Weizenbock

[aus069]

Just a couple of questions guys;
I am using WLP 300 Hefeweizen
What should the fermenting temp be ? At the moment it is sitting on 19° C . I want the banana and clove flavours to come out in it . Should I raise the temp to get these flavours , leave it at this temp or lower the temp ?
The recipe is
4.25kg Wheat
2.10kg Pils
200gm Choc Malt

Mash in at 50°C for 35 min with a decoction of 11.05 lt raised to 68.3° C over 15 min . Then hold for 45 min . Raise temp to 75.6° C and hold for 10 min . Recirculate and boil for 90 min
Hop additions : 16 gm Hallertauer first wort only because I had them left over
50 gm Tettnang @ 30 min
35 gm Hallertauer @ 15 min
20 gm Hallertauer @ 5 min


Cheers
aus069

[mysterio]

I go for 17C now after trying every temperature from 17 to 22C.

What I found is that the banana and clove flavours indeed went up above 20 but the medicinal, clove flavours went up exponentially so, along with some higher alcohols. The version fermented at 22C was virtually undrinkable. It was like clove juice with a shot of white spirit in it. 17C produced something like Weihenstephan which I was trying to clone. A nice balance of flavours. Getting this right is way more important than decoctions, precise hopping schedules and so on. I think the same is true for lagers. 90% of the quality is getting a good ferment. I think the low ferment temp, moderate aeration, slightly lower pitching rate and slightly above average gravity is the way to get the right flavour. I think with the higher gravity of the weizenbock, a lower ferment temp is all the more important.

This is just my opinion however, many will tell you to crank it up, my advice is to experiment and see what you like.

[Barley Water]

Oh, I very much agree, don't let the fermentation temperature get above 20C. I wish I had more experience with weizenbocks to better help you out but I bet you would be well served going even lower than that since you O.G. will be so much higher than a standard heffe. The great Jamil does his wheat beers at around 62F if I remember correctly but you get more clove and less bananna the colder you go and I personally like bananna. Anyhow, I suspect that it is an experience thing so you may have to brew a few batches to get dialed in. I usually underpitch on purpose when doing standard gravity heffes but I don't think that would be that great an idea with the higher gravity, you risk getting way more than you bargined for. Making good German wheat beer is all about fermentation control, very similar in my opinion to doing Belgians and a hell of a lot of fun, enjoy.

For whatever it is worth, I would lose the last two hop additions, you just want the add enough hops to balance some of the sweetness and that is all. Oh yeah, I salute you for doing the decoctions I think it helps alot with these styles.

[mysterio]

Ah decoction shmecoction, you guys never heard of melanoidin malt

[coatesg]

The great Jamil does his wheat beers at around 62F if I remember correctly but you get more clove and less bananna the colder you go and I personally like bananna.

I listened to his podcasts before brewing up a hefe earlier in the year - he recommended pitch WLP300 at 13C and then let it rise over a few days to 17C (it'll do this by itself as long as it's not too cold!) - you'll need to pitch slightly more though I would think due to the cold start temps. I did this - came out pretty good (though I reckon a bit of melanoidin wouldn't go astray )

[aus069]

Thanks for the replies guys . I just got home from work and checked the temp it was at 20° C so I put it in the fridge it gets down to about 16° C overnight so I will pull it out in the morning .


Cheers
aus069