Hefeweizen Advice

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hughes_brews

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I will be brewing my 6th batch in a week or so and want to do another hefe. I brewed a VERY simple one a month ago and it is good, but am looking to tweak the recipe to make it better.

For the previous attempt, I used 6 lb. wheat DME, 1oz. Mt. Hood for 60 minutes (Hallerauer not available), and Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen). Full volume boil. Primary for 2 weeks (in the basement - about 68-70F), then kegged.

It was a very aggresive fermentation and I had to make a quick blowoff after the airlock was filled and overflowing. Nice banana bubbles for well over a week. After kegging, the fermenter smelled great, with a strong clove aroma. However, the clove taste seems to be too light in the beer itself.

Any recommendations on what I can do to improve the recipe, specialty grains, etc.?

Thanks,
Jeff
 
Try a dunkel weizen for a twist! Dunkel weizen is like a regular hefe with more maltiness because they are brewed with Munich malt. Use wheat DME as the base and add about 30% Munich extract. You can add some dark crystal (8oz) for a hint of sweetness and some Carafa Special (2oz) for a darker color. These speciality grains will give the beer some complexity without overpowering theyeast profile. Ferment at 70F and you will have a great dunkel weizen! If you want more "cloviness" ferment a little cooler, at around 64F.
 
I did one recently very similar to yours, 6lb wheat, 0.5oz fuggles 5% 60 min, and 4oz caramunich I mashed in smaller pot 152deg for 50 min. I think the grains added a nice mouthfeel, like a good commercial example. The yeasts were whitelabs, 1 german hef IV and 1 belgian wit. The beer is really on point and we followed Jamil's instructions from Brewing Classic Styles and fermented it at around 64 deg. Good luck hefs rule
PS- I also did a late malt addition, only starting w half the extract and adding the rest at flame out.
 
i did my first hefe recently. added some flaked wheat for a slightly fuller palate. turned out nicely. i also added the zest of two lemons, but not much of it came through. think i'd increase that to 4 next time to give it a nice tang.
 
My friend just made a nice hefe. He had trouble keeping the temperature down below 70. My guess is the average would be about 71 degrees for the fermentation, and it turned out tasting pretty bananariffic. I guess the warmer ferment for more banana flavor makes sense.
 
hughesj said:
I saw late malt addition mentioned in another thread, also. What effect does this have on the beer?

Thanks,
Jeff

It keeps the final product lighter in color. You should add about 25% at the beginning to allow the hops to be fully utilized, though. They could come out somewhat stronger, due to the lower gravity of the wort, though.
 
I used the "Blood Orange Hefe" recipe from Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione as an idea, and changed it up some by steeping some honey specialty grains for 30 minutes, adding about 1/2 lb. of honey, and using sweet orange peel instead of Blood Oranges. My OG was 1.068, and my reading on Sunday was 1.012. The sample tasted very good, with a crisp but not overpowering taste of honey and orange/banana. I'm going to bottle it on Wednesday, and let it set for 10 days per the book before trying one out.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Cooler ferment more cloves
Warmer ferment more banana flavor...;)

I bottled my hefe last weekend, tasted one of em today and its all clove with a 70 degree ferment (not a complaint). Used Wyeast 3333, so what gives? Will i get some banana flavors as it bottle conditions?
 
The short answer is no. 3333 is not one for banana. It's more at a sherry-like and tart. Nothing wrong with that either. Just enjoy them all. ;)

Next time try WLP300 for nanner and bubblegum, WLP351 for nanner and cloves, Weihenstephan is a great one also. ;)
 
hughesj said:
Any recommendations on what I can do to improve the recipe, specialty grains, etc.?

I realize you're posting in the extract forum, but if you ever start mashing, one thing you might want to try (I know I am going to try it on my next hefeweizen) is a maltase rest to turn some maltose into glucose. Hefeweizen is such a simple beer; I'm glad someone came up with a way to make it complicated (i.e. fun). :cross:
 
I loves me some banana in a hefe. :D Jamil may say otherwise, but low 70s works for me as a fermentation temp on a hefe with WLP300, 'cause I want that nanner in my beer. :ban:
 
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