Hefeweizen Yeast to Harvest From Commercial Bottle

Does anybody know of any American/German Wheat Beers (Hefeweizen) that use the primary strain in bottling? I despise purchasing yeast and get a kick out of harvesting it. I am looking for a hefe yeast with banana/clove/bubblegum character for a refreshing summertime hefe and a possible weizenbock.

I don't want neutral yeast from some crappy beer like oberon or widmer american wheat (I can't call it hefe).

I think that hefe isn't filtered, henceforth the cloudiness. Any good german hef will have the yeast slurry at the bottom

djsethall said:

I think that hefe isn't filtered, henceforth the cloudiness. Any good german hef will have the yeast slurry at the bottom

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While its true that german weizens aren't filtered, they are usually pastuerized and then a 2nd yeast is added back at bottling along with some unfermented wort to induce carbonation. That being said, I don't know which weizens may have the primary strain in the bottle.

If you can get it, Live Oak's Heffe has a killer strain in it that I have used for great results. Its a true blue Bavarian strain. I think that beer is only available on tap and growler fills in Texas though. SOrry guess im no help

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis. It's a beast, too! I'm using it in a Hefe as we speak.

SN Kellerweis for sure.

Schneider Weisse and Gutmann Hefeweizen are the most popular ones to harvest from in Germany.

Cheers

wedge421 said:

If you can get it, Live Oak's Heffe has a killer strain in it that I have used for great results. Its a true blue Bavarian strain. I think that beer is only available on tap and growler fills in Texas though. SOrry guess im no help

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This is a big help as I live in Texas and can get growlers of this fairly easily....

Hmm.. I may need to harvest the yeast from their Primus also...