Weissbier Bee Cave Brewery Bavarian Hefeweizen

i am drinking a glass of this right now and it is delicious. it is my second all grain batch and i am surprised how well it turned out. less than 24 hours after i pitched the yeast, my entire apartment reeked of rotten eggs. i left it alone, it mellowed out, and now it tastes great!

Amesanite said:

Just made a 1.5 gal batch of this. It smelled so good. Overshot my OG and hit 1.060. It'll be a little out of style but I hope it's still yummy. Will the extra 1% alcohol effect the taste a lot?

Many thanks for the recipe sir!

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Nah, you're good. Rdwahahb!

I'm curious though. What kind of setup do you have that you only do 1.5 gallon batches?

Rahahb said:

Nah, you're good. Rdwahahb!

I'm curious though. What kind of setup do you have that you only do 1.5 gallon batches?

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2 gal pales and that's about it. I seem to have a lot of hobbies that fizzle out so I didn't want to invest a lot for new pots and carboys and such. Also this gives me the ability to try more new things and if one sucks I won't feel as bad dumping it.

Plus I don't drink a whole lot (for now)

If I can't get Mt. Hood, which should I substitute with?

Was wondering if I could use white wheat in place of german wheat. Its all I can find around here.

Thanks

I used white wheat the first time and it was just fine.

Loodachris said:

I used white wheat the first time and it was just fine.

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Thanks

Just finished drinking the first bottle of this recipe. Brewed a month ago as my second AG batch (2nd batch ever that is). I must say this is an excellent beer. I will definitely be adding this to my list of beers to brew again and again.

Great job Edwort! Next time I'm out towards Austin, I may have to track you down just to shake your hand!

Can't forget the beer porn!

Everytime I brew this, everyone, even non beer drinkers love it. Even the SWMBO loves it!

I couldn't help it. After only a week In the bottle I had to try it and wow I really like it already. Some banana flavors present and damn smooth with a nice well rounded body.

This work if I used tettnang instead of hallertau? Got about a pound to use up so im looking for options.

I am planning on picking some ingredients up today. It looks like my LHBS has American Red Wheat, German light wheat, and German dark wheat. Which should I buy?

form those options, German light - American White wheat is my favorite, though

Great looking hefe!!! I just pitched 24 hours ago with a 1.5L starter, was a little low at 1.050 OG, and I am disappointed I havent got the crazy fermentation everyone talks about. At 12 hours it was bubbling very quickly and it now has slowed a little and is just quietly bubbling away. My ambient is 63 but my fermometer has now quit on me and wont give me a reading of course so im not sure of actual temp. I was just hoping for fireworks but only got a sparkler, oh well, as long as it turns out.

It has been a while since I've done a hefe. Its easy to get burned out on them. Since this is a popular and big thread, I thought I'd introduce this idea here...

Has anyone done an open or semi-open top hefe fermentation? Seems to me that allowing the yeast to breathe better instead of exhaling only could be better when are dealing with a fermentation where there are excessive sulfides out-gassing.

Thoughts?

Brewed this up on Sunday. Made a 1.2 Liter starter and converted a wine fridge into a fermenting chamber with a temperature regulator. First time using a starter and first time being able to regulate the fermenting temperature. Hit my target gravity. This fermented like crazy in less than 24 hours. I used a blow off with a pint glass half filled with water thinking that would be enough...nope...glass filled up with junk and overflowed...smells amazing though. This one is going to turn out great. So pumped.

So 9 days into fermentation (tonight) I decided to check my gravity since I still have a steady bubble every 12 seconds (I guess mine is going to take a little longer than 10 days). When I opened the lid...I got the dreaded whiff of sulfur I have heard so many have said they've gotten. It was pretty strong. It tasted a bit sulfur-like as well.

Those who have had this problem, did it age out? Should I let it sit a little longer in the fermenter?

My guess is that the sulfur is from too high of a fermentation temperature. I put the bucket in the fermentation chamber which I set to 68 but when I pitched the yeast the wort was at 72. So I think it may have been too warm for the first 24 hours which was when the most vigorous fermentation happened. By the second day it was down to 66 which is where it has been for the past week.

