Cloudy Heffe Weiss

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FaanPret

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Hi,

I entered my first competion with my Heffe Weiss this weekend and scored a 32, which translates to Very Good but with some flawes. One of the flawes the judges reported on was the bear was to cloudy/hazy for the style - apparently to much suppended protiens.

How do I reduce amount of protiens in the beer? Will it help if I do a protein rest during Mashing?



Thanks

Faan
 
Often I've seen suspended yeast as a problem. Using only malt based ingredients, I have found, make a pretty clear beer. Hefeweizens are different, however, as you know, the wheat causes natural cloudiness. Specifically I am referring to candi (beet or cane) sugar, which, because it is a different kind of sugar, cause yeast haze.
 
Bad advise above (WTF does candi sugar have to do with the OP's question), and a pretty silly judge comment as well.

The Hefe style is supposed to be cloudy, with suspended wheat protein and suspended yeast. The main flavor of the beer comes from those very factors. I don't really think you can have "too much" as long as it is all coming from the natural process. 200-300 year old German/Bavarian brewery Hefe recipes are uber cloudy coming out of the tap, with plenty of haze. In Germany, the breweries often package hefes upside down and deliver kegs of hefes upside down, so the consumer/bar is forced to turn it rightside up and suspend the yeast and wheat protein inside, improving the taste of the beer.

Anyway, don't worry too much about it. That judge gave you bad advise. He may have meant something else, or may be an inexperienced judge who just didn't know what he was talking about.

Also DON'T follow the advise above. Hefes should NOT have extended conditioning. I don't even know what the "use malt-based ingredients" suggestion means, so ignore that. DO NOT use Whirlfloc or other finings in a Hefe. DO NOT do a protein rest with a Hefe.

I think you are probably A-OK, and this judge just gave you some confusing advice. Was he an experienced BJCP judge, or maybe a newbie or even non-sanctioned judge?

What I always do is stick the auto-siphon right down into the yeast cake when I'm racking to the keg/bottling bucket. I don't make any special effort to transfer yeast cake and wheat proteins, but I don't rack above the yeast cake layer either. Sometimes I'll also just give the fermenter a nice couple swirls to suspend some of the yeast cake/wheat protein. About a good 5-10% of that yeast cake/trub layer should end up in your keg/bottling bucket.

Good luck!
 
Well, you could really have "too much" cloudiness. It should be cloudy, but it shouldn't look like pond water. Do you agree with the judges assessment?

Personally, I like a light yeast taste that doesn't overpower the wheat. I've found that if my fermentation is in the 2 week range and I don't do anything to purposely clear the beer, then it is about the right level. If I get busy and it ends up sitting in the fermenter much longer than that, I'll kick up a little yeast before packaging.

Personally, I like a 15 minute protein rest at the low end of the range. That still leaves enough protein for the body. You don't want to overdo it.
 
Thanks for the advise.

I can't comment on the judge's experience since I don't know them and it was my first comp.

I think my was WAY more cloudy than the 1 weiss that outscored me.

My Weiss was voted best Weiss in the people's choice though :)
 
I bottled my first hefeweizen sooner than I normally do with my other ales (because everyone says you can go grain-to-glass quickly with a hefe, right?) and I ended up with a lot more crud in the bottom of my bottles than I wanted - like 3/8 of an inch. It made the beer look and taste dull when I allowed the sediment to pour into my glass, as I would with a commercial hefe. In my experience, if I age/package a hefe as I would a normal American ale, the beer will still be appropriately hazy and there will still be plenty of yeast in the bottom once the bottles carbonate - about the same amount as in a commercial hefe bottle. I wouldn't purposely carry extra yeast and protein into the bottles, but that's just me.
 
Thought it odd as well. How do you get judged "too cloudy" on a beer that's supposed to be cloudy? :drunk:

Unless there were big chunks of stuff like yeast rafts floating all over the place. But I'm guessing that's not the case here.

Gary
 
What is a hefeweizen if it you don't drink it mit hefe? Yeasty is the goal.

The only thing I can think is that the judge thought it was a chill haze issue and not the yeast.
 
I've had hefeweizens come out clearer that I would have liked, personally; never "too cloudy". Of course, I wasn't rushing it along, either (not to imply that's what the OP did). All my brews spend 2 weeks in the primary and, if they're aging longer than that (which is rare), they are transferred to another vessel. This is usually plenty of time for yeast and any break/hop material to settle out.

I just can't imagine saying a hefe was too cloudy unless it was like a yeast smoothie (and I've had the first pull off a keg of hefe come out that way, too).

Cheers! :mug:
 
I am pissed that my Hefe CLEARED while in bottles. I make sure to leave some beer in the bottle and swirl up the yeast before I finish my pour. My hefe's have to be cloudy or I feel cheated!!! Bad advice from the judge.
 
Why? I was under the impression it was normal to do one.

Most wheat malt we use is highly modified, so a protein rest isn't only unnecessary, it can actually be detrimental to the body and foam retention.

A short protein rest usually won't hurt much, but if it's not necessary why bother? :)
 
The problem was the judge, not your beer and the judges rank/experience level should be under his/her name. There should also be contact info for you to email for clarification if you want it.

ImE most judges may not remember your beer but will offer a reply to direct questions.

Personally you got a great score and if the people voted best kudos to you and your overly cloudy Hefe!
 
Here's a Widmer's Hefewiezen commercial example right out of the tap. This is how cloudy a Hefe should be:

images
 
Again, your beer is supposed to be cloudy. You just got a bad note. Wheat is a very high-protein grain and hef yeast is very non-flocculant. Maltodextrin is perfectly soluble in beer and will never cause any cloudiness.

If you want clear beer, brew a style that's supposed to be clear, get good hot/cold breaks, and use a kettle fining.
 
I dunno, some of the comments make it sound as if it's impossible to make a hef that's too cloudy. I've done it before when I ended up with way too much sediment in the bottle. Dump everything into the glass like you normally would and wham o, a too cloudy hef.

No disrespect to the OP, but I don't understand why we should automatically assume the beer was brewed/packaged correctly and that the judge(s) didn't know what they were talking about. It's not like hef is an obscure style or something. Hef = cloudy (within reason) is characteristic #1.

A clear photo of the beer would help us to give on-point feedback.
 
Looks great- as I said you just got a bad note. As long as it's not turbid with floaties, you're probably fine. That's a good looking beer.
 
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