Hefe Candy #1

**Sir Humpsalot** · 08-02-2007, 10:14 PM

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP 300 (Hefe yeast)
Yeast Starter: Yeast cake
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.010
IBU: 28.4
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Color: 9.1
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 28 days at 72

This recipe arose out of my desire to brew a Honey Hefeweizen with some honey and brumalt. It just seemed like a natural recipe to me and this is my third attempt, tweaking the recipe, here's what I came up with. It is Hefe Candy- it tastes like a hefeweizen, but has an incredible candy-like quality. The belgians would be proud. Don't think of this as a German Hefeweizen. Think of it as a Belgian with a ton of character. In fact, some candy sugar would be perfectly at home in this recipe...

Yes, ladies and gents, I finally, I have a beer worth sharing with you. This one is worth the price of admission for you malt-heads. It is special. I won't say everyone should brew this. It's definitely going to appeal to its core audience of malt lovers. But, if you love malt, honey, and hefeweizen, you've GOT to try this. It's like pouring yourself a Willy Wonka candy... It may not be an Everlasting Gobstopper, but its a Banana-Split. And honey on a tit.

Imagine if the Belgians invented the Hefeweizen. This might be what they came up with... Add some Brettanomyces and you'll have a beer with all of the universe's complexity. Without it, you have an amazing dessert beer, perfect for 12 ounce bottles. I've been switching to 22 ounce bottles, but this one just begs for 12's. It's the perfect size. Each 12-er is like opening the wrapper of a confectionery delight! Like a chocolate in a box, if they were twice the size, they just wouldn't be right.

This beer has got a TON of character. I dare compare it to Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. It has nearly that complexity.. but without the years' worth of aging. It's only 5.8% ABV, so it's not meant to age forever or take a long time like Barleywines or Imperial Stouts. It's meant to be ready fairly quickly, but it definitely gives the illusion of a strong beer. It's got that intense mouthfeel and thickness, almost a syrup-like quality that really satisfies. And yet, at its heart, it is a wheat beer, perfect for a hot summer day. It's definitely a beer that drinks bigger than it is. If you want a "light beer" this is definitely a recipe that you could lighten up... and still wind up with a "real" beer.

Best of all, for as intense as the taste is, this baby is ready to drink within a month. If you love Bourbon County Stout and Hefeweizens, you'll love this as well. I've had "wheat wines". Basically barley wines with wheat. They tend to be "sharp" tasting like barleywines. This is FAR better than anything in that genre. This is smoothness, trapped in a bottle after only a month.

Based on 65% efficiency:
6.0 lbs German Wheat
4.0 lbs German Pilsner
2.0 lbs Honey Malt (aka Brumalt)
1.0 oz Hallertau (6.0% AA) at 60
0.5 oz Hallertau (6.0% AA) at 30
0.25 lbs clove honey (added after the primary ferment starts to subside)

Note, there is no secondary. Just 3-4 weeks in primary, then bottle.

Single infusion mash at 157 with a 90 minute boil to impart some caramel-like maltiness. The real "honey flavor" comes from the brumalt. Don't over-do the real honey because it will dry out the beer. Get most of your flavor from the brumalt- it will increase the complexity of the beer. If fermenting at a lower temp, use wildflower honey. If (like me) you are stuck with higher temps, use clove honey to impart at least a hint of cloviness. I fermented in the mid-70's.

The end result is very sweet. Candy-like. Bottle in 12 ounce bottles and it's like unwrapping a Brach's candy. 22 ounces would just be overkill. This isn't a sickeningly sweet recipe, but it's certainly a desert beer. It's like a great strong barleywine, but without the long aging period. This is something special. I hope you agree.

Cheesefood · 11-10-2007, 06:40 PM

Just found this recipe, and I'm glad. I bought 2 pounds of honey malt today for a honey hefe next weekend. I might add a decoction to the schedule for even more maltiness, and I'm using 3068 since my LHBS doesn't have White Labs. I'm also considering adding either a little cascade or sorachi to give it some citrus flavor.

mr x · 11-10-2007, 07:01 PM

Is that wheat malted or raw? I have been having excellent results using raw in recipes that call for it, but I'm not sure what the difference would be.

