Weizens too clear

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lestershy

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I've been brewing a hefeweizen recently and have been noticing that they tend to turn out pretty clear. This is great for all of my other beers, but I feel like something in my process is causing the yeast to settle out too completely or causing them to tightly compact in the bottom of the bottles.

I do try to swirl the last bit around while pouring, but it doesn't come out that well. It's not like the Weihenstephaner or Franziskaner weizens that I've had.

I've been using a simple recipe (50/50 wheat and barley) and Wyeast 3068.
What causes a high flocculating yeast to settle out so much?
 
the yeast you see in many german hefeweizen bottles is the lager strain they use for bottle conditioning. and those strains are very powdery and even less flocculant than the hefe strains apparently.

there's nothing wrong with a hefe that clarifies while it's sitting cold. But if you want to guarantee more cloudiness you can always add some flour in the last few minutes of the boil to give it a starch haze.
 
A lager strain for bottle conditioning? Interesting, but I probably wouldn't bother on a home brew level. Would adding the flour also help to give it the same extra mouthfeel that having yeast in suspension does? How much flour would one use for a 5 gallon batch?

bribo- I do not use any clarifying agents.
 
I wouldn't add flour.

Don't add finings, Irish Moss, Super Moss or Whirlflok

Do add yeast nutrient to the boil
Do aerate the wort prior to yeast pitch
Do Over pitch your chosen hefeweisen yeast strain
 
about 2 tablespoons in 5 gallons is what I've heard should be more than sufficient. Or, if you want to be all reinheitsgebot with your german hefe, the same amount of powdered unmashed wheat malt directly into the boil.

I don't think the yeast in suspension really contributes to the mouthfeel personally. but i haven't done a side by side or blind triangle test with a hefe and a krystalweis, so maybe it's real. the carbonation and FG are going to really determine mouthfeel more than anything.
 
I wouldn't add flour.

Don't add finings, Irish Moss, Super Moss or Whirlflok

Do add yeast nutrient to the boil
Do aerate the wort prior to yeast pitch
Do Over pitch your chosen hefeweisen yeast strain

why wouldn't you? he wants a haze.

why would you overpitch? if his fermentation is otherwise giving him the ester and phenol profile he desires, changing your pitching rate will change this, and not necessarily give you more yeast ultimately in suspension.
 
I intentionally underpitch on this one to produce more esters and less phenols (cause I likea the banana). I also like the idea of using the powdered wheat (which I will have anyway after crushing my grains)
 
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