Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

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tamns7

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Yooooooo

So from previous posts I came up with a clone of this hefe weissbier (probably my favorite overall beer) and wanted to know what y'all think before I go ahead and brew it later this week. This will be only my second brew, but my first one turned out amazing (NB Pale Ale kit) and other than Caribou Slobber, I want to try something new!

2.5gallon batch

Belgian Munich Malt - 1 lb. crushed (soak til 160F in muslin bag)
NB Pilsen Malt Syrup 3.15 lbs. (1/3 to start, 2/3 15min before finish)
NB Wheat Malt Syrup 3.15 lbs. (1/3 to start, 2/3 15min before finish)
German Hallertau Hop Pellets 1 oz. (60mins)
Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Wheat (pitch at 68-70F)

Like I said, just want to see what some more experienced people might think. If y'all think it's a bad idea, I have no problem using the ingredients to make something else OR just brew it regardless and see what happens! :fro:
 
The Belgian Munich seems like an odd choice to me, but I say try it. Experimentation is the key to learning. Also, I would suggest adding some flaked wheat for some body and starches.
 
Wheat malt extract is typically 65% wheat and 35% pilsener. So, you should just use wheat malt extract, as that will give the traditional percentage of wheat for a weissbier. The Munich will not do much for you since it needs to be mashed, but you could get some Munich malt extract.
 
should i scratch the munich malt then? when i bought that i really didn't know any better. lol. rookie mistake!
 
The wheat LME I have is 65% Wheat, 35% barley...

Likely what slarkin was saying is that there is no need for the pilsner LME as the grist of most hefe's are 50-50 to 60-40 wheat to barley ratio. So, if you have half of your grist as pilsen and the other half as 65% wheat, you would have only about 32.5% wheat in the entire grist. So, scratch the pilsen LME and go with all wheat LME.
 
Likely what slarkin was saying is that there is no need for the pilsner LME as the grist of most hefe's are 50-50 to 60-40 wheat to barley ratio. So, if you have half of your grist as pilsen and the other half as 65% wheat, you would have only about 32.5% wheat in the entire grist. So, scratch the pilsen LME and go with all wheat LME.

Exactly! Ditch the munich, it's not that important. You need to focus on fermentation temps and yeast for a good hefe. The flavors that come from the yeast are what makes a good hefe. Focus on yeast pitch rate, wort aeration, and fermentation temperature. From my expereince, making a truly great hefe can be elusive. Good luck!
 
awesome. thanks for all the feedback!

slarkin, care to elaborate just a little on yeast pitch rate and wort aeration? what i know of the two, is pitching the yeast is impt to do at certain temps and wort areation would be the swirling and mixing of the water and wort after the wort has cooled. any tricks or further advice/info you could give as to what works best for a brew like the one i'm about to do?

thanks again and cheers!
 
also how much wheat LME should i use? right now i have a 3.15# and a 6#...
 
There's a lot of contradictory information out there on brewing a hefe, so first I have to say I'm no expert. Some of the information I've gathered has come from this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/d...-fermentation-profiles-flavor-results-317195/

There's lot's of good info there. I've also read the books "Brewing With Wheat" by Hieronymus and "German Wheat Beer" by Eric Warner. But, first hand experience can be more valuable, so you'll probably just have to brew successive batches until you get the quality for which you're looking. From my experience I've found that pitching healthy yeast is very important. By healthy, I mean fresh and viable. I've tried to freeze hefe yeast and then restart it and brew with it - not good. The best results I have gotten have come from pitching a little less yeast than needed, but I've made good hefe's with just a single fresh smack pack. By aeration, I mean when after the top-off water is added. You inject oxygen into the beer, either by shaking the bucket/carboy or with an aeration stone, or another method, etc. This gives the yeast the oxygen needed to grow and multiply. I've found that I get better hefe's if I don't aerate the finished wort at all. I'm sure others will disagree, but like I said, this has been my experience. For fermentation temperature I like anywhere from 65-68F. You should get more banana flavor with higher fermentation temps. If you go too high with the temps you'll get strawberry and bubble gum flavors and some other undesirable esters.
 
also how much wheat LME should i use? right now i have a 3.15# and a 6#...

