Weissbier Bee Cave Brewery Bavarian Hefeweizen

A glass from the keg at home:

Just have to say that I followed this recipe to a "T" and ended up getting 3rd place in the Weizen category at a local homebrew competition! The only negative comment from the judges was that it was a little lacking in body - I found out later that my thermometer was reading too high by about 2* F, so I mashed slightly lower than the target. Also, I would highly recommend a protein rest. I think if I had a little higher mash temp and had done a protein rest, this would have taken 1st.

Still, add that to the wealth of proof that this is a great, simple recipe! Thanks Ed!

My batch was a hit as well with the guys this memorial day weekend. one keg down, dent in the second. It was great, I would get us a pitcher of the stuff off the tap with orange in it and we all just relaxed on the deck. Bottomless glass.

I ahve one very picky friend in particular who I thought would go back to his standard.... He met the hefe head on.

doctorRobert said:

Let us know how it tastes. I'm not surprised that it will ferment, but what kind of flavor is it going to produce? I haven't gotten great flavor from washed hefe yeast.

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I've been holding my breath for a long time. Finally kegged it last week, and now the results are in.................

And it is damn good! Very bavarian, very smooth, great hefe flavor. I was scared but it's turned out great! Only negative is piss poor head retention. But really, who cares?

Thanks Ed!

duffman2 said:

I've been holding my breath for a long time. Finally kegged it last week, and now the results are in.................

And it is damn good! Very bavarian, very smooth, great hefe flavor. I was scared but it's turned out great! Only negative is piss poor head retention. But really, who cares?

Thanks Ed!

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That's enough for me to know to give it a try! Thanks for posting back

When I put an orange slice in - the head disappears anyway

Yeah I was really worried about my year old hefe yeast, but it worked out just fine. The smell is slightly funky but I'm pretty sure that's totally in style with this. And once again, it goes down real smooth.

The only beer I've done with this was an American wheat last year so this is different and maybe the yeast might be better off fresh, but it fermented great and like I said, the proof is in the beer and the beer tastes great

duffman2 said:

Yeah I was really worried about my year old hefe yeast, but it worked out just fine. The smell is slightly funky but I'm pretty sure that's totally in style with this. And once again, it goes down real smooth.

The only beer I've done with this was an American wheat last year so this is different and maybe the yeast might be better off fresh, but it fermented great and like I said, the proof is in the beer and the beer tastes great

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I did this hefe with new yeast and met the proper ferment temps 68-71 ish - it still had a slightly sulfur smell that went away. This was my second hefe, first was an american hefe. Each one initially had a sulfur smell so I think that is part of the yeast struggling to break down the wheat sugars.

But I could just be talking out my....

Cool. I don't remember that being the case with my american wheat last year but it's been a whole year so who knows.

But I did have to tell my guinea pig (brother) to hold back on the sniffing part of the beer because I thought that it throws you off as to how good it tastes. He asked me why and I told him that I thought the smell was all part of the yeast's style.

But I thought I was pretty much talking out my.........

So, I hope it goes away soon. I have a group of friends coming by this weekend for samples

I made this with red wheat, and I cannot drink it. Does red wheat taste totally different than regular wheat? I am thinking about dumping this batch, I obviously did something wrong

Made a Centennial Blonde today. I just increased the Vienna malt from 1/2# to 1#. We'll see how that comes out. It's probably a negligible change but you never know. Bottled my Pink Elephant clone last night.

idigg said:

I made this with red wheat, and I cannot drink it. Does red wheat taste totally different than regular wheat? I am thinking about dumping this batch, I obviously did something wrong

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I read somewhere in here that ed uses red wheat. How old is your brew? Don;t dump it just yet! Describe the flavors that you don't like.

duffman2 said:

I have a group of friends coming by this weekend for samples

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Well, my "group of friends" came by late Friday night and we had a couple before bed. Then on Saturday we smoked ribs all day while we had a few more. Then one of the girls came out and with a very sad look on her face she told me that it was all gone.

