Two-Yeast Hefeweizen in the works

[tallmike]

I've started a two-yeast Hefeweizen, 5gal partial boil, my third homebrew.

My first was also a Hef, which is my favorite beer. It blew out my airlock on the second day of fermentation, expelled the entire bung/airlock assembly and sprayed krausen all over my garage while I was at work. :cross: No harm done though, and I've used blow-off tubes into a flower vase since then. I used WL300 liquid yeast and it turned out fantastic, but I had issues with bottle carbonation. Had about a 25% failure rate with my clamp-top bottles, found way too many of them flat. I assumed it was the rubber washer seal, so...

My second batch was a Dunkelweizen. Used SafeBrew T-58 dry yeast which got going very quickly, but which didn't give me the banana/clove esters that I want from a wheat beer. I know Dunkelweizens are usually ester-subdued, but I wanted those flavors to be dominant. Vowed to use liquid Hefeweizen yeast for my next Dunkelweizen. This time to combat carbonation failure, I used all crimped bottle caps and had a much better result. Not too much carbonation from any of them at first, but the longer I held onto them the more consistently I found them to be well-carbonated.

So my wife wanted another Hefeweizen, and I figure practice makes perfect, so I'm back on a regular weißbier. But this time I pitched two liquid yeasts together, WL300 Hefeweizen Ale yeast and WL380 Bavarian Hefeweizen IV. I figure I'll get character from both, which is a method I want to try out for the future.

In the future, I was considering two experimental wheat beers. 1) A hopfenweizen with a 20-minute and 5-minute hopping from the hops vines I've got in the backyard (or store bought for 20-min flavor and backyard hops for 5-minute aroma), and 2) A border-weizen with Hefeweizen yeast and Belgian Ale yeast for a combined Belgian-Bavarian non-wit wheat character.

Wish me luck. Anybody ever tried pitching Belgian yeast with hefeweizen yeast? Both seem like they would be good vigorous strains, I wouldn't want to put a weakling in with a brute. Likewise, anybody hopped up their Hefeweizen? It's a variety I love, like Schneider's Hopfenweiß or Weihenstephaner Hoplosion, but I'm curious about homebrewing it...

 

[ArcaneXor]

Since T-58 is a Belgian ale yeast, you have already done the experiment you propose. Interestingly, Saison III yeast fermented relatively cool (no warmer than 76) also has some Weizen characteristics.

 

[tallmike]

Thanks for the reply.

I guess though it wasn't quite what I was proposing, since I want to pitch the Belgian yeast alongside a Bavarian weizen yeast. My Dunkelweizen I thought was spicy but lacked enough yeasty flavor, which I love in a wheat beer.

I guess I was also thinking of a more-floral and less-spicy Belgian yeast than SafeBrew T-58.

I will check out Saison III yeast, thanks for the suggestion!

 

[tallmike]

Well it worked out fine, both yeasts did contribute their character, banana/clove from WLP300, and clove-heavy from WLP380. A clovy Hefeweizen, big hit with friends and family. It came out very nice, almost indistinguishable in appearance and taste from Schneider&Sohn's Original Hefeweizen in blind tests with my beer buddies.

Trying a Black IPA next... it's in the tube and will be my first secondary and my first dry-hopping.