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Tuesday Beer Trivia: Wheat & Wheat Beers

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Beer Trivia

Put your knowledge of wheat and wheat beer styles to the test in this week’s Tuesday Beer Trivia quiz.

Wheat is said to be the second most popular grain used in brewing beer, after malted barley. It has graced brewing kettles for nearly as long as beer has been made, and brewers around the world continue to push the limits of brewing with wheat (100% wheat wine, anyone?).

After you take the Beer Trivia quiz below, scroll down to the “Beer Trivia Answer Explanations” section to learn more about wheat and wheat beer styles.

Beer Trivia Answer Explanations

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Question 1:  From Brewing with Wheat by Stan Hieronymus: “Less than one-tenth of a percent of wheat grown in the United States ends up malted for use in beer. Farmers understand that to earn top dollar wheat must be fat in protein, because the higher the protein, the higher the gluten strength, and the higher the gluten strength, the easier it is to produce those billowing loaves of bread. That the proteins and gluten may present problems for a brewer makes no difference.”

Question 2:  From The Oxford Companion to Beer: “Because modern wheat (Triticum aestivum) has a relatively high glucan and protein content compared to barley and has no husks–properties that can create lauter problems in the brewhouse–mashes rarely contain more than 70% wheat.”

Question 3: Berliner weisse–a low-alcohol, spritzy wheat-based beer with an interesting tart kick–is often times served mit Schuss, meaning with flavored syrup. Traditionally, there are three types of syrups: raspberry-, woodruff-, and lemon-flavored. (Source: March/April 2013 Zymurgy magazine)

Question 4: From Brewing with Wheat by Stan Hieronymus: “The color refers to the seed coat. Some brewers suggest that red wheat contributes rounder, fuller flavor. Bakers prefer red winter wheat for artisan breads.”

Question 5:  Kristallweizen is a wheat beer style that is popular in northern Germany and Austria and, unlike many of its wheat beer brethren, is filtered. (Source: Brewing with Wheat by Stan Hieronymus)

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