Hefe - to whirfloc or not.

I'm planning on doing a Hefe (my first) this weekend:
7lbs red wheat
5lbs pils
Tettanger at 60min to get to 15IBU
Wyeast Bavarian

I want it to keep the haziness so my thought was to omit the whirfloc I ususlly add. Anyone have any thoughts on adding or not boil finings to a hefe?

I vote no. Along with the yeast, long-chain proteins are what give it the haze. My understanding is that Whirlfloc is meant to help pull out the protein. That being said, I just read a long description of hefe-weizen from BYO and the recipe they give after includes irish moss. Go figure.

I wouldn't use the whirlfloc for a hefe.

This is just my experience but I would use it, I have never had a hefe remain cloudy after bottle conditioning so to serve it properly I roll the bottle once or twice. A hefeweissen can always have the yeast roused before serving but if it clears during bottle conditioning you have the option to serve it as krystalweissen if you like it or if you have yeast phobic friends.

I'll be kegging this and it may sit for up to a month or more on draft.
I think I'll omit the Whirfloc just to make sure the time on draft does not crash out the haze.

I guess there are two ways to view it.

The first, you try to "build in" some haze by leaving in the protein that cause chill haze

The second, you try to eliminate the chill haze as you would any other beer (well maybe not porter or stout) and let the yeast cause the haze, which is how it is supposed to be.

When I have ordered a wheat beer in Switzerland or Germany they have always poured the first glass for me and made a big presentation of swirling the bottle around before pouring. They want you to see that they are taking the time to serve it properly and I appreciated that. Sometimes they would pour a bit first to create some head room in the bottle and then swirl and pour the rest. I noticed that the beer that came out before the swirl was clear.

Anyway, after all that, I don't really think it matters much.

Edit: I see you are kegging...yeah, probably want to leave it out, although chilling beer for awhile has eliminated chill have for me in the past. You may end up losing it anyway.

^ Yeah it might drop out on its own even without the whirfloc. I'll just rock the corny a bit if it happens.

k1v1116 said:

This is just my experience but I would use it, I have never had a hefe remain cloudy after bottle conditioning so to serve it properly I roll the bottle once or twice. A hefeweissen can always have the yeast roused before serving but if it clears during bottle conditioning you have the option to serve it as krystalweissen if you like it or if you have yeast phobic friends.

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Word. I used irish moss in the hefe I was drinking today, and it was krystal clear until I swirled the bottle and added the yeast. It's actually the clearest beer I have brewed to date!

GreenwoodRover said:

I'll be kegging this and it may sit for up to a month or more on draft.
I think I'll omit the Whirfloc just to make sure the time on draft does not crash out the haze.

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I like your plan to try to create a protein haze.

No.................

^ actually what made me rethink the whirfloc was you recent post showing adding a flour slurry to you Wit to keep it hazy.

GreenwoodRover said:

^ actually what made me rethink the whirfloc was you recent post showing adding a flour slurry to you Wit to keep it hazy.

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Yeah...save that whirfloc for your next pale ale or something you want to get crystal clear.

No whirfloc in a hefe. Add some flaked wheat to really haze it up.

FWIW, I brewed a MG Hefe Monday and left out the Whirfloc.

Ask me in a few weeks how it turned out.

For my kegged wheat beers, I take the keg out, turn it upside down and gently shake if from time to time. If you do that in the morning, by evening the foam has settled back down. It does keep the yeast stirred up.

I vote yes. Part of the hefe flavor profile is from yeast, not protein. You want it to look AND taste like the real thing. You can get cloudiness from:

1. yeast alone: looks right, tastes right
2. protein alone: looks right, tastes wrong
3. yeast and protein: looks right, tastes right

While 3. seems ok, you'll never know if you have enough yeast contributing to the cloudiness if you go into fermentation already cloudy. If your keg tap starts to run clear, just swirl the keg, or use an uncut dip tube that actually reaches the bottom and it should stay cloudy the whole keg life.

But as mentioned, it will be fine for the homebrewer's purpose either way.

Just another vote for no. Fining agents serve little to no purpose in wheat beers.