This was the first keg that we have ever kicked that fast! It was a big hit and is already being "requested" for a wedding next fall.

Amazing

Just thought I would offer this up. In my quest with the hefe style I went back and found the dunkelweizen episode from the brewing network. One notable difference I found there was the ferment temp.

According to Jamil 62F is the money spot for the ferment temp to get both clove and banana in the right amount for hefe's and dunkelweizen. He also says that you should pitch the correct amount of yeast.

Has anyone tried this recipe at 62F?

CidahMastah said:

Just thought I would offer this up. In my quest with the hefe style I went back and found the dunkelweizen episode from the brewing network. One notable difference I found there was the ferment temp.

According to Jamil 62F is the money spot for the ferment temp to get both clove and banana in the right amount for hefe's and dunkelweizen. He also says that you should pitch the correct amount of yeast.

Has anyone tried this recipe at 62F?

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I am fermenting a very similar recipe right now at 62. I pitched at hybrid rates using mr malty calculator.

rack04 said:

I am fermenting a very similar recipe right now at 62. I pitched at hybrid rates using mr malty calculator.

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Would you mind posting back, or PMing me your results?

I liked this hefe recipe, so don't get me wrong. But mine came out crisp with some light almost acidity/dryness and really no clove or banana - which I thought was what the style shot for. I was dead on with ferment temps at like 68-69F for the duration. Still a bready hefe, great with an orange. However I didn't feel I hit the style on the nose, like something was lacking.

I would be really interested to see the difference. Either way I will have to try it myself at some point.

CidahMastah said:

I liked this hefe recipe, so don't But mine came out crisp with some light almost acidity/dryness and really no clove or banana - which I thought was what the style shot for. I was dead on with ferment temps at like 68-69F for the duration. Still a bready hefe, great with an orange. However I didn't feel I hit the style on the nose, like something was lacking.

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Could that flavor profile be the type of yeast you are using?

mistercameron said:

Could that flavor profile be the type of yeast you are using?

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I don't think so, I used wyeast 3068 (the recc yeast).

"The classic and most popular German wheat beer strain used worldwide. This yeast strain produces a beautiful and delicate balance of banana esters and clove phenolics. The balance can be manipulated towards ester production through increasing the fermentation temperature, increasing the wort density, and decreasing the pitch rate. Over pitching can result in a near complete loss of banana character. Decreasing the ester level will allow a higher clove character to be perceived. Sulfur is commonly produced, but will dissipate with conditioning. This strain is very powdery and will remain in suspension for an extended amount of time following attenuation. This is true top cropping yeast and requires fermenter headspace of 33%. "

I did a 10G batch and used either a 2 cup cup starter or a single package (have to check my notes).

I should say, I got some light clove and light banana - but the crisp dryness or acidity wins out. I feel putting in an orange slice is pretty much a requirement. That said my batch is not quite 4 weeks old. I am wondering if this will be similar to my blood orange hefe that I really started to like at about 4-6 weeks.

I have this one still in primary with White Labs WLP300. LHBS doesn't carry Wyeast and I went with WLP300 over 380 to get more banana than just clove. I don't have the best temp control - stick it in the closet - but the carboy temp has help pretty consistently at 72° for the last 5 days. That's still in range for the yeast, albeit on the high end. OG came out to 1.055.

I'll let you know how it comes out once I start taking readings for FG. I'm pretty optimistic.

So I just cracked open my version of this beer. Its AMAZING! By far the best beer I've made to date! And that's after only 5 days carbing. My grain bill was slightly different and I used WLP300, but I followed the hop schedule. I also did a multi-step mash with a protein rest. I am so excited... I've only had one and I am already plotting to brew this exact recipe again... But try open fermenting for that extra touch of authenticity. This one is a winner!

How fast from grain to glass?

ennis2000000000 said:

How fast from grain to glass?

