Weissbier fermentation

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brick_haus

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I finally decided to bust out of my norm and brew a Bavarian Hefeweizen. Heres the plagiarized 5g recipe:
7# German Wheat
4# German Pilsner
.5# rice hulls
.75 Hallertau @ 45
.25 Hallertau @ 15
Mash @ 153 90mln. HERMS
One packet Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Yeast
Fermented at a controlled 63*F
I purposely slightly under pitched to try to bring forward the banana.
RO water with 6g CaCl2 added to 15g used for both strike and sparge (fly).
Mash pH 5.45
OG 1.052
FG 1.010
ABV 5.51

I Entered this firs attempt into a competition and it didnt score too well, nor were the comments as expected.
One judge noted that it smelled over fermented? What does that mean?
Same judge said diacetyl. Isnt that under fermented?
Aroma was "musty, sour and spongey"
Taste like it was overfermented...
Other judge:
Slight musty aroma, slight ester, little bit of diacetyl
Flavor: Slight banana, bready, nice yeast profile but a bit lacking in the flavor.

There were more comments, some good, but I'm looking for feedback on how to deal with musty, overfermented beer with diacetyl.
Wonder if they may be describing the sulphur aroma that I get but just dont know what sulphur smells like?
Comments please.
 
Sulfur smells eggy, I would say, though I don't know what beer judges would say about that. I'm entering two beers that I think are very decent to be judged later this month to get some expert feedback. What ever they say I like them and some beer drinking friends like them.
 
Yea sulfur is more slight rotten egg, or acrid is another way to describe it. I think there is a typo in your fermented temp at 163* you probably meant 63*. I usually follow Jamil's advice and ferment at 62* which brings about a nice balance of esters and flavor. I also make a starter and do not under pitch, as some people do to try and bring out more banana. I pitch enough yeast and ferment at 62* and it attenuates very well and brings out the best in the wort and that is when I have made my best hefeweizen beer.
 
Yea sulfur is more slight rotten egg, or acrid is another way to describe it. I think there is a typo in your fermented temp at 163* you probably meant 63*. I usually follow Jamil's advice and ferment at 62* which brings about a nice balance of esters and flavor. I also make a starter and do not under pitch, as some people do to try and bring out more banana. I pitch enough yeast and ferment at 62* and it attenuates very well and brings out the best in the wort and that is when I have made my best hefeweizen beer.


Thanks, well noted. I'll be doing a lot more reading on hefeweizens, i don't take kindly to failure. And yes, 63*, thanks for pointing that out.
 
Sulfur in a weizen is a sign of stressed yeast - probably due to the underpitch.

I have had great results by slightly under-pitching but making a 1L "vitality starter" (4hrs on a stirplate in 1.040 wort before pitching the entire thing into 62F wort and performing and open fermentation (no airlock, just sanitized foil).

In my experience, this is a pressure-sensitive strain and the best performance/flavor development is obtained by pitching very healthy yeast, fermenting on the low side, and doing an open ferm.
 
I have finally learned that pressure is as important as nutrient, oxygen, and pitchrate. There is a lot of hard earned esters and phenols lost to the CO2 pressure build up in traditional fermentation vessels. For the first 3 days/72hrs of log phase it is best to let that yeast take in all the O2 they want and create all the wonderful aromas and flavors they can. I just did it on my dampfbier and while I am not crazy about having a very low head on the beer the clove is out of this world strong and it has just enough banana to balance that spicy clove.
 
I think your approach was spot on to make a great beer. So I would not change much on the hefeweizen side of things. If you are getting poor scores then I would look at your overall brewing approach first. Without brewing with you or tasting the beer it is tough to know what is going on. I have never smelled Sulphur when making a hefeweizen.
 

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