Hefeweizen Question

[CharlieM]

Have a Hefe kit I'm going to start this coming weekend, all extract (but truthfully haven't opened the box yet!). Anyway, any ideas or suggestions on adding a little "flavor" to it. Or is that too much for this style. Had wanted to try a coconut or vanilla bean taste to it. Yes the creative juices are flowing and this will only be my third batch!!! Thanks all .

 

[BlackGoat]

For me, I would just brew it up as-is without getting too funky - especially if you're just getting started with homebrewing. But, experimenting is part of the fun of all this. People tend to like the berry flavors in heffes, so something like strawberry or rasberry would probably match up well.

 

[progmac]

If you want to add flavorings to different beers, I would recommend dividing the finished beer into multiple smaller batches (eg 1 - 3 gallon) and modify the beer at that point by adding banana, coconut, vanilla, peppers, or whatever you want to try. Essentially, you would be keeping multiple secondaries. That way you can figure out what you like without wasting a bunch of beer.

 

[Glynn]

You could try adding 1 oz crushed coriander and 1 oz sweet orange peel @ 15. Then 1 oz sweet orange peel @ 5

 

[PastorofMuppets]

my first kit hefe turned out much closer to a dubbel.
I would research late boil additions and watch your temps.
Anything to warm will give you way more esters than you want.
The color will be darker than a hefe if you add all the extract at the beginning.

have fun they are one of my favorite styles

 

[hokieguy95]

+1 on the organge peels. There's a recipe on the net for a Blood Orange Hefe. Sounded delicious.

Also have heard a peach Hefe recipe that most of the ladies go for.

 

[flars]

Have you brewed a Hefe before? If not , brew this one as it is. Then decide what flavor you think it still needs for the next one.

 

[ill4delph]

+1 on the organge peels. There's a recipe on the net for a Blood Orange Hefe. Sounded delicious.

Also have heard a peach Hefe recipe that most of the ladies go for.

I brewed the blood orange Hefe a few weeks ago and bottled yesterday. Smells amazing.

 

[tborow]

Have you brewed a Hefe before? If not , brew this one as it is. Then decide what flavor you think it still needs for the next one.

I would suggest this too. My last hefe's taste has changed at least 2 or 3 times.

 

[flatlanderHQ]

Keep if simple for the first one. Temp will determine phenol and ester profile. Higher temps will give more clove and banana flavour. Lower less. 62F gives a nice balanced flavour profile.

 

[flatlanderHQ]

But that depends on the yeast that came with kit. Liquid yeast is best for this style.

 

[EHV]

I'm drinking a Hef now and I'm with flatlander. If your pitching a liquid Wyeast 3068 adjust your fermentation temps for different character. It's a great beer as is.

 

[c3hutson]

Keep if simple for the first one. Temp will determine phenol and ester profile. Higher temps will give more clove and banana flavour. Lower less. 62F gives a nice balanced flavour profile.

Pretty sure low is clove and high is banana

 

[Tippsy-Turvy]

Whilst I would also recommend you first brew the kit as is, if you do want to experiment with flavor additions you can try my technique below. This will allow you to have beers brewed as is PLUS beers with flavor experiments - all from the same batch.

One caveat tho. The last time I tried this technique was also on a hefeweizen and the experimental bottles had lychees in one, orange zest in another and a third with dried rose buds. The experimental bottles were given a week as a "secondary" before the additions were removed and the carbonation begun. None of them tasted as good as the original unadulterated hefe.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/benefits-secondary-vessel-without-risks-413573/

 

[SpeedyR]

if you look in the recipe section, there's a lemon/lime hefe listed (SD SLIM?) with recipe.

the big difference is in his recipe, after about 2 days of fermenting, you add in 1.75 liter bottle of Simply Limeade and then finish your standard fermentation.

I did the same recipe (I just posted my ingredients) but instead of the LImeade, I used the Simple Raspberry Lemonade. turned out great.

Might not be a great idea to just add ingredients willy nilly, but at least it's something to consider for your next brew or one later down the road..

here's the link to my ingredients further down the page on the link- it came out a bit darker than I would have liked (should have added the DME later and maybe used a slightly different blend) but it tastes great and I've gotten lots of compliments on the version I brewed...

Raspberry Lemonade Hefe Weizen

 

[Nelrock]

How about body?
I usually throw a hefe in...every other one or so. They all taste fine...but I'd like em a bit more...smoother...wheatier...if that's a good explanation.
Despite not normally using a secondary...mine seem to turn out rather clear. Not coudy at all. I'd like em a tad bit breadier (if thats a word). Not sure the best way to go about attaining that.