Last minute hefeweizen questions

[Jack]

Planning on brewing my first hefeweizen on Sunday, March 2. Earlier this week, I was confident... but as my brew day has approached, I'm becoming increasingly concerned!

My plan is to follow the all-grain Garden of Wheat'n Bavarian Weizen on page 145 of Radical Brewing.

1. Practically every hefeweizen recipe I see calls for tettnang. My LBHS didn't have tettnang, but I thought Hallertauer would be a good substitute. I also have Kent Goldings, Cascade, and Yakima Goldings in inventory.

2. I have White Labs hefeweizen IV yeast, which is supposed to give the classic hefeweizen flavor without banana (heavier on clove). Any experience with hefeweizen IV? The best before date was also February 2. Should I make a starter? Normally I'd say yes, but in this case I've heard that straining the yeast can contribute to a more flavorful hefeweizen.

3. I've heard that you need to keep the fermentation temperature between 60-67°F to avoid getting too many fruity esters. My plan is to keep the carboy in a tub and adjust the bath temperature to 60°F or so once or twice a day. Should that be good? Or am I a fool for trying it without a thermostated-refrigerator?

4. I've got rice hulls to avoid a stuck sparge. Anything else I should be aware of? Should I do a glucan rest? Should I do a mash out?

 

[homebrewer_99]

I can't help you with the hulls since I don't do AG, but I do a hell of a lot of HWs.

All I use in my HWs are Hallertaus. For 6 lbs of DME I use 3AAs for 60 mins.

Do yourself a favor and go to the garden section at Wal-Mart and buy a plant dolly for $5.95 and a plastic bin that will hold your fermenter. It'll save you a lot of time and water.

For that nice banana flavor you want the ambient temp to be around 70-72 any lower and you'll suppress the 'nanner and accentuate the cloves esters.

 

[count barleywine]

I'm currently drinking a great hef that has the WL hef IV in it, but also the WL belgian wit yeast as well. I used 0.5oz fuggles for 60 min, 6lb alexanders wheat, and 4oz caramunich I. The ferm temp was around 65 deg, which is actually better for hefs and you'll still get the flavors from the yeast. It is almost identical to Brooklyner Weisse and it gets many compliments. Good luck broham