Hefeweizen - too much acid malt?

[Mook]

Having trouble figuring out what went wrong with my first hefeweizen. I feel like I got the typical hefe aroma I was looking for, but the taste is off - I want to call it "tart," but not sure that's the best word to describe it. In general, it's a bit thin and lifeless, but this could also be because I only ended up at 1.047 (aiming for 1.053 - first time in many many batches that I fell that short).

A few details:

• BIAB
• Malts: 50% Wheat (2.5 lbs), 46% Pilsner (2.3 lbs), 4% acid malt (0.2 lbs) - milled once, perhaps I didn't crack all the wheat malt which led to lower efficiency?
• Hops: Tradition (0.25 oz) @ 60 mins
• Yeast: 3068 Weihenstephan (a month old, no starter, smacked 5 hours before pitching)
• Water: Boston - very soft, close to RO water; added 0.35g of Gypsum and .10g of CaCl to hit water profile; added 0.2 lbs of acid malt as mentioned above to hit projected pH of 5.4 (used Bru'n water, but do not have a pH meter to actually measure)
• Mashed for 60 mins @ 153 degrees
• Boiled for 90 mins
• Pitched and fermented @ 67 degrees for about 10 days until stable gravity, then kegged (usually cold crash first, but skipped since I didn't care about clarity for this beer)
• OG: 1.047 (64% mash efficiency vs. my usual ~73%)
• FG: 1.009
• Fermenter volume = ~2.25 gallons

I usually make a starter, but since this batch was a smaller one, I didn't want to overpitch. I also initially carbed it closer to 3 vols, but that only emphasized the spritzy acidic/thin qualities, so I degassed, but it's still not great.

My only guess is that I used too much acid malt? I usually only add 1-2% for pH correction, and my beers have been turning out pretty good. Could this also be related to my lower than usual efficiency?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[Iseneye]

4% for a full volume BIAB sounds ok too me. The calculators are only estimates so I recommend getting a _good_ pH meter and checking on brew day. I have found the calculators to be all over the show compared to actual readings. Other people on this forum seem to have more success than me with calcs.

 

[tgolanos]

If you didn't make a starter with your yeast, the off-flavor could be due to yeast stress. Did fermentation start in a normal time-frame?

I've never used acid malt before, so I can't comment on that one.

Always tighten your mill gap with wheat. They're smaller kernels than barley so it is possible you didn't crush them as well, thus lowering your OG.

 

[Horseflesh]

I’ve made hefs similar to this and also always thought they tasted thin too, especially on the finish. I’ve tried a lot of small tweaks like a little melanoiden, a little lower pH, etc etc but nothing has really moved the needle yet. The beer is drinkable but nothing like a nice, rich, orange Paulaner.

I feel like I post in all these threads, maybe this time the answer will appear.

 

[Big Monk]

Having trouble figuring out what went wrong with my first hefeweizen. I feel like I got the typical hefe aroma I was looking for, but the taste is off - I want to call it "tart," but not sure that's the best word to describe it. In general, it's a bit thin and lifeless, but this could also be because I only ended up at 1.047 (aiming for 1.053 - first time in many many batches that I fell that short).

A few details:

• BIAB
• Malts: 50% Wheat (2.5 lbs), 46% Pilsner (2.3 lbs), 4% acid malt (0.2 lbs) - milled once, perhaps I didn't crack all the wheat malt which led to lower efficiency?
• Hops: Tradition (0.25 oz) @ 60 mins
• Yeast: 3068 Weihenstephan (a month old, no starter, smacked 5 hours before pitching)
• Water: Boston - very soft, close to RO water; added 0.35g of Gypsum and .10g of CaCl to hit water profile; added 0.2 lbs of acid malt as mentioned above to hit projected pH of 5.4 (used Bru'n water, but do not have a pH meter to actually measure)
• Mashed for 60 mins @ 153 degrees
• Boiled for 90 mins
• Pitched and fermented @ 67 degrees for about 10 days until stable gravity, then kegged (usually cold crash first, but skipped since I didn't care about clarity for this beer)
• OG: 1.047 (64% mash efficiency vs. my usual ~73%)
• FG: 1.009
• Fermenter volume = ~2.25 gallons

I usually make a starter, but since this batch was a smaller one, I didn't want to overpitch. I also initially carbed it closer to 3 vols, but that only emphasized the spritzy acidic/thin qualities, so I degassed, but it's still not great.

My only guess is that I used too much acid malt? I usually only add 1-2% for pH correction, and my beers have been turning out pretty good. Could this also be related to my lower than usual efficiency?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Some people's taste may vary, and certainly some will disagree, but 4% Sauermalz is not your problem. I'd look elsewhere for troubleshooting.