And is the honey boiled before the addition?

**Sir Humpsalot** · 12-25-2007, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr x

Is that wheat malted or raw? I have been having excellent results using raw in recipes that call for it, but I'm not sure what the difference would be.

And is the honey boiled before the addition?

I don't know why I didn't get notified of the posts to this thread. Sorry for the slow response. That is malted wheat. As I recall, I used malted German wheat... it's basically based off of a hefezweizen recipe.

The honey is not boiled. You wait till you're up to 5%ABV or so, move it to secondary, and let the alcohol fight and kill off the honey's impurities. Is that risky? I suppose it is. But you aren't Budweiser, you are HOMEBREWER! You can afford the enormous risks imposed by the use of unpasteurized ingredients in pursuit of the supreme pint. You value tastiness over financial responsibility in your brewing.

If it gets infected, it will get worse over the course of a month in bottles. Truth be told, we can drink 5 gallons of this in that month, especially if you share with friends. So, really, there's no worry. By the time the nasties take hold, you'll have downed the last bottle.

And what do you get in exchange for your living-on-the-edge no-boiling-the-honey approach? You get a LOT of honey flavor. It would be almost mead-like if not for the intense milkshake-like sweetness.

And wheat beers are meant to be consumed while young. Don't bother aging it. I say throw the honey into the secondary. The beer will be gone before you know it anyway....

JodsterBrewMan · 02-19-2008, 04:54 PM

Humps--
Are you using the honey as your priming sugar as well?

**Sir Humpsalot** · 02-19-2008, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JodsterBrewMan

Humps--
Are you using the honey as your priming sugar as well?

No. My personal opinion is that using honey to prime is gimmicky. You aren't really adding enough honey to give it much flavor... and unlike dextrose, the amount of sugar in honey is variable. As a result, you need to guess at the amount of honey or else dissolve it in water and take some measurements. Either way, it's a lot more effort than just adding dextrose boiled in water and the results aren't all that significantly different... except that honey is slower to ferment out.

With all that said though, I have primed with honey in the past and I'm not saying I wouldn't do it again. I'm just saying that I can't think of a reason to do it except that it's a neat gimmick to say that your beer became carbonated through the use of honey.

So I guess you could prime with honey if you want, though I generally advise against it unless you have a good reason to.

Edit to add: Thinking about it more, my advice against priming with honey goes DOUBLE for this recipe. You're already adding unboiled, impure honey to start a secondary fermentation after the initial fermentation subsides. As a result there is really no flavor advantage to adding a tiny little bit more at bottling. It'll just take longer to carbonate and clear.

JodsterBrewMan · 02-20-2008, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Humpsalot

No. My personal opinion is that using honey to prime is gimmicky. You aren't really adding enough honey to give it much flavor... and unlike dextrose, the amount of sugar in honey is variable. As a result, you need to guess at the amount of honey or else dissolve it in water and take some measurements. Either way, it's a lot more effort than just adding dextrose boiled in water and the results aren't all that significantly different... except that honey is slower to ferment out.

Edit to add: Thinking about it more, my advice against priming with honey goes DOUBLE for this recipe. You're already adding unboiled, impure honey into the secondary. As a result there is really no flavor advantage to adding a tiny little bit more at bottling. It'll just take longer to carbonate and clear.

Your edit is exactly what I was looking for (when you were adding the honey), but I forgot to ask that question!! Thanks Humps!!

**Sir Humpsalot** · 02-21-2008, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JodsterBrewMan

Your edit is exactly what I was looking for (when you were adding the honey), but I forgot to ask that question!! Thanks Humps!!

But my edit was wrong.

This recipe doesn't have a secondary. You add it to the primary after the initial fermentation has subsided. Once the alcohol level has climbed high enough to fight off the nasties.

AZWyatt · 03-19-2008, 09:24 PM

I just tried this recipe but added a concoction of grapefruit juice and zest and kumquat puree. I'll tell you how it turns out in a month.

**Sir Humpsalot** · 03-20-2008, 05:31 AM

kumquat? That sounds dirty....

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