Hefe weizen

PGSteamer · Post by **PGSteamer** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 10:45 pm

I fermented mine at around 15degC and still got a nice clove/banana profile.

On a different forum there has been this long running thread started by a Canadian fella who's wanting to replicate the Hefeweizens he tasted in Bavaria. One of the contributors to the thread studied brewing in Germany and says that a mash rest at 44degC for 15 minutes before the usual 67 odd degC rest helps accentuate the clove character.

Perhaps this rest does make a difference

The hefeweizen I mentioned before did use this extra rest in the mash. But I won't be convinced of this until I try my current hefeweizen that is nearing the end of it's fermentation. It uses the exact same ingredients as the previous hefeweizen but skips the extra rest - I just did a single 67degC mash with it. I hope that experimentation doesn't reveal a hidden nerd in me

Definitely keep us updated on how yours matures

delboy · Post by **delboy** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:52 pm

I have plenty of clove but virtually no banana, don't know where i went wrong, maybe it did pick up an infection along the way

Im going to head out to the bewshed fire up the flash chiller and see how it comes out carbed up.

Gurgeh · Post by **Gurgeh** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 9:57 am

steve_flack wrote:With that much wheat malt be wary of a stuck mash.

I listened to these nutters whilst waiting to have my wisdom teeth pulled

http://radio.craftbrewer.org/2007/04/08/april12007/

They talk about using wheat flour in a recipe and doing a gluten rest in order to prevent sticking. Is this at all relevant?

delboy · Post by **delboy** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:03 am

Tried my hefe the other night, i am seriously underwhelmed by it, it can sit in the corny for now but im brewing up a batch of golden ale today and when its ready for kegging the hefe is going to make way for it.

Barley Water · Post by **Barley Water** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:01 pm

I did a weizen this weekend and everything worked out pretty well. I use 70% malted wheat, 0.5lb of munich malt the the remainder german pils. Double decoction (30 minutes of boiling for each decoction pulled) plus boiled the first runnings down while I sparged. I used saaz this time (.8oz boiled for 60 minutes). I am using Wyest 3638 which if things work out correctly should give me bananna, bubblegum and a little cloves (I have my fermenter set to 69F). I made up only a small starter 500ml (so I am under pitching just a little bit) and I do not aerate to encourage ester formation. Beginning gravity came out to 1.052 which is just a couple point higher than planned but of course more is alway better.

Since I am kegging the majority of the batch, I plan to naturally carbonate rather than force carbonating so I can get the maximum yeast which I think will also help with the taste. I will also naturally carbonate a few bottles since I also am trying to get ready for a competition (I hope I don't blow up any bottles as I am going to make it pretty fizzy). I will report back on how this whole thing comes out.

retourrbx · Post by **retourrbx** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:29 pm

How much glucose do you reckon to carbonate 18 litres of this style in a corney??

Barley Water · Post by **Barley Water** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:48 pm

Standard practice over here is 3/4 of a cup of corn sugar to get "normal" carbonation levels. I suppose that might be on the high side by your standards but it is pretty typical for American beers. Because I want this higher still, I will use about 1 1/4 cups. I should get a great big, rocky head at this level. I have made saisons using even more (1 1/3 cups) and it worked out ok. I know that would probably be too much for a weizen but for the belgian stuff if it doesn't blow out of the top of the bottle you just aint trying.

tubby_shaw · Post by **tubby_shaw** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:50 pm

Barley Water wrote:f if it doesn't blow out of the top of the bottle you just aint trying.

So it's true what they say about Texans

Barley Water · Post by **Barley Water** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 5:53 pm

I'm sure I have no idea to what you are referring.

tubby_shaw · Post by **tubby_shaw** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 5:57 pm

Barley Water wrote:I'm sure I have no idea to what you are referring.

Bigger better more

Barley Water · Post by **Barley Water** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 6:29 pm

I guess you are correct at least to some extent although I sort of look at it as more of an "American" thing. You can easily see that thought process manifested in beer by looking at the products produced by the likes of Dogfishhead and Stone which are located the east and west coast respectively. On the other hand though, IPA's and Russian Imperial Stouts are both British inventions if I am not mistaken. Oh well, we are doing a very nice job of highjacking this tread so we better cut it out before the moderators get on our cases.

mysterio · Post by **mysterio** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:19 pm

I do not aerate to encourage ester formation.

Have you tried this before with good results?

I've heard it mentioned before but I always thought it might lead to incomplete attenuation. My first all grain was a hefeweizen and it took something approaching 30 days to ferment completely - I took this to be because I was inexperienced and probably underpitching or underaerating (or both).

Then again I like my weizen ester levels to be in the 'mid-range', for example the likes of Weihenstephan & Franziskaner. I find Paulaner a little bit too banana-ish and Erdinger a bit too restrained.

DRB · Post by **DRB** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:51 pm

I love edringer,anyone know how to clone that one.

Barley Water · Post by **Barley Water** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:34 pm

Mysterio- Weizen is the only beer I would even consider skipping the aeration step with and I do it every time I make it (which is probably between 3 and 4 batches a year). The batch I did on Sunday had about two inches of froth after 12 hours in the fermentor and I have never (knock on wood) had problems with weizen yeast stalling out.

My experience with this type of yeast is that the esters thrown off are primarily determined by two things. One of course is the actual yeast strain used. I probably have you at a slight disadvantage in that here we get both Wyeast and White labs products fresh so I always get strong yeast and a pretty big variety (both are US concerns). Second though is the fermentation temperature. If you want cloves, ferment at about 65F, if you want bannana, go higher. I would caution about going over about 70F though because you will also start getting fussel alcohols which at least to my taste doesn't work so well. I really like the bannana and if I can get some bubblegum then I really start getting excited. Because of my taste preference, I brew this stuff in an attempt to maximize both these flavors.

By the way, if you are in a wierd mood some evening, try blending about 1 part nice porter and 4 parts weizen. If you are lucky, you will get kind of a bannana porter which is really quite good.

The other thing that can be done is to under pitch which at least in theory should contribute to ester formation as well. Since in my experience, the yeast is such a beast, I am not sure how effective this technique really is from a practical perspective.

mysterio · Post by **mysterio** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:07 pm

Interesting observations BW but I still can't see myself deliberately underpitching or underaerating. I used to aerate my wort by splashing with a ladle and i've had plenty of liquid yeasts finish out early on me. I know pitch big and aerate with O2 and never get that problem and I feel my beer is better for it.

DRB wrote:I love edringer,anyone know how to clone that one.

I did a beer that turned out exactly like Erdinger once, 60% wheat, 40% pils malt, 1.052 OG, 15 IBUs Hallertau Hersbruker (60mins only), WLP300 yeast. Carbonated highly. Not a scientific, researched Erdinger clone but it was close.

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Hefe weizen