Weissbier Bee Cave Brewery Bavarian Hefeweizen

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Dgonza9 said:
I also use a grain bag over my copper manifold. I think it makes stuck sparge essentially impossible, though I take other precautions as well. I highly recommend this technique.

I'm just crash cooling my Hefeweizen and it already tastes pretty nice. I set the fermentation chamber to 60 to get more clove flavors and it worked great. I I was fermenting in a sanke with a rubber coating on it so I figured the temp might spike and kept it a bit lower.

Great recipe.
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Smart technique! Have you experienced any downsides to employing the grainbag over the manifold? Any bunching, lower efficiency or slower runoff?

This batch gave me my most stuck sparge to date. Even with a 1/4 lb of rice hulls, i had to blow really hard several times into the ball valve on my tun
 
After I started double crushing my wheat I jumped from 69% right back up to about 79%. With the same recipe and mash schedule. Check your roller gap when crushing, wheat is smaller and doesn't get as complete a crush as barley does. I haven't had any mash problems at all with the hop sock, but it lies pretty flat on my domed false bottom, so someone else will have to speak up about how it works over a SS braid or manifold.
 
Brewed this a little over a month ago using Bavarian yeast, with 3 steps along the way and it turned out incredible.
 
Brewed this on July 2nd, bottled it on July 17th. 3 weeks in the bottle and it is absolutely delicious. I love hefe's and I would put this one up against any that I've had. I'm very happy with it. It is the best beer I've brewed.
 
Boleslaus said:
My crush from the LHBS was poor and I only got to 1.045, but it still smelled amazing.
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I had a low extract problem with mine, so low that I actually dumped some corn sugar into the boil. Even with the problems, mine turned out to be a superb Heffe, and is now gone, except for 6 bottles I am saving for upcoming competitions.

http://www.reedbrewing.com/p/polusweizen.html
 
I made this once and it was great. On my second attempt I wanted to try for a a crisper finish so I planned to mash at 150. I ended up with 149. However i forgot about the 90 min mash and only mashed for 60. Any thoughts on how this will end up?
 
Ok,so mine is finally ready in the bottle, only problem, it was crystal clear, nothing in suspension, it tasted and smelled great. Why would the yeast have fallen out ofvsuspension, ideas?
 
Otiluke said:
I made this once and it was great. On my second attempt I wanted to try for a a crisper finish so I planned to mash at 150. I ended up with 149. However i forgot about the 90 min mash and only mashed for 60. Any thoughts on how this will end up?
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Do you treat your water? Have you ever tried gypsum and/or calcium chloride to give a bit of bite?
 
No I haven't messed with my water. I was just thinking that lowering the mash temp would make it a bit dryer. I'm hoping for a nice crisp finish.
 
lemy said:
Your lhbs should have some gypsum. I think it really makes a difference, and actually creates that "crispness" you are talking about while maintaining a fuller body and mouthfeel.
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Any experience with using lactic acid or citric acid? I'm brewing after my little one goes to bed and I was debating adding a 1/4 tsp to the sparge.
 
Ed I would just like to say thanks for the recipe. My brew partners and I brew 15 gal. of your Hef. and just recently entered it into and brew competition called Timbers Army Homebrew Competition. We won first place in the Hefeweizen catagory with a second place overall. We now get to brew the beer at McMenamins 5 barrel system.
We also placed 1 lb of blueberry's from my backyard in 5 gallons of your hef. and won second place in the hef. group. The judges said that the blueberry hef. was a perfect example of what a fruit beer should taste. They said it was perfectly well balaced. Needless to say this years blueberry's are ready to pick to later be placed in yet another brew of your hef. recipe.

Thanks for letting other people take a chance on your nice recipe. If you want I would be happy to give you my imperial porter recipe which won in the peoples choice awards at the same brew competition.:) There was no catagory for the porter but some of the judges said it was quite suprisingly good.
 