I am on my 6th batch of this recipe and each and every time I have had that taste and smell for at least a month either in the bottles or keg. I thought it was all gone and decided to enter it into my first competition and each judge made a comment about the smell. After looking into some brewing books I finally picked up the brewers companion and tried the german 2 step decoction method for german beers and I can say that now 8 days fermenting at 70 degrees I can't smell the usual sulfur and the color I was trying to get with using specialty grains I got with just doing a 50/50 grain bill. Hope this one turns out and if so my 4 hour brew day will now turn into a 7-8 hour brew day which i'm ok with

"Sulfur is commonly produced, but will dissipate with conditioning." This is from Wyeast's website. This is a good sign I hope. I'm thinking I might rack to a secondary and let it cold condition for a week or so before I keg to try and get rid of the sulfur. On second thought, I didn't give the beer a good taste and the overpowering smell might have tricked me into believing the beer had a sulfur taste to it. There was a decent amount of head space so it is a possibility that the sulfur was just lingering in the head space and not necessarily in the beer. I'm trying to be optimistic here! Regardless I think it will benefit from a little secondary conditioning. I was just hoping to drink this sooner than later! I guess I can wait another week.

allhailRITTER said:

My guess is that the sulfur is from too high of a fermentation temperature. I put the bucket in the fermentation chamber which I set to 68 but when I pitched the yeast the wort was at 72. So I think it may have been too warm for the first 24 hours which was when the most vigorous fermentation happened. By the second day it was down to 66 which is where it has been for the past week.

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What was your pitch rate? Mine ended up fermenting around 73 and may have hit 74 for the first two days then dropped down to 68 and hit fg at 72 hours so I bottled after 7 days. I had a slight sulfur smell around day 3 but it quickly went away and I ended up with a lot of banana which is what I wanted. After reading a lot of this thread, I am not sure anyone has pinpointed exactly the cause. I over pitched mine not knowing with a 1.5L starter.

coyote85 said:

What was your pitch rate? Mine ended up fermenting around 73 and may have hit 74 for the first two days then dropped down to 68 and hit fg at 72 hours so I bottled after 7 days. I had a slight sulfur smell around day 3 but it quickly went away and I ended up with a lot of banana which is what I wanted. After reading a lot of this thread, I am not sure anyone has pinpointed exactly the cause. I over pitched mine not knowing with a 1.5L starter.

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I pitched a 1.2L starter. I wonder if there is no actual cause other than it is just the nature of the yeast since Wyeast states it occurs in this strain. Maybe more people have had the sulfur smell but it dissipated before they noticed or certain circumstances makes it more prominent. Either way, after researching more it sounds as though it will benefit from an additional week and a half (3 weeks total) in the primary to let the yeasts naturally eat away any of the sulfur nasties.

I get the sulfur smell with the wyeast 3068 and the white labs 300 but then again my LHBS says it's the exact same yeast strain. I usually keg or bottle around the week and a half time so maybe I'll keep it in the carboy a bit longer to see if that helps.

idrinkstuffnthings said:

This work if I used tettnang instead of hallertau? Got about a pound to use up so im looking for options.

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I made this recipe yesterday as a 3g BIAB and subbed tettnang for hallertau. I think it should be fine.

Just pulled my last pint of this today, it's a damn shame too. I've got another one brewed but it's got another week before I can keg it. Damn good stuff this!

allhailRITTER said:

So 9 days into fermentation (tonight) I decided to check my gravity since I still have a steady bubble every 12 seconds (I guess mine is going to take a little longer than 10 days). When I opened the lid...I got the dreaded whiff of sulfur I have heard so many have said they've gotten. It was pretty strong. It tasted a bit sulfur-like as well.

Those who have had this problem, did it age out? Should I let it sit a little longer in the fermenter?

My guess is that the sulfur is from too high of a fermentation temperature. I put the bucket in the fermentation chamber which I set to 68 but when I pitched the yeast the wort was at 72. So I think it may have been too warm for the first 24 hours which was when the most vigorous fermentation happened. By the second day it was down to 66 which is where it has been for the past week.

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So I just kegged this today. I decided to just leave the beer go in the primary for a total of 3 weeks and I am happy to report that there is no trace of sulfur anywhere! Looks like it just needed a little time to age out. Can't wait to taste this.

Just tapped the keg last night and I must say, HOLY SMOKIES! Will definitely be putting this recipe in rotation... thanks for the recipe, quick and easy. Excellent for new AG brewers like myself

Has anyone experienced the strong sulfur/yeast smell even after kegging? I kegged this beer on Sunday, after 10 days of fermentation. Everything went well, I hit all my numbers. Used a starter, ambient temp during fermentation was 66*, used Wyeast 3068.
I noticed the smell in the sample I took the day I kegged it, but assumed it was fresh out of the carboy and just carrying over. I pulled a little sample after 48 hours in the keg and the smell hit me as soon as I opened the tap. The taste is great, getting a little more clove than banana, definitely no sulfur taste.
I'm rushing it a little as I need to serve it in 4 more days to guests. I just hope the smell doesn't turn everyone off.

abledsoe said:

Has anyone experienced the strong sulfur/yeast smell even after kegging? I kegged this beer on Sunday, after 10 days of fermentation. Everything went well, I hit all my numbers. Used a starter, ambient temp during fermentation was 66*, used Wyeast 3068.
I noticed the smell in the sample I took the day I kegged it, but assumed it was fresh out of the carboy and just carrying over. I pulled a little sample after 48 hours in the keg and the smell hit me as soon as I opened the tap. The taste is great, getting a little more clove than banana, definitely no sulfur taste.
I'm rushing it a little as I need to serve it in 4 more days to guests. I just hope the smell doesn't turn everyone off.

