Lemon Hefeweisen?

My friend was over during the holidays and told me he tried a lemon hefeweisen at a pub in Vancouver. Any ideas on any recipies or how to get a lemon flavour to a hefe? Also if using a lemon zest how much and how should it be added?

Thanks

I don't know about hefe's but I make real good blonde ale with sorachi ace hops as firstwort hops. They provide a lemony citrus aroma and flavor. They're also really high alpha so use sparingly. Good luck. Hope this helps.

Magic hat makes a hefeweizen with a strong lemon bite to it. You may want to check out their site for any details.

I currently have a Lemongrass American Wheat in my fermenter. I'm not an expert but I believe if you change the yeast from what I used to a true Hefe yeast, you could get to what you are looking for. Be mindful of the fermentation temperature based on if you want more of a clove flavor (lower ferm temp) or banana flavor (higher ferm temp).

Here is the recipe (just started using Beer Smith so apologies if there are any mistakes in here but the recipe is correct). I'll let you know how it comes out when I try it in a few weeks.

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Wheat Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 60.61 %
2.50 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 30.30 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.06 %
0.25 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 3.03 %
1.00 oz Select Spalt [4.75 %] (60 min) Hops 7.3 IBU
1.00 oz Crystal [3.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.7 IBU
1.00 oz Lemongrass - Dried (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
5.00 gal New York, NY Water
1 Pkgs American Wheat Ale (Wyeast Labs #1010) [Starter 125 ml] Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.053 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.020 SG (note my ferm isnt complete yet)
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.35 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.17 %
Bitterness: 9.9 IBU Calories: 236 cal/pint
Est Color: 7.5 SRM Color: Color


Mash Profile

Mash Name: My Mash Total Grain Weight: 3.25 lb
Sparge Water: 0.00 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Mash PH: 5.4 PH

My Mash Step Time Name Description Step Temp
45 min Mash Add 8.00 qt of water at 161.1 F 155.0 F
0 min Dunked Grains 5 Times Add 0.00 qt of water at 0.0 F 0.0 F
0 min Sparge Add 5.00 qt of water and heat to 170.0 F over 0 min 170.0 F

I got a lot of lemon in a lager, also with Sorachi Ace hops. My buddy is rebuilding my computer so I can't look up the details. It was either a 5 min. or a flameout addition. No more than 1/2 an ounce.

Look up recipes for a Belgian Wit to see how much Lemon peel to use. The wit uses Orange peel, but Lemon Peel should work more or less the same way. I would suggest against using straight lemon juice if that was ever in your thoughts.

+1 for Sorachi Ace hops. The first time I heard of them, they were in a beer I was drinking. My first thought was, lemon pale ale...

I just did, basically an orange wheat. I added 1/2 oz of dried orange peel at flamout. It's got a nice subtle orange flavor to it, and i kept the hops low. I'll most likely do this again with a whole ounce. I don't know about 'dried' lemon peel, but the discussion on zesting oranges (and other citrus) is a search away.

Thanks for all the replies