Brewing a Hefeweizen?

[Allekornbrauer]

Hello I am just wondering if a good Hefeweizen can be brew using a single-infusion? I use a cooler as a mash tun an I don’t want to deal with step mashing or decoction mashing.

 

[Sailingeric]

That is how I do it. You should be fine.

 

[tgolanos]

Same here. I'm drinking one now, in fact!

 

[Bassman2003]

Yes. In fact, a lot of award winning hefes have been made with extract. Yeast treatment is very important to the style. Ferment at 62f and under pitch a little if you want more banana.

Although I will admit I am a step masher because I feel duty bound!

 

[haicoterbeek]

That is how I do it. You should be fine.

Whats the temperature and time you use?

 

[GPP33]

Yes, a hefe style can be brewed with single infusion but is it good? Try it and decide if you like it. I do single infusion and I think my hefe is fabulous, your tastes my vary. It certainly isn’t guaranteed to make a crappy beer.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Depends on the balance you want. Banana is easy to coax out. Clove is a bit tougher. In my experience an authentic level of clove is challenging without a step mash (ferulic acid rest ~110F).

I like to mash at 110 for 45 mins, bring to 132 for maybe 5 mins, then 144 for maybe 20-30 mins, then 156 for 15-20, then a few mins at 168.

The protein rest and mashout are more for easier lautering than anything else. Less (or no) need for rice hulls.

I pitch at a super-low rate, completely unoxygenated, and ferment at 62F. It lags a bit longer and adds a bit to ferment time and is incredibly unhappy yeast afterwards I won't repitch from, but it attenuates properly and leaves intense levels of both banana and clove in its wake (although more clove-balanced than banana).

Basically in most cases you're trying to reduce yeast stress. In this case I'm abusing them horribly on purpose.

 

[Bassman2003]

Awesome. This is very close to my methods. Have you experimented with shorter acid rest times? Has the 45 min rest yielded the best results?

 

[RPh_Guy]

I used single infusion and got a good balance of clove and banana.
Temp control, pitching rate, aeration, and mash pH supposedly all play a role.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Awesome. This is very close to my methods. Have you experimented with shorter acid rest times? Has the 45 min rest yielded the best results?

For the balance that I like, which is firmly to the clove side. Shorter acid rest and higher ferm temp mean less clove and more banana. I haven't seen a benefit going longer. I go longer than most do (I think).

 

[Qhrumphf]

I used single infusion and got a good balance of clove and banana.
Temp control, pitching rate, aeration, and mash pH supposedly all play a role.

I have read about, but haven't experimented with, folks letting mash pH run quite high then acidifying heavily during sparge to keep runnings and wort/beer pH in check. This apparently also helps with the clove. I've kept it in the same range as most everything else (5.4 room temp). Higher pH may allow less/no acid rest. But gotta watch sparging more.

I also heavily oversparge (often <1°P last runnings on smaller beers) by almost all metrics- good temp and virulent pH control mean no tannin issues. Makes me extra hesistant to try that approach.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks. I think I will lengthen my acid rest as I enjoy clove as well. I have read that the acid rest is more effective at pH 5.8 but am unsure about rushing to acidify after the acid rest. Adding salts and lactic acid is better at the strike water stage to ensure even distribution and give some time for the drop to occur. Having all of the malt in place seems like the addition would not be evenly distributed, especially with CaCl. Something to try someday.

I find lagers, which many homebrewers are a little scared of much easier to get right than hefeweizen. This style has been a work in progress for my 15 years of brewing!

 

[Qhrumphf]

I see Hefe as an easy style to make a decent one for a beginner (can make a banana-forward one with 100% wheat extract-ie 50% wheat 50% 2 row for most brands I know of, no real aeration, no starter, poor temp control).

But it's definitely one of the hardest to master.

 

[corax]

I pitch at a super-low rate, completely unoxygenated, and ferment at 62F. It lags a bit longer and adds a bit to ferment time and is incredibly unhappy yeast afterwards I won't repitch from, but it attenuates properly and leaves intense levels of both banana and clove in its wake (although more clove-balanced than banana).

That's really interesting. I was always under the impression that you had to go >68° to get banana. I guess the stress from the low pitch and low oxygenation make up for it?

 

[Morrey]

Interested in this discussion since I always do single infusion mashes and never step mash. How much influence will a step mash have? Interesting

I've played with the same strain (WLP300) deliberately attempting to up-play or down-play the flavors influenced by the yeast. I have found my biggest influences to come from pitch rate and ferm temps. Building a starter and keeping in the low 60's tends to influence the beer to be more neutral, while a straight pitch from the pack and higher temps brings out more nuances.

Since I like mine more clean, I started using WLP 320 (Am Hefe) and find this to be pleasing. Another variable that could be experimented with is fermenting under pressure which is reported to keep esters low.

 

[Lefou]

My hefe brews are typically under pitched. My shop sells White Labs cultures, so their liquid yeast is what I'll reference. For amyl esters (banana), use WLP300 and raise the fermentation temps. For a noticeable clove essence, I recommend WLP351. It gives out clove in spades between 60-65F, so pick your hops well for their beta levels as the clove accents the bitterness perception.
For a neutral muted ester beer, WLP320 and mild US hops. Blow-off recommened for all yeasts. Even though I under pitched all of them, they ferment vigorously.
Water should be soft and bittering-to-gravity levered toward malt, but with the US style, I'll dry my beer out and bump the hops up to 20IBU or so, but that's me.

Using a single infusion or step with all grain, I would mash low, then step up, and mash out. Total time 90 minutes. The beer doesn't have to be BJCP standard and I like to use a percentage of Munich 10 for a bit of color.

 

[Home_alone1]

I do 70 percent wheat to 30 percent Pilsner

Mash at 156

Ferment at 66 with your preferred Hefeweizen yeast !

 

[Shwagger]

Step mash using beersmith to calculate for you. Easier than decoction, possibly better than a single infusion.

After that its all about temp, yeast, aeration.

As stated above, hard to master but fun and cheap to experiment with. And its not trendy like 1 or 3 beer types right now

 

[murphyslaw]

I've definitely made good hefes with single infusion mashes.

For my last Hefe, I tried a decoction mash. It wasn't very hard, and I did think it was the best Hefe I've made.

I'm planning to brew another soon and generally check out the NHC winning recipes as a starting point. The three most recent winning hefes all used a similar mash schedule, with a 10 rest at 113, 10 min at 127, and 45 min at 149. That generally agrees with the research I've done on different mash temperature, which suggest a schedule like this would be good for a hefe. Prior to those, the winner did a single infusion at 150. I think I'm going to try something like 110/125/149.

I've read mixed results regarding underpitching but may give that a try, too.