Brewer's Best Weizenbier

[LarsonLE]

So this will be my 5th extract batch thus far, and I had a couple questions to ask about this Weizenbier that I am going to be brewing soon. Here is everything that came with the kit:

6.6 lb. Wheat LME (2 cans worth, 3.3 lb each)
1 oz. bittering Mt. Hood
.5 oz. armora Mt. Hood

Is having no steeping grains unusual? Also, as most instructions say, it suggests me boiling 2.5 gallons of water and then adding one of the 3.3 lb can of wheat LME to the boil and then adding the hops etc. If I wanted to do a full volume boil (5 gallons), should I still follow their instructions word for word, or should I manipulate it a little and add more/less of the LME at the beginning/end. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[binkman]

Weizens are usually half wheat, half pilsen or pale malt. The more truly German examples can be up to 70% wheat. If I were brewing up a weizen from extract I'd probably use one can of pilsen and one of wheat.

It's not unusual not to have steeping grains for a weizen. If you were making a dunkel you'd have some chocolate malt and maybe something else.

As far as adding the extract, there are people who do it at the beginning, or at the end, or somewhere in the middle. It really doesn't make much of a difference AFAIK, except that the longer your extract is in the boil the more likely it is to caramelize some and turn the color a little darker. This probably won't be a problem, though, as long as you stir well.

Are you adding all the hops at the beginning of the boil? Traditional weizens only have a single hops addition at the beginning AFAIK. Of course, there's no reason you'd have to be traditional.

Good luck!

 

[Super64]

Your 6.6 pounds of extract brings your O.G. to 1.048 within the range of 1.044 to 1.052 for a wheat beer. Do they list ratio of wheat to malt on the label?

The longer you boil your LME, the more opportunity you have of caramelizing it and increasing the darkness of your beer. This may not matter to you, but you do need some in the boil when you put your hops in to help extract the alpha acids.

I concur with Binkman, when he indicated that traditional wheat beers have only a single hops addition. If you put the ounce of Mt. Hood in at 60 minutes (bittering) and the 1/2 ounce in at 30 minutes (aroma) you get and IBU of 25, which is outside the style range of 8-15 IBUs.

Was the kit for a traditional wheat beer or an American wheat beer?

What kind of yeast are you using?

 

[LarsonLE]

Your 6.6 pounds of extract brings your O.G. to 1.048 within the range of 1.044 to 1.052 for a wheat beer. Do they list ratio of wheat to malt on the label?

The longer you boil your LME, the more opportunity you have of caramelizing it and increasing the darkness of your beer. This may not matter to you, but you do need some in the boil when you put your hops in to help extract the alpha acids.

I concur with Binkman, when he indicated that traditional wheat beers have only a single hops addition. If you put the ounce of Mt. Hood in at 60 minutes (bittering) and the 1/2 ounce in at 30 minutes (aroma) you get and IBU of 25, which is outside the style range of 8-15 IBUs.

Was the kit for a traditional wheat beer or an American wheat beer?

What kind of yeast are you using?

The wheat LME I have is Briess Bavarian Wheat, and after a little research online I found that it is 65% wheat and 35% barley. It is supposed to be a traditional wheat beer. Also, they say to add the aroma hops with 5 minutes left, but I have brewed a different Hefeweizen once before and it did not call for any aroma hops, so I'm gonna follow your lead here and probably end up throwing in all 1.5 oz of Mt. Hood at the beginning of the boil (what do you think about this?).

I also bought Wyeast 3068 for my yeast. I will be preparing a starter.

 

[binkman]

Do you know the AA content for your hops? If it's around 4.5, the average Mt Hood level, your going to make a beer that's about twice as hoppy as the usual weizen. I'd say maybe just use the half ounce. Especially if you are going to be doing more than the 2.5 gallon boil, you will probably extract more alpha acids form your hops than the kit is accounting for.

 

[LarsonLE]

Do you know the AA content for your hops? If it's around 4.5, the average Mt Hood level, your going to make a beer that's about twice as hoppy as the usual weizen. I'd say maybe just use the half ounce. Especially if you are going to be doing more than the 2.5 gallon boil, you will probably extract more alpha acids form your hops than the kit is accounting for.

I forgot to consider this. I will probably end up using just the half ounce of Mt. Hood. When I get home from class I will reply back with the AA content of the hops.

 

[Super64]

My QBrew program indicates the wheat beer should be between 8 and 15 IBUs.

If you put in 1/2 ounce at 60 minutes you should be around 8 IBUs

If you put in the full ounce, you should be around 16 IBUs

 

[Badranath]

I have made this kit several times, it is pretty good. Just adjust your hops for the full boil and you'll get some good beer

I've done the BB kits with full boil and also the partial that is on there instructions and I didn't see any real difference

 

[LarsonLE]

So surprisingly enough, the AA content for these Mt. Hood hops is 6.1%. Should I change the amount of hops to throw in?

 

[bmickey]

This is one of my favorite BB kits! At one time I did 2.5 gallon boils and the beer was great. I have also did full boils and followed the same instructions to a T still producing a great bier! what I did notice is that it had more bitterness but over months that calmed down. I would agree, change the amount of hops you add...or add them later in the boil.