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it is definitely drinkable at 2 weeks with some oranges (we killed a keg quickly using orange slices in a pitcher on memorial day). I am wondering if by week 4-6 it will be peaking.

That was my experience with it anyway

My personal experience - fermented 10 days, bottled, cracked one open after 1 week and it was definitely drinkable. However, I think it peaked around 3-4 weeks in the bottle. YMMV.

CidahMastah, I have been having the same problem with my all grain Hefe's, there is just something "off" with the flavor. I dont have the problem with any of my other all grain batches or when using Extract for my hefe's but just havent quite hit the nail on the head with this one. I also am fermenting at 66-68 for the duration and using same ingredients, mash schedule etc.. One thing that has got me wondering is that I usually pitch at about 74 degrees, maybe with 3068 this is too high to pitch at even though I drop ferment temp down shortly after.. Any thoughts?

mxwrench said:

CidahMastah, I have been having the same problem with my all grain Hefe's, there is just something "off" with the flavor. I dont have the problem with any of my other all grain batches or when using Extract for my hefe's but just havent quite hit the nail on the head with this one. I also am fermenting at 66-68 for the duration and using same ingredients, mash schedule etc.. One thing that has got me wondering is that I usually pitch at about 74 degrees, maybe with 3068 this is too high to pitch at even though I drop ferment temp down shortly after.. Any thoughts?

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After digging in and reading a lot of stuff on hefe's there is a couple key changes that will happen next time around for me (hopefully this weekend).
1. FERMENT TEMP
2. Yeast pitch size: Will use 20-25g yeast or a 3 liter starter for a 10g batch (previously used 1.5L as per recc. amount from various people)

I am going to do my darndest to ferment at 62-64F with the correct amount of yeast pitched. It seems that everyone who really has had unreal results is using the lower temp with great success.

I plan on making those two changes and redoing the blood orange hefe this weekend (I preferred this recipe over the regular bavarian hefe).

My homebrew club held an officially unofficial hefe competition at our last meeting. 12 entries, I took 3rd with this recipe.

Fermented for 11 days, and was in the bottle for 5 weeks.

Ceedubya said:

My homebrew club held an officially unofficial hefe competition at our last meeting. 12 entries, I took 3rd with this recipe.

Fermented for 11 days, and was in the bottle for 5 weeks.

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You did 68F ferment as noted in the recipe?

So I tried this recipe this past Sunday. I have never done a wheat before, but thought nothing of it, until I mashed...

I ended up with 60% efficiency, which is really really really bad. I ended up putting in a half pound DME and a half pound Dextrose in order to get my OG up to 1.052.

My PH was between 5-6 I typically mash around 75%. I use the grain mill at a local brewery that I have suspected of not crushing as it should. I have seen too many unbroken kernels as compared to the results of other mills I have used.

what are the other things I should be looking at?

This is a discussion for another thread, but here ya go anyway..

Your crush is definitely one, but here are some things that I have messed with and have gone from low 60's in efficiency to a consistent 82-85 %:

- Are you using a false bottom in your MLT? Manifold? S/S braid? I was originally using a 20" stainless steel braid in a 10 gallon gatorade cooler. I had it configured in a loop initially, thinking that this would help lautering for some reason.. After doing a HUGE mash many months ago, I noticed my braid was developing some large holes, so I cut it down to 12" and installed it in a straight line (like in FlyGuy's build). I immediately noticed an increase from low 60's in eff up to mid 70's. So, no matter your setup, my personal opinion is to look at how you are lautering.

- Do mash-outs. The effect that mash-outs have on eff is debatable, but when I started hitting mash-out temperatures (during my sparge, just heat your first batch up to ~195, add, stir, sit 10 mins, sparge), I saw another jump up in eff to around 80%.

- If you're batch sparging, try splitting your sparge into 2 equal batches. This final change saw my efficiency jump into the low to mid 80's.