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I think a lot of people have had the sulfur issue, as stated on Wyeast's website, this strain has the tendency to produce sulfur smells. I think if sulfur smells are present you have to give it a little more time in the primary to age out. I just did this batch for the first time and had a very prominent sulfur smell at the 10 day mark. I ended up leaving it in the primary for a total of 3 weeks and the smell was non-existent when I kegged it.

So I am on my 7th batch of this and each time with minor adjustments to the recipe and how I brew. What I can say is this last time I did a 2 step decoction mash, added all the hops at 60 minutes and did not force carbonate the keg this time and WOW what a difference! I was almost going to give up on this one with the sulfur smell even at 4 weeks but after a visit to my LHBS with a couple bottles for them to try and doing the above changes per their request I am really satisfied now. I paired my latest batch up against a bottle of Weihenstephan and it is pretty much exact and even my neighbors couldn't tell the difference before I told them. I am a happy camper now and my one and only tap on my fridge is fully dedicated to this beer. At 1.5 weeks in the keg I now have about a gallon left and have to do another 8 hour brew day again this Sunday. I used the 2 step German decoction mash style in the Brewers Companion book I got off Ebay and so far was a great investment.

allhailRITTER said:

I think a lot of people have had the sulfur issue, as stated on Wyeast's website, this strain has the tendency to produce sulfur smells. I think if sulfur smells are present you have to give it a little more time in the primary to age out. I just did this batch for the first time and had a very prominent sulfur smell at the 10 day mark. I ended up leaving it in the primary for a total of 3 weeks and the smell was non-existent when I kegged it.

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Exactly the same for me. I've made this 3 times now and it has happened every time.

allhailRITTER said:

I think a lot of people have had the sulfur issue, as stated on Wyeast's website, this strain has the tendency to produce sulfur smells. I think if sulfur smells are present you have to give it a little more time in the primary to age out. I just did this batch for the first time and had a very prominent sulfur smell at the 10 day mark. I ended up leaving it in the primary for a total of 3 weeks and the smell was non-existent when I kegged it.

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Thanks for the help. Unfortunately mine is already in the keg. Hopefully with time it will lessen, good to know for the next batch.

abledsoe said:

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately mine is already in the keg. Hopefully with time it will lessen, good to know for the next batch.

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I've had a cider batch that I kegged with a strong sulfur smell still present. The odor did not really die down with time in the keg. I've heard people have had good luck with continuously purge the headspace after the beer has been carbed.

Tapped this this weekend. It is absolutely delicious. Very refreshing. I will definitely be repeating this recipe.

Tapped this yesterday and it turned out great! My wife loved it. I hit all my numbers, fermented for 14 days at 68 in my new new fermentation chamber. Got a real nice banana flavor with no sulfur at all. Definitely a keeper. I used German Red Wheat and Canadian Pilsen (all my LHBS had) and everything else as the original recipe calls for. Great summer beer.

Hello all. Im going to be making this in the morning. I forgot to make a starter with a WL300 yeast. I get home from night shift at 9 am. Would it be worth it to make a starter and pitch about 8 hours later?? Or could i get away with just pitching the vial? Any input is appreciated, Thanks!

Well this is a sad day. Dunno what went wrong. Got an OG of 1.042. Never been off by more then a point or 2. Same setup, same grind, same everything. Dunno what happened. Is wheat beer harder to get good efficiency? This is my first one. Ah well. As long as it tastes good I guess a 4.5% beer is alright

idrinkstuffnthings said:

Well this is a sad day. Dunno what went wrong. Got an OG of 1.042. Never been off by more then a point or 2. Same setup, same grind, same everything. Dunno what happened. Is wheat beer harder to get good efficiency? This is my first one. Ah well. As long as it tastes good I guess a 4.5% beer is alright

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Same thing happen to me on second batch. Did everything just like the first except I overshot my volume. Still gonna taste great though

I brewed this up a few weeks ago, got zero banana out of it, actually tastes just like Leffe (?). Fermented at 68...maybe I'll up the temp next time.

Brewing this again this weekend. It's been a summer staple in my keezer for several years now.