Question... I bottled this on June 20. The taste has been pretty good, just not quite exactly what I was expecting. There's been something just a little "off." A friend brewer tried some today and said it tasted a bit astringent. I can see what he's saying - it's a bit sour, but not dry or sandpapery like wine can do. Does that make sense? I have no concerns about infection.

Some highlights:
OG 1.055 (boiled off too much, didn't top off)
FG 1.010
Mash 153F
Ferm Temp 72F
WLP 300

Bottle carbed to about 4 vols, if I remember correctly.


Any ideas, or am I actually closer to the target than I think?

Thanks!
 
CidahMastah said:
I recently did a rebrew on a hefe at 62-64F with regular pitching rates instead of going higher. I am much happier with the ending results.
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I have brewed this (approximate) recipe three times, the first time fermented at 62ºF, the next two times closer to 68ºF. I like the warmer ferment better, as the first batch had very little banana ester.

My latest batch is positively wonderful even though it only started at 11ºP, 1.044. Now I know to double-mill wheat malt.:rolleyes: A few notes on what I think makes this particular batch so great:
  • Single decoction, pretty vigorous
  • RO water, 5 gm CaCl2 and 0.5 gm CaSO4 in the mash
  • 1L starter at beginning of brewday
  • Oxygen for 1 minute
Mash pH was 5.6. I used Spalt Select leaf for bittering and .25oz Crystal @15 and @5 for 16 total IBU by Rager. Though it's only around 4.5%, the beer is totally flavorful, crisp, balanced, and with good head and lace at 4 weeks from brewday. I'd proudly put this beer up against any commercial, locally available hef (a Weihenstephaner or Live Oak in their native lands could maybe beat it).

IMG_0322.jpg


IMG_0323.jpg


IMG_0329.JPG
 
944play - thanks for the details - really appreciate it in my pursuit of hefe. I got my water report and have concluded that I need to start with distilled or RO if I want to go after the hefe I am looking for - so your information reinforces that thought.

I should clarify that I was using the 62-64F on WL 351. However, I do 10G batches, so next time I brew a hefe I will bounce back to 3068 and do 5g in @62 and 5G at 68F and compare each. Did you under pitch your hefe (i.e. I assume this was a 5g batch? so it looks like correct pitching rate) when you fermented at 68F to get more esters? My best results so far with teh WLP 351 was correct pitch rate and 62-64F. So using temp to stress the yeast.

I have finally started to bust out my ph meter to check my mashes so I can get some better idea of what is going on (though I haven't done this on a hefe yet).

I double crush my wheat too ;)

Looks like a tasty hefe! Would you say it has nice bbanana/vanilla finish liek FK hefe? Or more on the citrusy side?
 
CidahMastah said:
Would you say it has nice bbanana/vanilla finish liek FK hefe? Or more on the citrusy side?
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No citrus to speak of, just medium banana, rich Graham crackery malt, low clove, and carbonic bite from 19 psi serving pressure.
 
944play said:
I have brewed this (approximate) recipe three times, the first time fermented at 62ºF, the next two times closer to 68ºF. .
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Yep, if you want authentic Bavarian aroma & flavor, 68 degrees is the temp.

Congrats on a good beer!.
 
I fermented mine at lower, around 60-62, I think. My thinking was that the temperature in the fermenter might be as much as 6-8 degrees higher than the ambient temps. Plus, I was fermenting in one of those rubber encased sanke kegs.

The result is still very tasty. But a lot more clove flavor and less banana. I'll probably try it at 68 next time. Good beer, though.
 
944play said:
No citrus to speak of, just medium banana, rich Graham crackery malt, low clove, and carbonic bite from 19 psi serving pressure.
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This is exactly what I am looking for. I will give it a go your way next time and see what I can turn out!

Key changes are... water and ferment temp
 
MikeFallopian said:
What would the effects be if I were to substitute the pils for 2 row/Maris Otter, or Vienna?
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A different beer. It would have a much more bready characteristic.

It would not be a Bavarian Hefeweizen though, but it may be an interesting experiment.

