Belgian Whitbier- Cold Crash or Not?

[iamleescott]

Hi all,

After reading through the forums, there's some people that say crash regardless...then others that argue that wheat beer is if couse supposed to be cloudy....don't crash.

So....whats a guy supposed to do?

Thanks for your thoughts.
Lee

 

[Smellyglove]

If it's an american wheat, maybe? (Never brewed an am wheat before). Bavarian hefeweizen never.

 

[iamleescott]

It's a Belgian Whitbier

 

[homebrewer_99]

Hefe Weizen = Wheat beer with yeast.
Weissebier = White beer
Wit = White

I make a lot of Hefe Weizens. I never cold crash since the yeast is supposed to be in suspension. I will rack it so that most of the yeast falls out, but not all of it.

A Wit is a Belgian version of a Weissebier.

I would cold crash an American Wheat though.

 

[iamleescott]

Hefe Weizen = Wheat beer with yeast.
Weissebier = White beer
Wit = White

I make a lot of Hefe Weizens. I never cold crash since the yeast is supposed to be in suspension. I will rack it so that most of the yeast falls out, but not all of it.

A Wit is a Belgian version of a Weissebier.

I would cold crash an American Wheat though.

Got it. Thanks for pointing the differences out.

Kind of a side question then.....I've been fermenting at 72°F for the last few weeks....should I let it naturally cool down to room temperature for a couple of days before racking?

 

[Smellyglove]

It's also about the mouthfeel. If you settle out too much of the body building proteins your beer will end up thinner than you might be after. But this starts at mash, then the boil with coagulation, then finally fermentation technique.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Got it. Thanks for pointing the differences out.

Kind of a side question then.....I've been fermenting at 72°F for the last few weeks....should I let it naturally cool down to room temperature for a couple of days before racking?

That depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Warmer temps DO NOT necessarily mean sweeter banana flavors for a HW. I ferment at 66 sometimes and still get it and some bubblegum too. However, unlike most recipes, I only use 2 AAU at 60 mins. since I like it sweeter.

I haven't brewed a Wit in years.

 

[Lefou]

Cold crashing can achieve two things.
It interrupts the yeast by forcing them out of suspension. At the proper point in fermentation - with the right yeast - it also helps to clarify the beer. With certain Belgian and German-styled wheat beers it isn't important.
For American-styled wheat ale where you want some clarity and don't mind some hazing, I use a couple methods.
Highly fermentable worts with low to moderate malted **wheat** content (20-50%) tend to clarify well, so mash temps and grind consistency can make a difference. Use a WhirlFloc, make sure a good "hot break" is achieved, and pitch a yeast that flocculates fairly well. If you lauter, do it until the wort is clear.

I bottle, so any cold-crashing happens after bottle carbing is done.

**Made a mistake. Should be malted "wheat" content and not protein.**

 

[helibrewer]

I would crash it. Wit's are traditionally brewed with unmalted wheat. After bottle conditioning you are going to crash it anyway through normal refrigeration so you might as well reduce a bit of the bottle sediment now. Wits get their haze from proteins and bit from the low to moderate flocculating yeast. I skip kettle finings when brewing hazy styles.

 

[iamleescott]

I would crash it. Wit's are traditionally brewed with unmalted wheat. After bottle conditioning you are going to crash it anyway through normal refrigeration so you might as well reduce a bit of the bottle sediment now. Wits get their haze from proteins and bit from the low to moderate flocculating yeast. I skip kettle finings when brewing hazy styles.

How long for....a couple of days?

 

[Lefou]

How long for....a couple of days?

That's pretty much up to you. A few days to a few weeks ... how patient are you?
The hefeweizen I brew never lasts long enough to decide whether a good chill is worth it. It's best when fresh.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I have a Belgian wit crashing for the last 4 days using wlp400 yeast. I'm racking today so I'll report back.
I was on the fence whether to CC also but I was reading you don't want yeast in suspension and the proteins are what make it hazy.

A absolutely hate yeast in beer and usually filter my beers. Being its a Belgian Wit I figured I'd crash and leave out the filtering.

I've had some commercial Wit beers and if I let them sit theres never any yeast on the bottom of the glass so I don't want it either.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Well here it is. 4 day cold crash. No yeast and plenty hazy. I think the cold crash was a good idea. We'll see how it is carbed up after a few days

 

[SoCal-Doug]

IMHO... Don't crash a wheat beer unless you are doing a kristalweizen (a wheat beer that is very clear) where you will filter it and/or use finings.

Most wheat's, wit's, weizen's and the like, gain flavor and backbone from the proteins and yeast in suspension. It will of course settle some on its own over time but many commercial and European brews will even mention on the label to carefully tilt the bottle back and forth to mix it up before pouring and consumption.

Crashing it wont hurt it of course, but the body, mouthfeel and clove/banana tones may be more subdued. It really depends on what your goal is and what your taste buds prefer.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

IMHO... Don't crash a wheat beer unless you are doing a kristalweizen (a wheat beer that is very clear) where you will filter it and/or use finings.

Most wheat's, wit's, weizen's and the like, gain flavor and backbone from the proteins and yeast in suspension. It will of course settle some on its own over time but many commercial and European brews will even mention on the label to carefully tilt the bottle back and forth to mix it up before pouring and consumption.

Crashing it wont hurt it of course, but the body, mouthfeel and clove/banana tones may be more subdued. It really depends on what your goal is and what your taste buds prefer.

THe clove and banana is for a Hefe and is yeast strain and ferm temp related.
He made a Wit.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

I was generalizing for any wheat style. Wit's normally have more coriander/zest coming through than yeast flavors, but some wit yeasts will provide a bit of flavor also.

My favorite wit yeast is cultured dregs from bottles of Allegash White. We did a side by side (split batch) comparing Allegash to WLP400. The 400 was like boring water and far less yummy compared to the other. The yeast definitely makes a difference.

 

[iamleescott]

Great advice everyone....See...what did I tell everyone at the beginning of the thread...there's a lot of different opinions on cold crashing a wheat / whit beer lol

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I was generalizing for any wheat style. Wit's normally have more coriander/zest coming through than yeast flavors, but some wit yeasts will provide a bit of flavor also.

My favorite wit yeast is cultured dregs from bottles of Allegash White. We did a side by side (split batch) comparing Allegash to WLP400. The 400 was like boring water and far less yummy compared to the other. The yeast definitely makes a difference.

Right but not in suspension which was what the thread was about. Cold Crashing.

That beer I posted is a Wit with WLP400 and is boring water beer. I made a orange zest with fresh ginger tincture I dumped in the keg. It made a big difference...Hopefully with some carb it will turn out ok

 

[helibrewer]

We cold crash every beer we make, mostly for purposes of carbonating it in the vessel. I would bet every commercial version of wheat beers you have tried has been cold crashed.

 

[Picotto]

I wouldn't cold crash a witbier. The flavor is in the yeast. Even when I grab a bottle a gently shake it to grab the yeast from the bottom. It has more flavors with the yeast in the bottom.