Hefeweizen

As a total newb I has a question for those more expirenced than myself. I would like to brew a Hefeweizen as I have just been introduced to the style and find it quite to my liking. Alas I will have to settle for an extract at this time, would love to go AG, but finances dont allow the purchasing of the needed equipment I could do a partial mash / partial boil if needed for any specalty grains but dont have a pot large enough for a full 5 gal boil, or a burner to pull it of for that matter. My question is would I be better served by ordering a kit from one of the online stores, or finding a recipe and heading into the LHBS with a shopping list. I will admit I like spending my money with the local business, but am not against using a tryed and true kit that is more idiot resistant. What do do??

If your new to homebrewing I would say get a kit to learn the basics. Thats how I started for my first 2 brews. Then I found recipes and changed them a little, then starting making my own recipes.

With a kit you will get what you want and not have to worry about anything, so I recommend that until you learn more about homebrewing.

Make a keggle and buy a burner off amazon it might set you back 60-70$ for both.

For a Hefeweizen try and use liquid yeast like Wyeast 3068 or White Labs WLP300. I do a lot of extract Hefe's and they are very user friendly. My standard is:

6# Wheat DME
1oz of Hallertau @ 60 minutes
Wyeast 3068

(optional) 4oz Maltodextrin or 1# of Carapils steeped

Midwest Supplies Hank's Hefeweizen is a good kit as well. I also reuse / save the yeast using this technique since liquid yeast can get pricey over time:

http://www.mikebeer.net/reuseyeast.htm

trust me, start saving your money now for the AG stuff. You can easily make a mash tun out of a cooler and a few parts from a hardware store. get a turkey fryer and a few plastic buckets and do the best with what you got! you will be much happier. i brewed two batches and started saving up for AG supplies. the cooking is not any harder, takes more time, but that is it. the taste is much better! and you have more options. just my .02

The yeast makes all the difference in the world for a heffe. Also look for kits that use only dry malt extract, the liquid malts make the beer too dark for the style imo. The flavor tends to be a little off to me too.

Thanks for the replies all, I do have at least one batch under my belt, if Graff counts, and have a few meads that are finaly comming into their own. The techinical side of AG does not scare me in the least, just dont have the hardware yet. Guess thats cause I enjoy cooking and im a bit of a nerd... Thanks for the recipe zyx345 I think I will head into the LHBS when I get paid, just think I will sleep better knowing I helped a local business. Got my feelers out now for a keg to do a keggle conversion, and a burner assembly is a must. Being at 6,000' above sea level NG residentail stove just dont have the BTU's to boil more than about 2 gal. I think I will plan a brew date for the 5th and get my Hefe on lol.

I highly recommend WLP300! I don't get a lot of banana, but my last one (nearly the same recipe as zyx345 mentioned: I split the Hallertau 3/4 oz at 60 and 1/4 oz at 10). Fermented this one at 66-67 and it has fantastic clove spiciness.

Bottle with some of the yeast (I try to get some of the top of the yeast cake into the bottling bucket) and bottle condition. When serving, serve half the bottle in a glass and swirl up the yeast from the bottom as vigorously as you can before pouring the rest.

I like my hefeweizens dirty!