbinado. I may use that in place of the booster. What do you think? Also the malt extract is from the health food store. Eden Organic Malt Syrup. I really just wanted to see if it would work. It is 75% barley the rest is water, I figure I can reduce it down to extract the water. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

Well you have some items there I haven't seen before.

Date sugar is something I'm not familiar with. I don't think I would use the sugar, cherries, and booster all in one recipe. but that's me.

But the great thing about brewing is that experimenting is part of it. You have a lot of fermentables there. May need substantial conditioning time. Like 6 months or more.

I would think just the cans of extract and the dark or amber extract would make a nice beer with a good wheat yeast. If u want to incorporate the cherries I picture something lighter like pale extract or all wheat. But it is your beer to experiment with I just think there might be a lot of different flavors compeating. I agree to skip the booster and other sugars since that would make a pretty high ABV.

But that's homebrew...welcome!

Welcome to the forum :-)

Welcome aboard!

Also keep in mind that with the two cans of Whispering Wheat, you'll have twice the bitterness.

Do you have a LHBS? If you really want to make a dunkleweizen, I'd suggest picking up 1 lb of Dark DME from there, along with a liquid wheat yeast (Wyeast 3068 or WLP300 are both great choices).

I'd stay away from from the chocolate and cherry addition the first time around, and just do a dunkleweizen. If you like it, then on the next batch, experiment with chocolate and/or cherry.

Oh, and if you want to up the alcohol level, go ahead and add one pack of booster. But again, I'd stay away from the extra sugars.

So, to sum up what I'd suggest:

1 can Whispering Wheat HME
1 lb Dark DME from your LHBS
1 pack Wyeast 3068 or WLP300 (the yeast is really critical to this recipe)
(optional: one package of booster)

This will get you a GREAT starting point for a dunkleweizen. Make sure you sanitize EVERYTHING really well, and ferment at a consistent temperature (60-68°F ambient temps are great for either of those yeasts) for 2 weeks, carb for 2 weeks in bottles, and put it in the fridge to start cold conditioning!

And, this is a recipe that will be ready quickly. It shouldn't need more than the standard 2-2-2, and may even be drinkable before that.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do!

Thanks for all the advice. No don't have a LHBS anywhere close, nor do I know anyone locally to ask for advice. I guess I'm flying blind.

You can go ahead with your plans for a Dunkleweizen with the two cans of Wispering Wheat Wizenbier and the dark extract. Use the packets of Mr.Beer yeast and you will be ok, it would just be more of a Dunkelwizen with the liquid yeast Jon recomended. We are all just trying to help, but in the end it's your beer if you want to experiement with those sugars, the cherries and the cocoa...but that just sounds like a different kind of beer. Maybe save that for a Chocolate Cherry Stout or Porter later on?

If you don't mind waiting, you could always place an order online with one of the Online HBSes. Maybe order enough for a few batches to save on shipping costs.

You can always ask us for advice--that's what the forum is here for.

O'Fallon Brewery, in St. Louis, makes a chocolate cherry beer... literally tastes like a chocolate covered cherry. It's very sweet, and thick tasting, so I could only drink half a bottle before I had to put it down. But, it's out there...

O’Fallon Cherry Chocolate Beer:
A dark wheat beer that tastes like a chocolate covered cherry…only better! Available November 1.
Style: Dark Wheat
Alcohol: 5.7% ABV
Bitterness: 10 IBUs
Color: 13.3 SRM
Grain: Pale, White Wheat, Caramel 40L, Chocolate
Hops: Cluster
http://www.ofallonbrewery.com/products/index.html