I'd use between 7 and 8 lbs of wheat LME for a 5 gallon batch. 1lb extract yields 36 gravity points. So 7 lbs will give you 7lbs*36 pts / 5 gallons = 50 gravity points per gallon or an OG of 1.050.
 
though i feel much more informed, now i feel rather lost and wondering if i chose the right ingredients. could i do a partial mash with the munich malt and then use the 3.15# wheat LME? if so, any recommendations?
 
Just use 6lb of wheat LME. That should give you a normalish ABV hefe. Then you are not sitting around with a partially used jug of LME. I would also skip the Munich.
 
Another question would be how long would be recommended for time in the fermenter? Rack to secondary? Standard two weeks after bottling before enjoying?

Cheers!
 
Another question would be how long would be recommended for time in the fermenter?
Cheers!

As long as it takes. Take a gravity reading. If it is the same a few days apart, it's done.

I personally let beers ferment for 3 weeks then bottle if they are a normalish OG.
 
Cool. So what would a normalish OG and FG be? Sorry, I'm a rookie!
 
Seems like everything went well! OG reading at 1.048 and crazy action after I pitched at 68-69F. Only thing is now, should I worry about the action settling down and it's only day 2-3? The bubbles were nonstop the first 48hrs after pitching but its all but stopped. Here's a pic! Cheers!

image-608635835.jpg
 
Seems like everything went well! OG reading at 1.048 and crazy action after I pitched at 68-69F. Only thing is now, should I worry about the action settling down and it's only day 2-3? The bubbles were nonstop the first 48hrs after pitching but its all but stopped. Here's a pic! Cheers!

Looks like it's coming along nicely. Get the lid back on it though.
 
The action you describe is common for that yeast. Those first couple of days are wild and then it really slows down.
 
So it has been 9 days since pitching in the fermenter and I went to take a gravity reading only to find that the yeast is still bubbling. Is this ok? How much longer should I wait? Also, the smell was kinda funny. Almost like a vinegary hefe weissen. Anyone had this happen? Something to worry about?

Cheers!
T
 
I mostly wait until 14 days to take a gravity reading, I know of everything settling down. Than follow by a week and than another week. I don't mess with the secondary. What is your gravity at? I would probably leave it on for a few more days see if things settle down.
 
Like Charlie Papzian say "Relax, have a homebrew". You will find that every yeast has its own characteristics when it comes to smell and look. I have a hefe with that yeast going right now. Like other hefes I have done with this strain this one looks about the same, that is the same as what you are describing.
 
So I bottled successfully and at the two week mark of bottle conditioning I threw a couple in the fridge. Well, the taste was there and it was amazing. Great banana flavors and smells yet my beer was flat still! I read a couple posts on here and have since wrapped them in a couple blankets and now keep the apt a bit warmer so as to help get their conditioning up. I will try throwing a few in again this weekend and hopefully have a couple of nice heady pours to show off!

✌
 
Yep, it takes 3068 a while to settle down. Remember, Hefe is supposed to be cloudy, you don't want the yeast to settle out completely :)

Give it 14 days. THEN check gravity. I think I bottled mine after 2 or 3 weeks. Its also supposed to be as fresh as possible! I personally brewed the "simple hefeweizen" in the recipe forum here, and it is all I will ever brew when I want a hefe. Taste was amazing, and it really was simple. 6lbs DME (only comes in 3lb bas here), some hops, and some carapils/carafoam for a little grainy flavor in there!

I seem to want to brew more than I can drink. Time to get the co-workers hooked so they can help out with ingredients :D (um and drinking!)
 
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