Belgian Wit w/ Hefeweizen Yeast

Hello HBT,

One of my roommates has recently started taking some small steps into the world of beer. I recently brewed an Irish Red Strong Ale for another roommate and he saw how delicious it could be and that it actually costs less than buying at the store. He then wanted to see if I could sort of incorporate his two favorite styles together. They are Belgian Wit and Hefeweizen. My first instinct is to brew a Belgian Wit recipe with Orange peel and Coriander but then use a strain more common to Hefeweizen and make sure to ferment a little warmer to get the banana and clove flavors he's looking for as well. Does this sound like a decent idea or am I looking over anything?

Haha, you might be thinking that my roommates have a pretty strong hold on me but really, they're paying for all the ingredients and I get to brew and drink beer for free!

Anyway, let me know if I'm pretty on track or way in left field. I'm definitely open to ideas at this point as I won't have another free fermenter for at least 2 weeks.

Thanks!

Tom

I've had good results doing exactly that with Safbrew T-58, which gives great banana/clove flavors as long as you don't let it sit in the fermenter too long. In my hands, it usually attenuates in the 75-85% range.

Okay cool. As of late I've been going with a 4 week primary straight to a keg. Is that too long?

I've found that after two weeks in the primary, the esters really start to fade. T-58 is a really aggressive yeast, though. YMMV.