Flavor changes in German Hefe Weizens during maturation

[Blue-Frog]

What do German Hefe Weizens smell and taste like before and after being matured?

What is happening during the maturation phase?

How about as it ages?

How long can they age before thy go bad?

What does "bad" taste like?

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Fresh and young, they should taste smooth and bready, with nice fruit (banana) and spice. They have a 'richness' to them, but are also very refreshing.
With age they become more tart and lose the richness.

What's doing on? This is my guess only, but the bulk of the flavour of a hefeweizen is from the yeast, coupled with the bready tartness of the wheat. With age, the yeast derived flavours get cleaned up, leaving the tartness. It's just a guess though.

They don't really get 'bad' - I still have some that are 9 months old that are OK - they are definitely drinkable, but they are much better young. I drink these younger than any other beer - they are great (fermented with Wy3068) after about four days in the bottle/keg (naturally carbonated - don't force carbonate them) and slowly decline after that.

 

[JonM]

I occasionally upend the keg to knock the settled yeast back into suspension. Not sure if it helps, but it seems to.

 

[Blue-Frog]

they are great after about four days in the bottle/keg....

is that 4 days after pitching the yeast or after 4 days of maturation after the beer has carbed up?

 

[Gnomebrewer]

is that 4 days after pitching the yeast or after 4 days of maturation after the beer has carbed up?

4 days in the bottle or keg.
I go with 10 days fermenting at 18C (as long as it has finished by then - check gravity on day 8 and 10 to confirm), then bottle or keg with krausen beer, and start drinking four days later (priming sugar would be in place of krausen beer but might need an extra day or two). This yeast is so aggressive that it seems to carbonate in a few days at warm temperatures.

This is quite a bit shorter than an American ale ferment (pale, amber, brown), where I'd normally go three weeks in the fermenter and then another three weeks in keg or bottle before drinking.