Hefe- lacking yeast flavor

[cuse88]

I brewed a Hefe and a couple weeks in , there's a little too much wheat flavor on the back end. I fermented at 62 degrees, I was wondering if I could ramp up the temp to add some more yeast flavor on the back end? Thanks for any help!

 

[dmtaylor]

No, after a couple weeks, temperature won't help anymore, too late now. Two things could have happened:

A) You might have used the wrong kind of yeast. Some "hefeweizen" yeasts are for the American style, not the Bavarian. The American style ferments very clean, while the Bavarian/German style is the one you want for clove, banana and bubblegum.

B) You might have overpitched. Bavarian hefeweizen is a rare case when you want to stress out the yeast on purpose by underpitching by about 75% on purpose in order to get more of those lovely clove and banana flavors. If you followed Mr. Malty calculator or equivalent, your beer will turn out too clean.

Fix one or both of those, and you'll do a lot better next time. Try WLP380, that's a good one for sure, but it does need to be stressed out or it's too clean.

 

[Natdavis777]

No, after a couple weeks, temperature won't help anymore, too late now. Two things could have happened:

A) You might have used the wrong kind of yeast. Some "hefeweizen" yeasts are for the American style, not the Bavarian. The American style ferments very clean, while the Bavarian/German style is the one you want for clove, banana and bubblegum.

B) You might have overpitched. Bavarian hefeweizen is a rare case when you want to stress out the yeast on purpose by underpitching by about 75% on purpose in order to get more of those lovely clove and banana flavors. If you followed Mr. Malty calculator or equivalent, your beer will turn out too clean.

Fix one or both of those, and you'll do a lot better next time. Try WLP380, that's a good one for sure, but it does need to be stressed out or it's too clean.

Agreed.

One other thing to note is fermentation temp. Fermenting low will accentuate the phenolic clove flavor, while a higher temp (68-72) will accentuate the estery banana/bubblegum flavor.

Myself, I like to underpitch and ferment mid range (65-66) to get a balanced Hefe.

 

[cuse88]

I used Wyeast weihenstephan 3068. I pitched 2 4 month old packs into a 5 gallon batch, I guess it is possible to have over pitched.

 

[cuse88]

I'm thinking of maybe letting it go another week in primary and then racking onto fruit for a week to cut back on the wheat/grainy flavor on the back end and balance it out a bit. Thoughts?

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I don't mean to be rude but it's a wheat beer it's going to taste like one. You can try to dress it up but it's likely always going to have a wheat backbone to it.

That's a great yeast strain but it's sort of the process that draws the best out of it. Let it start at 68f for a day or two then let it rise on its own to 75f. Clean with all the right esters. Step mashing can also help.

 

[JonM]

Don't try to judge a beer based on a flat, unconditioned sample right out of the fermenter. Wait until it's carbonated to make any final judgments.

 

[MI_Dogman]

Just hang in there. Try not to judge it so soon. I fermented mine at 68*F and bottled after two weeks. It tastes great!
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1458510256.245102.jpg

 

[cuse88]

I don't mean to be rude but it's a wheat beer it's going to taste like one. You can try to dress it up but it's likely always going to have a wheat backbone to it.

That's a great yeast strain but it's sort of the process that draws the best out of it. Let it start at 68f for a day or two then let it rise on its own to 75f. Clean with all the right esters. Step mashing can also help.

I was just saying the wheat and maltiness was stronger than what you would get normally from a wheat beer. I do expect to taste the wheat ha.

I knew going at 62 was low but I read what Jamil and Denny said and went with their recommendations.

I'm going to just let ride one more week in primary for giggles and keg next weekend. Thanks for the help!

 

[JonM]

Jamil and Denny know what they're talking about. I'd follow their advice before I'd follow the advice of dudes like me, especially when it comes to things like hefeweizen and Belgian yeasts.

 

[cuse88]

Jamil and Denny know what they're talking about. I'd follow their advice before I'd follow the advice of dudes like me, especially when it comes to things like hefeweizen and Belgian yeasts.

All advice is good advice my friend. I know both say to go that low for a more balanced Hefe/ German Wheat in order to avoid the banana from overtaking the flavor at warmer temps. The aromas and initial flavors I get are very well balanced in my Hefe. Nice blend of both banana and clove, neither being overly dominant.