Beer critique: Hefe first batch

[New Brew]

So, after the honeymoon period with my first batch, which I should say now is quite nice and drinkable, I decided to participate in a small, informal, homebrew exchange to get some critical feedback on what I'm doing.

The beer was brewed from the extract + grains version of AHS's hefeweizen kit, with WY3068 and bottled spring water. Spent 2 weeks at 62-65 F in the primary fermenter and was then bottled, about 3 weeks ago.

Here's the feedback I got:

I think I can identify band-aid, especially the aroma. That would be caused by using chorine infected tap water.

Besides that band aid flavor I think it has an intense sourness (maybe green apple descriptor). This could be from high fermentation temperature, but really I think it is hinting at an aceto bacter/bacterial infection.

ok, besides this off flavors, it DOES taste like a hefe. It has the spiciness, cloves, and a nice banana aroma. The head is good as well.

Watch you fermentation temps, use filtered water, and make sure to use proper sanitazation.

I agree with this feedback; the best way I can describe my beer is that it's a typical hefeweizen, with a bit of added uncharacteristic sourness to it. Based on this, it seems I may have infected beer. I guess I didn't consider that because otherwise it's very drinkable; I had just assumed if it were infected it'd taste terrible, and be virtually undrinkable, which it's not at all.

Any other explanations I'm missing? I've already switched to using star-san, so hopefully sanitation won't be an issue again, if indeed that was the problem the first time around.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

I started with starsan, switched exclusively to iodophor, and am now 50/50, using starsan for heavy duty sanitation and iodophor for things that should already be clean (like the carboy I sanitized, then capped off, a week ago) and also for bottles because I can't handle the foaming action.

As for the flavors described, it sounds like a good hefe to me! A little tartness would be fine in my book, compared to the round "softness" of most of the hefe's I've had. Unless you had a stuck fermentation that let some bacteria get an initial hold before being killed off by yeatst, if it's bacterial, don't worry, your beers will get worse over time as the infection takes over. That's probably the easiest way to tell if that's what's going on.

Otherwise, I doubt it's the chlorine in water unless you were doing a partial boil. Water standing out for 24 hours, or boiled vigorously, will lose the chlorination. Were you maybe using bleach to sanitize?

 

[zoebisch01]

If you can't taste the chlorine in your drinking water, then you won't taste it in your beer. If you do have Choramines rather than Chlorine, then boiling won't remove that....I forget what does atm.

Souring is an indicator of an infection. I have some recipes that I use these infections pre-boil to my advantage (I like the sourness). Not all infections are the same, but most produce sourness.

 

[Don]

My second brew was the same kit from AHS and I did not like it at all.
I buy wheat beer every couple of weeks and like the taste.
But I didn't like my beer. It had an aftertaste just stayed with you.
The fermemtation was 68 deg. and I used iodopher.

After @ a month I tryed another bottle and it tasted really good, like my wheat beer but it still had that after taste.
I gave some to a couple of friends (Yea) and they fell in love with it keep comming back for more. My wifes boss heard I made wheat beer and wanted to try it. He loved it and wanted more.. His son-Law is a bartender and he had some, and thought it was store bought and wanted to buy everything I had. So I tryed it again and it still has that after taste.. that I don't like.

I have given it all away and made a lot of people happy.

Now I doing AG's and have a 10 carboy cooler, I'll have to make some more and see If I can make some that I like.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Funny you used bottled spring water and fermented at lower than average hefe temps and those were the two things your critic was SURE of. Might wanna find a new critic.

 

[Beerrific]

Did you use DME or LME? I assume LME since this is what AHS includes in their kits.

I also brewed a hefe kit (LME) from them, the LME was old (my fault not theirs). My beer has a distinctive sourness to it as did my last LME kit. Do some searches on flavor put casued by LME. While AHS is an excellent company, they distribute their LME from bulk they buy. How sure are we that this is fresh?


There is an episode of Basic Brewing radio interviewing a guy from Briess (they sell DME; objective?) that said that LME has a very short life.

I don't know if it is the malt extract but I am trying all DME for my next batch.

 

[New Brew]

Funny you used bottled spring water and fermented at lower than average hefe temps and those were the two things your critic was SURE of. Might wanna find a new critic.

To be fair, the beer was tasted completely blind; he had no idea what processes/ingredients I used when he prepared those comments.

Did you use DME or LME? I assume LME since this is what AHS includes in their kits.

Yup, LME. I have no idea how fresh it was, other than the fact that I brewed it up 2 days after I got the stuff in the mail.

My 2nd batch is also the LME hefe, only this time the extract DID sit around for a couple weeks (my fault) before I brewed. That's bottle-conditioning now, and my next batch up is set to be a partial mash w/ DME. I guess if my 2nd hefe is worse than the first, and my 3rd batch is fine I can blame the LME.

 

[lgtg]

My only comment, having just broke into my batch of hefe's is that I read that the popular yeast of wheat strains calls for a light tart tast that's part of the profile. Is it possible that the taster was mis-identifying this to be sour?

My beer has a distinct tart taste on the back side of the mouth or on the swallow. I don't recall German hefes having it be so pronounced but I do remember it being there in a subtle sense. Hefe's are so "odiferous" to begin with, there is much that can be mis-identified in my opinon if your sniffer isn't accustomed to the style.

 

[Beerrific]

Yup, LME. I have no idea how fresh it was, other than the fact that I brewed it up 2 days after I got the stuff in the mail.

My 2nd batch is also the LME hefe, only this time the extract DID sit around for a couple weeks (my fault) before I brewed. That's bottle-conditioning now, and my next batch up is set to be a partial mash w/ DME. I guess if my 2nd hefe is worse than the first, and my 3rd batch is fine I can blame the LME.

I am not saying it is the LME, but it is one more variable I am going to eliminate.

It has also been described as licorice or molasses.

My only comment, having just broke into my batch of hefe's is that I read that the popular yeast of wheat strains calls for a light tart tast that's part of the profile. Is it possible that the taster was mis-identifying this to be sour?

My beer has a distinct tart taste on the back side of the mouth or on the swallow. I don't recall German hefes having it be so pronounced but I do remember it being there in a subtle sense. Hefe's are so "odiferous" to begin with, there is much that can be mis-identified in my opinon if your sniffer isn't accustomed to the style.

I have had many hefes, the are one of my favorite styles and yeah I agree they have a tartness to them, but that is not the flavor in my beer it is something else.