Ester/Phenol Balance in Weizen

[Ouroboros]

I'm a huge fan of a hefeweizen or a dunkelweizen in a hot summer day, but with some commercial brews I feel like the ester taste/aroma seems to dominate the spicy phenolic component by the end of the glass. The level of banana in Franziskaner or Paulaner are plenty for my tastes.

I hear some of these weizen yeasts can easily produce a "banana bomb". First and foremost, I want to avoid that. What should I do? Also I brew this beer, what can I "tweak" to slightly reduce the concentration of esters with respect to the concentration of phenols?

 

[Clonefarmer]

Fermenting cooler in the lower range of the yeast should create more phenolic.

 

[Beernik]

Try wyeast 3056. It's less estery than 3068.

 

[chefmike]

I use WL380 and ferment at 62 degrees (the wort, not ambient). I like the balance this produces. I am more of a clove guy than a banana guy.

I obsessed about this for a while last year and have links in this thread.

 

[Ouroboros]

Thanks everybody.

It seems that any question capable of being asked has already been answered somewhere here, but finding that answer can be another matter.

 

[chefmike]

Lots of reading to do here for sure... but much of it is worthwhile. I like seeing folks ask about things I have pursued so I can point others down the same path.

I also like letting you pick that path. I have no hard rules, as everyone has a different perception of their ideals in brewing.

And this place empowers all that. And is entertaining and social to boot.

 

[Ouroboros]

I also like letting you pick that path. I have no hard rules, as everyone has a different perception of their ideals in brewing.

Yeah, I've just started brewing but I can see how people get very gung-ho about it. It's a great blend of the artistic and the scientific. I hope to get to the point where I can make something specific to my tastes, or replicate my favorite aspects of commercial brews. So far, it seems like the hardest part is waiting.

 

[chefmike]

So far, it seems like the hardest part is waiting.

True!

And it is worth the wait. It is always sad when a beer gets great... on the 45th bottle of the batch.

Build that pipeline up!

I have learned a ton from brewing the same recipes and fine tuning the process and learning how it reacts to different changes.