If you want a true to form Bavarian Hefe, then don't do it.
 
MikeFallopian said:
What would the effects be if I were to substitute the pils for 2 row/Maris Otter, or Vienna?
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I brew mine with 2-row. It still turns out fantastic. I can't compare the two though since I haven't tried it with pils yet. I don't typically buy pils, so this is why I tried it with 2-row.

I'll tell you right now though, this is the closest I have ever come to a Live Oak Hef. Maybe they use 2-row?
 
Anyone on here use rahr malts for this recipe? German pilsner and German pale wheat are killing my budget as I work through some system tweaking. If so, how does it compare to the more expensive malts. I live near a northern brewer, so I can scoop out what I need for a recipe. But $12.50 for grain sounds a lot better than $19.00.
 
mcbethenstein said:
Anyone on here use rahr malts for this recipe? German pilsner and German pale wheat are killing my budget as I work through some system tweaking. If so, how does it compare to the more expensive malts. I live near a northern brewer, so I can scoop out what I need for a recipe. But $12.50 for grain sounds a lot better than $19.00.
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I don't see why that would be a problem. Are you using the 2-row? Or Pale?


I am not sure if it's Rahr, but I do use the 2-row that comes from my LHBS for this recipe. It is fantastic.

I say go for it.
 
Haputanlas said:
I don't see why that would be a problem. Are you using the 2-row? Or Pale?

I am not sure if it's Rahr, but I do use the 2-row that comes from my LHBS for this recipe. It is fantastic.

I say go for it.
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I'm undecided if I'm gonna use the regular 2-row or go with their pilsner. Both are stocked.

The reason I ask is that I know there can be huge variation from brand to brand and even within lots or years for any given malt. I don't have much experience with rahr outside of their 2-row, and at that I can't empirically say the beers I've made well were from the 2-row or from the other ingredients. I have no idea of the comparison between rahr's white wheat and the Weyermann German pale wheat.
 
I brewed this last night doubled everything for a 10 gal. batch and my OG is only 1.024. I think my mash temp only reached 150 due to a bad thermometer. Now its morning and I am looking for my next step to fix this. I have not pitched my yeast yet, but need to soon. Should I a) heat the wort and basically re-sparge the grains at 153 with my wort or b) add a couple of pounds of extract and boil the wort, cool and pitch. c) Add dextrose? All advice is welcomed.
 
Rman2012 said:
I brewed this last night doubled everything for a 10 gal. batch and my OG is only 1.024. I think my mash temp only reached 150 due to a bad thermometer. Now its morning and I am looking for my next step to fix this. I have not pitched my yeast yet, but need to soon. Should I a) heat the wort and basically re-sparge the grains at 153 with my wort or b) add a couple of pounds of extract and boil the wort, cool and pitch. c) Add dextrose? All advice is welcomed.
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I would just boil this down to a volume that has the correct SG. It's better to have a smaller volume of the beer you want than the full volume of a different beer.
 
I gave half the batch to a friend and he already pitched the yeast. Should he do the same and re-pitch?
 
Rman2012 said:
I brewed this last night doubled everything for a 10 gal. batch and my OG is only 1.024.
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What temp did you take the gravity at? And was it before or after the boil? If it was 150 deg the real OG would be 1.043. Which would be fine for the style....
 
I don't have time to make a starter for this batch... One wyeast packet or two for this brew? Just curious.
 
Rman2012 said:
I brewed this last night doubled everything for a 10 gal. batch and my OG is only 1.024. I think my mash temp only reached 150 due to a bad thermometer. Now its morning and I am looking for my next step to fix this. I have not pitched my yeast yet, but need to soon. Should I a) heat the wort and basically re-sparge the grains at 153 with my wort or b) add a couple of pounds of extract and boil the wort, cool and pitch. c) Add dextrose? All advice is welcomed.
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Get you some lacto and make a berliner weisse. :rockin:

Seriously, that's what I would do.
 

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