Weezie Jefferson's American Weizenbock

Rhoobarb · 07-25-2007, 08:49 PM

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: White Labs WLP320 American Hefeweizen Ale
Yeast Starter: Yes
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.072
Final Gravity: 1.012
IBU: 27.9
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Color: 15.3
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 27 days @ 72oF
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): none

Weezie Jefferson's American Weizenbock
2007 by Mark Pannell

~ 8% ABV

5 lbs. Schreier American 2-row pale malt (1.8-L)
5 lbs. wheat malt
1 lb. rye malt (4-L)
1 lb. CaraMunich (60-L)
1 lb. Munich malt (10-L)
4 oz. Special B malt (120-L)
1 oz. chocolate malt (425-L)

.75 oz. Hallertauer {pellet} [6.0% AAU] (60 mins.)
.5 oz. Hallertauer {pellet} [6.0% AAU] (30 mins.)
.25 oz. Hallertauer {pellet} [6.0% AAU] (5 mins.)
1 oz. Saaz [3.4% AAU] (dry hop)

White Labs WLP320 American Hefeweizen Ale

Mash grains with 4 gallons of water at ~155o F for 90 minutes. Recirculate until clear, ~20 minutes. Sparge with ~7.0 gallons at ~173oF. Cool wort to ~70oF and pitch yeast. Prime with 6.5 oz. plain light DME.

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This turned out nothing like I expected. I expected more wheat/fruity flavor and hazy appearance. That said, this turned out to be a pleasant surprise! This strain of yeast is very mild for a Hefeweizen strain. It is supposedly a Widmer strain, which would explain it's mildness and lack of any strong banana/clove flavor.

Believe it or not, this turned out much more like a true bock or marzen lager! Very clear by weizen standards, it has a nice, malty aroma and flavor. Mouthfeel is medium, it has a malty, slightly nutty taste - probably from the wheat and rye malt. Medium carbonation with a nice, creamy head which dissipates within ~1-2 mins. I'd bet I could serve this to most people and call it a bock and they'd never question it.

I really, really like this beer! I'd thought about making it my seasonal Oktoberfest offering instead of brewing a true O'fest lager. But I'm liking this so much that I may just make it a 'house ale' b/c it is so quick and easy to brew.

**jonp9576** · 01-09-2009, 06:50 PM

any idea how to make this extract?

JerzBrew · 08-17-2011, 07:55 PM

Is it bad netiquette to post on such an old thread? I'm going to hope not, because this recipe is exactly what I was looking for for a fall beer.

I love hefs during the summer, so a big wheat beer to me seems like a great way to say adios to the warm weather and usher in the shorter days.

But weizenbocks are sometimes too syrupy sweet for my taste, so I was curious to know how one would taste if dry hopped.

So yea, thanks for this post. I'm thinking I'll brew a batch of this. I have two questions for ya:

Have you brewed this beer since?

I'm a big fan of that banana wheat flavor. Do you think a different strain of yeast, perhaps Wyeast 3333 or 3068 could bring those out?