YMMV. You're setup likely differs a lot from mine, and I think more than anything else time and experience in using it helped bump up my efficiency. And as always, make sure you hit mash temperatures, give it adequate time to convert, do an iodine test, etc. I used the above methods and hit about 83% efficiency with the exact recipe mentioned. My crush is good from my LHBS, which does make a big difference.

You are right, I should have posted to a different thread, but thanks for your response.

I don't get the braided line circle configuration issue, did the holes cause channels in the grain bed?

I use a silicone strainer in an igloo cooler for a false bottom.

It was the loop configuration itself that I think contributed to channeling, as I never had good eff with that setup even when the braid was free of larger holes.

bergman1118 said:

It was the loop configuration itself that I think contributed to channeling, as I never had good eff with that setup even when the braid was free of larger holes.

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So you believe channeling is what was causing the low efficiency? I can see if there were large holes, but I don't get why a loop would cause that.

I have been in denial about my mash equipment I guess, but my poor efficiency is making me realize I need to make a change.

Thanks again for your input.

Ok, this is my last hijacking of this thread! :cross:

I can't say for sure whether the loop configuration caused channeling or what - all I know is that it was not conducive to my efficiency! I can only speculate as to why this is, but in any case it indicates that anyone looking to improve efficiency should look at their lautering method.

CidahMastah said:

You did 68F ferment as noted in the recipe?

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Yep, right at 68, had exactly what I was looking for!

I used white wheat instead of german wheat for this recipe. I pull my first pint off the keg. I fermented for 10 days and it has been carbing for 5. My beer is pretty white, is that normal being this fresh? Or does it have to do with the type of wheat I used? It still tasted pretty good. Maybe it is from all of the yeast still in suspension.

Brewed this today. Thanks for the heads up on the blowoff tube. That yeast is a monster.

ugaant said:

Brewed this today. Thanks for the heads up on the blowoff tube. That yeast is a monster.

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I am 7 days into primary at 65F and I'm still bubbling. BeerSmith says the yeast has a max of 68.5% attenuation. At day 7 I am down from 1.052 to 1.016, which is 68.1%. I'm hoping to get at least 2 more points.

Sorry, slightly off topic- but...Anyone have the problem of losing flavor superfast with this beer? I am wondering if that's just normal, or if there is something I can fix. My brew day was text-book. I did a multistep mash with protein rest, and the boiling and chilling went as expected. I did get a "low" efficiency at 69%. I had planned to ferment in the basement at 60 deg after it took off. So my plastic bucket fermenter was in 75+ ambient temp for ~ a day, then down to 60. Fermentation really slowed, so after 3 or 4 days I brought it back upstairs and it took off again. I left the beer in primary for almost 3 weeks before bottling. After 5 days carbing, this was the BEST beer I've made yet. Huge banana flavor, nice clove finish. And now 2 weeks later it is losing flavor fast, almost a bit of sulphur taste. What could be my problem. I know there are a few things I might be able to fix... One of them being the odd shaped bottles I used. They were hard to cap properly, cause the necks were not standard. I will try regular bottles and O2 absorbing caps next time. What else? Was my fermentation temp swings too much? Did I leave on the trub/yeast too long? Help! My beer is not bad by any means, it's just not as good as it was.

mistercameron and Rack04 - do you guys have any info to report back on your batches?

Rack04
"am fermenting a very similar recipe right now at 62. I pitched at hybrid rates using mr malty calculator."

mistercameron
"but the carboy temp has help pretty consistently at 72° for the last 5 days."

CidahMastah said:

mistercameron
"but the carboy temp has help pretty consistently at 72° for the last 5 days."

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I bottled on Monday... samples from the FG reading was pretty tasty. The WLP300 gave me decent banana but not overpowering. There's a good amount of clove aroma as well. It's a well-balanced Hef for my tastes.

Crap - those pics are of my blood orange hefe and not the bavarian!

Sorry guys, wrong thread