Hefeweizen Suggestions

So I'm wantin' brew a Bavarian style Hefeweizen. Anyone know of a really good extract kit with specialty grains?

Most Hefeweizen recipes won't have any specialty grains, but Northern Brewer makes a lovely pure extract kit. Main thing is just fresh wheat extract and good yeast.

I had looked at the Northern Brewer one. I'm still pretty new to homebrewing. Wasn't sure if most of the hefe kits lacked specialty grains.

The NB kit is killer. Use the Wyeast 3068, it is a beast.

Munich is awesome in a hefe recipe, if you want to go that route.

shanecb said:

Munich is awesome in a hefe recipe, if you want to go that route.

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Perhaps, but the OP isn't mashing. Without conversion, he won't get much from Munich but starch.

+1 on the Northern Brewer Bavarian Hefe and the Wyeast 3068. A pound of honey at flameout makes a nice addition as well.

Make sure you aerate well, use a blow off tube, and ferment at a constant temp between 65 and 70 F. Wyeast 3068 is a BEAST. I'm drinking one of my AG Hefeweizens right now. It was fermenting super strong for about a week. It'll smell like sulfur (rotten eggs) for a while, but if you let it sit in primary for 4 weeks the smell will subside and it'll be one of the best hefeweizens ever.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll probably be ordering the NB Hefe extract kit with the Wyeast 3068. Just need to piece my kit together a little more. Got a second-hand fermentation bucket last night from an old kit my girlfriend's dad had. Needs some cleaning but I think i'll install a spigot and use it for bottling (gonna get a carboy soon for fermenting).

I noticed Northern Brewer suggests primary and secondary fermentation for this. Won't that take away from the cloudiness? Or would just leaving it in the primary negatively affect the taste?

That beer will ferment VERY quickly. Mine was in the keg and being served in two weeks.

I would't worry about secondary. Just primary till it's done, then give it a few days to clean up. Cooler temps will give more cloves and warmer temps will give more banana during ferment. It'll be plenty cloudy, either way.

jskinner10 said:

I noticed Northern Brewer suggests primary and secondary fermentation for this. Won't that take away from the cloudiness? Or would just leaving it in the primary negatively affect the taste?

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NB recommends a secondary for everything. I'm not actually as hostile to secondary as a lot of people on this board, but this is most definitely a style that shouldn't need bulk aging. Skip the secondary.

I have the same NB kit going in my primary. Used Wyeast 3068. It will be a week tomorrow and I still have krausen! I am doing the Jamil 62 degree temp control because I like the more spicy flavors. I'll start taking SGs next weekend to see how it is going. This is not a good hobby for those of us with ADD!

Scored a 43 in NHC.

6 gallon batch:

6 lbs of BREISS Wheat DME. My hefeweizens come out much better when using their wheat DME than any other brand. I refuse to use another brand's wheat dme.
0.8 halltertau hersbrucker hops @ 60 min
0.5 hallertau hersbrucker hops @ 20 min
0.75 lbs of carahell, steeped (My hefeweizens finish too dry without it, adds color). I might even up this to a pound next time.
Wyeast 3068 - pitch as close to 60 degrees as you can get it, ferment at 65, let it get up to 67. I do not make a starter for this beer.
Carb to 3.0.

I was marked down as it was too hoppy, but that's the way I like it. It was the only negative comment. The hop adds a little peppery note to it. Skip the 20 minute addition if you want it as close to style as possible. I may do that going forward and move the 60 min one to 40 or 30.

I'm an all grain brewer, but continue to do hefeweizen extract, with Breiss dme or lme. I just can't match the rich round flavor it produces, perhaps I'm using the wrong malts or need to start doing decoctions.

edit: I'm very picky with my hefeweizens, I've tried a lot of different variations, this one has been the best so far.

sendkyleanemail said:

That beer will ferment VERY quickly. Mine was in the keg and being served in two weeks.

I would't worry about secondary. Just primary till it's done, then give it a few days to clean up. Cooler temps will give more cloves and warmer temps will give more banana during ferment. It'll be plenty cloudy, either way.

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So you had your hefe in the fermenter for 2 weeks?
Bottling would not have that same quick turn around between fermenting and drinking, correct? You still need to wait a few weeks for carbonation to occur. Right?

I've got an extract hefe that is wrapping up fermentation right now. I wanted something with both clove and banana flavors so I tried to stay at 64 +/- 3 degrees. Trying to get as close to Gordon Biersch's Hefe as possible.

aplus01 said:

So you had your hefe in the fermenter for 2 weeks?
Bottling would not have that same quick turn around between fermenting and drinking, correct? You still need to wait a few weeks for carbonation to occur. Right?

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In my experience, you'll get a quicker carb with hefes. With a short primary time, a low flocculating yeast, and little need for conditioning, they should be done well before the traditional 3wk period.

sendkyleanemail said:

That beer will ferment VERY quickly. Mine was in the keg and being served in two weeks.

I would't worry about secondary. Just primary till it's done, then give it a few days to clean up. Cooler temps will give more cloves and warmer temps will give more banana during ferment. It'll be plenty cloudy, either way.

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Agree on the aggressive fermentation. Starts fast and lasts for a while. I usually let this one ferment in primary for about two weeks at no higher than 64 degrees, and rack to keg as soon as FG is stable. Carb for a week in refer and enjoy.

Guess which dumb butt used whirlfloc on his 1st Hefe? hahaha

Sweet, thanks for the input guys. I'm pretty excited about trying this one. Happy to have the secondary ferm issue cleared up.