Also another thing I noticed about this kit is BB switched up the hops they put in this kit over the years.

 

[LarsonLE]

This is one of my favorite BB kits! At one time I did 2.5 gallon boils and the beer was great. I have also did full boils and followed the same instructions to a T still producing a great bier! what I did notice is that it had more bitterness but over months that calmed down. I would agree, change the amount of hops you add...or add them later in the boil.

Also another thing I noticed about this kit is BB switched up the hops they put in this kit over the years.

Do you remember what they gave you back then? Did they give you legit Hallertau or Tettnang hops?

 

[Super64]

Larson,

QBrew calculates that 1/2 oz of your 6.1% hops for 60 minutes will give you 13 IBUs.

A little more and your up at 15-16 IBUs.

 

[bmickey]

Do you remember what they gave you back then? Did they give you legit Hallertau or Tettnang hops?

I am drinking the BB Weizenbier Kit right now, my first time kegg'ing. I brewed it on 2/12/11. It's tasting very good. It came with the 5.5% AA Mt. Hood Bittering Hops and 5.2% AA Mt. Hood Aroma Hops(at 5 minutes left).

In December 2008 I brewed BB Full-Bodied WeizenBier and it came with Mt. Hood Bittering and Aroma hops.

In January 2009 I brewed BB Full-Bodied WeizenBier and it came with Mt. Hood Bittering and Aroma Hops.

In September 2009 I brewed BB Full-Bodied WeizenBier and it came with French Strisselspalt Bittering and Aroma hops!

SO, I guess after checking my records, it's always been Mt. Hood Hops except once in September 2009.

I also thinking they changed the name from Full Bodied WeizenBier to just WeizenBier sometime between 2010 and 2011. It was probably when they also came out with the newer boxe style for Brewers Best kits.

On another Brewers Best kit, Amber Cerveza Style (XX) they also changed hops from one time to another in me purchasing it between 2008 and 2009.

 

[LarsonLE]

Do you guys recommend me adding 1 of the 3.3 lb cans of extract at the beginning of the boil, and then the last 3.3 lb can of extract around 15 minutes left to boil? I'm heating up the water right now to brew.

Edit: Actually now that I look at the directions, they already recommended me doing this. Should I still follow through?

 

[bmickey]

I would just follow the instructions because it is a great kit as is....

 

[Toga]

Weizens are usually half wheat, half pilsen or pale malt. The more truly German examples can be up to 70% wheat. If I were brewing up a weizen from extract I'd probably use one can of pilsen and one of wheat.

It's not unusual not to have steeping grains for a weizen. If you were making a dunkel you'd have some chocolate malt and maybe something else.

As far as adding the extract, there are people who do it at the beginning, or at the end, or somewhere in the middle. It really doesn't make much of a difference AFAIK, except that the longer your extract is in the boil the more likely it is to caramelize some and turn the color a little darker. This probably won't be a problem, though, as long as you stir well.

Are you adding all the hops at the beginning of the boil? Traditional weizens only have a single hops addition at the beginning AFAIK. Of course, there's no reason you'd have to be traditional.

Good luck!

Most wheat malt extracts contain only 50-60% wheat. There is no need to change up the extract from the kit.

 

[aggiejay06]

Yeah, I've brewed this kit and followed the instructions as is. It turned out quite nice. I'm sure you're done by now, but hopefully that's what you did.

I wouldn't call it anything special, but I cannot wait to drink this bad boy outside on a hot summer day while fishing.

 

[LarsonLE]

So I brewed this Hefeweizen last night, and i woke up this morning to find the blow off tube bubblin' like crazy. That's always nice to see . The fermometer strip says the temps are around 63-64, what does this mean for the actual beer inside? Is this a good temp? Last time I made a Hefeweizen with Wyeast 3068, I think I fermented it at a little bit too high of temps at the beginning, which produced an overly strong banana taste which I would like to try and avoid this time.

 

[Toga]

Wyeast recommends fermenting 3068 between 64 and 75 degrees. They state you can control the esters by pitch rate with this yeast. Over pitching will can accomplish an almost complete loss of the wonderful banana esters. With that yeast if you stick to the low end of the temp scale you will avoid most of the heavy banana esters and you will get more clove. If it just started it will increase in temp so keep an eye on it. Figure at peak fermentation the temp will raise the temp 5 or more degrees. To keep the temp down if the temp goes up a couple more degrees wrap a wet t-shirt around your bucket or carboy, place it in a big tub with water in it, and drop a couple 20oz bottles of ice in it every 12 hours or so.

 

[heatherr]

This was my first kit!

I brewed it on 3/5, bottles on 3/16, and tasted it today.
My OG was 1.048, FG 1.011. I put it in the fridge yesterday, and cracked it open about an hour ago. It was a little bitter and under carbed, but not bad! I think in another week or two it should be tasty.

I also brewed this kit a second time(3/22), this time with White Labs Hefeweizen Ale Yeast (WLP300), my OG was again at 1.048, and its hanging out in the primary right now.