First Hefeweizen, anything I should look out for?

[mkultra69]

Summer finally made it to my part of the world:rockin: So decided to try a Hef. Heres what I got so far.

Mash at 150 for 75min

6# White Wheat malt
5# Ger. Pils
.5# Flaked Wheat
1# Rice Hulls

90min boil

.80oz Tett 60min 11.5 IBU
1oz Hallertauer 15min. 6.1 IBU

Wyeast 3056 Bavarian Wheat no starter

O.G. 1.049 17.6 IBU

Anything look to out of place here? Thanks for any input

 

[EricCSU]

Well, I fermented mine too hot (about 78 degrees) and it is definitely a little rough around the edges. I am not sure if that is why it turned out that way, but I've heard from many people that the hot ferment could be why.

Eric

 

[mkultra69]

Good to know. I can keep my brew closet right around 68-70* w/o a water bath. If I put it into water I can keep it around 60*. I had heard a heff likes it a bit warmer, what's a good temp to shoot for?

 

[EricCSU]

Depends on your yeast. I used White Labs WLP300. That yeast has a temp range of 68-72 degrees, according to the White Labs website. I have read that cooler temperatures promote more clove flavor, while warmer temps promote more banana flavor. I can only vouch for the bananas . You can definitely taste them at 78 degrees.

Eric

 

[Bald Head Brewer]

It's true, cooler ferment = more cloves and warmer ferment = more banana.
It's said that the optiumum temp for a Hefe is 64-68 degrees, definately under 70 degrees.

I also recommend using a blow off tube as your airlock. Hefeweizen's can have violent fermentations! I use a 3 piece airlock for most of my other brews, but I go with a blow off for a Hefe.

Good luck!

 

[homebrewer_99]

What were the AAs of your Tets?

Also HW usually don't use any hops other than bittering. The reason is because they are not highly hopped and you want the clover or banana flavors to come through.

I use about 6 lbs of malt and only 3AAs of Hallertau hops in my HWs.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Explosive fermentation. Attach a blowoff right after you pitch. WLP300 goes crazy, but I haven't used 3056 before.

 

[EdWort]

I would do one hop addition at 45 minutes and make a starter for the Wyeast packet. If you don't you will have a serious lag time. Flaked wheat is not necessary either.

 

[mkultra69]

Thanks for all the input. So I got rid of the flaked wheat, and have 1 hop addition of 1.25oz of Tett @45min. Should I do a 90 min boil? I have heard that pils malt needs a longer boil time to get rid of DMS.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I only boil my hefe for 60 min and get no DMS.

 

[EdWort]

I did mine for 90 minutes Saturday and got an O.G. of 1.063