Help me with El Hefe

[sonofgrok]

Hey all. Please help me out with a simple, quick Hefeweizen recipe. I want to give one a whirl. I searched the site but most everything I found was all-grain. I don't have a mash tun and so my comfort level is steeping grains and using LME/DME etc.

Anyways based on what I did find, I am guessing something like (5 gallon batch):
5 or 6 # Bavarian Wheat DME
1oz Hallertau hops
X amount of some grain/grains which you are going to help me identify
Wyeast 3068 yeasties

I do really want to try all-grain because the LME/DME cost is killing me... stuff is like liquid gold. Lack of a mash-tun and not fully understanding the process is holding me back though

Thanks!
E

 

[dneubeck85]

U could always start all grain by doing one gallon batches. Using the brew in a bag method. The last two gallons I made cost me around $4 a batch.

 

[dneubeck85]

As for the hef. I went 3 lbs Pilsen dme and 3 lbs wheat dme. I went 1/2 lb carapils and that was it

 

[stevedore]

You got a good all-grain Hefe recipe for a 1 gal? I assume just divide all those numbers by 5 and that would work.

 

[dneubeck85]

Yupp. I went a little farther and added some coriander and honey to it as well.

 

[zzARzz]

Use LME as it's almost half the cost of DME and spike it with honey at flameout. Here's my interpretation of what you described:

Style: Weizen/Weissbier; Hefeweizen
Type: Extract w/ Specialty grains; 4 gallon pot
Size: 5 gallons; 60 minute boil
OG: 1.049
FG: 1.011
IBU: 12.5
SRM: 7.5
ABV: 5.0%

Specialty Grains
12oz Caramel 20L
8oz Honey Malt
4oz Carapils
Steep in 1.5 gallons water @ 154F

Extract/Adjuncts/Sugar
3lbs Briess Pilsen Light LME @ 30 minutes
3lbs Briess Bavarian Wheat LME @ 30 minutes
8oz Honey @ Flame-Out

Hops
0.25oz Hallertauer @ 60 min
0.25oz Hallertauer @ 50 min
0.25oz Hallertauer @ 10 min
0.25oz Hallertauer @ 5 min

Yeast
Wyeast German Wheat (3333); 1L Starter w/ Stir Plate - 3L Starter w/o Stir Plate

Primary @ 69F for 21 days (or 7 Primary, 14 Secondary); Bottle w/ 5oz Priming Sugar (2.9 vol)

 

[dneubeck85]

Really no need for a 50 min addition. I would just do it at 60. I like to add my honey in secondary so I get more honey flavor.

 

[sonofgrok]

I can handle zzARzz's recipe. Sounds pretty tasty. I will probably use DME though. My LHBS has it for the exact same price and I seem to get better beer and I find that I hit my FG much better with it for some reason. You definitely helped fill in the gaps on the recipe though!

 

[zzARzz]

Really no need for a 50 min addition. I would just do it at 60. I like to add my honey in secondary so I get more honey flavor.

I agree with the 0.5oz hps @ 60. I was doing some funky stuff with hops additions today on BeerSmith and haven't gotten out of that mode yet

When I did my honey wheat ale I added 1/2 of the total honey in primary and the other half in secondary which worked really well. Gave it a good honey background like you said.

 

[sonofgrok]

Any thoughts on doing the starter with the honey? How about adding a bit extra honey for a slightly higher ABV? The OG sounds kind of low for all that malt and honey but I don't have a whole lot of experience with beer, only like 3 stouts and 2 ambers under my belt.

 

[zzARzz]

I can handle zzARzz's recipe. Sounds pretty tasty. I will probably use DME though. My LHBS has it for the exact same price and I seem to get better beer and I find that I hit my FG much better with it for some reason. You definitely helped fill in the gaps on the recipe though!

If you use DME then use a starter of 1.25L w/ Stir-plate and 1.75L w/o. Other than that you may want to take dneubeck85's suggestion of doing the honey in the secondary if you want it more pronounced.

 

[dneubeck85]

I've done it both ways. Added at end of the boil and secondary. During initial fermentation honey is like 98% fermentable, so there isn't much left as far as flavor goes. Adding to the secondary will still ferment but gives a bit more pronounced honey flavor to the beer. I was partial to dme when I brewed extract.

 

[zzARzz]

Any thoughts on doing the starter with the honey? How about adding a bit extra honey for a slightly higher ABV? The OG sounds kind of low for all that malt and honey but I don't have a whole lot of experience with beer, only like 3 stouts and 2 ambers under my belt.

Using DME will drive the OG up to 1.052 which is at the top end for weissebier. For a starter I'd just use 6oz of the pilsen DME w/ 1.75L of boiled water (1.037 SG) and 1/2tsp of nutrient and save the honey for the batch.

 

[sonofgrok]

Sounds good. I always have a crapton of honey around for mead making. Thanks again both of you for the help.

 

[Yooper]

I'm not much of a hefeweizen fan, but if I was going to make one I'd make it just the traditional way.

I'd use wheat DME (which is a mix of wheat and barley DME), bittering hops only, and weizen yeast. That's it- it's that simple.

The traditional hefeweizen flavor comes from a tradition weizen yeast.

I wouldn't use honey, coriander, or any of that other stuff if I wanted a hefeweizen.

 

[sonofgrok]

I'm not much of a hefeweizen fan, but if I was going to make one I'd make it just the traditional way.

I'd use wheat DME (which is a mix of wheat and barley DME), bittering hops only, and weizen yeast. That's it- it's that simple.

The traditional hefeweizen flavor comes from a tradition weizen yeast.

I wouldn't use honey, coriander, or any of that other stuff if I wanted a hefeweizen.

Yeah... but what do you know about beer?

*ducks flying shoe*

 

[Yooper]

Yeah... but what do you know about beer?

*ducks flying shoe*

Not too much. But I know damn well I wouldn't drink a honey coriander pretend hefeweizen!

When I lived in Germany, I drank hefeweizen only in the summer and I found it refreshing for what it was. I'm not a huge fan at all of wheat beers, or of fruity flavors in beers, but when it was warm outside it was a very nice thirst quencher. The same could be said for radler, though!

But the key to a hefeweizen is truly its simplicity. 35-50% wheat, 50-65% barley, noble hops for bittering, and a good weizen yeast. You don't even need specialty grains, since wheat DME is the right proportion for a hefeweizen.

I've seen some wits that will use coriander and the like, and I think that's ok for what it is but it is not my preference.

 

[sonofgrok]

Pshaw! And what do germans know about beer?