My first hefeweizen

[Freakyreef]

So I am getting ready to brew my first hefe (1 gallon nb kit) going to use the wb06 yeast. So here is my plan. After having 6 batches under my belt with mixed results, I plan on not adding all the dme at once. All my brews have turned out darker than planned. Other than adding half dme at first and the other half about 10 min to flame out, I plan on following kits instructions. I am looking for that nice banana so I have a tub of water in my basement (61 degrees) that i wI'll be putting the 1 gall on carboy in. I plan on adding an aquarium heater to the water bath andbring it up to 70 degrees to pitch and ferment. Is this a good temp for wb06 for the banana esters? Any other thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.
BTW this is my first post here. Woot!

 

[flars]

This is a pretty good chart of what to expect with WB06. Pitch rate on the bottom axis is grams per hectoliter. Pitch low and ferment cool for maximum banana.

 

[RM-MN]

So I am getting ready to brew my first hefe (1 gallon nb kit) going to use the wb06 yeast. So here is my plan. After having 6 batches under my belt with mixed results, I plan on not adding all the dme at once. All my brews have turned out darker than planned. Other than adding half dme at first and the other half about 10 min to flame out, I plan on following kits instructions. I am looking for that nice banana so I have a tub of water in my basement (61 degrees) that i wI'll be putting the 1 gall on carboy in. I plan on adding an aquarium heater to the water bath andbring it up to 70 degrees to pitch and ferment. Is this a good temp for wb06 for the banana esters? Any other thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.
BTW this is my first post here. Woot!

At some point in your brewing you will discover that no matter what you do your extract batches will turn out at least a little darker than you might like. The making of the extract causes some darkening and when you boil it the wort darkens at least a little more. If you want your beer to be the lightest possible, you will need to go to all grain.

While all grain seems a bit daunting, it is really simple. Heat a specified quantity of water to a certain temperature and mix in the grains. Wait for the enzymes to convert the starch to sugars, then separate the sweet wort from the grains.

The simplest way to do this is to use the BIAB method as you can use the pot you currently have (assuming it is large enough) and when you have heated the water to the right temp, drop in a mesh bag and stir in the grains. Separating the grains from the wort is done by lifting the bag and suspending it above the pot while it drains. To get a little more of the sweet wort out you can pour water into the bag of grains and let that drain through. That's it. You now have wort ready to boil.

 

[Freakyreef]

Thanks. I have been doing some research on BIAB and would like to give it a try. Slowly working towards it. Still trying to figure out the styles I prefer.
I had planned on fermenting this one at 72 degrees hoping for some nice banana esters. I had been reading to pitch on the low side
So is the thought of adding the other half dme later in the boil not a great idea then?
Thanks again.

 

[flars]

The late extract addition technique will result in a lighter colored beer than when adding all the extract for the full 60 minute boil. Add enough extract at the beginning for a wort of approximating 1.040 for optimum hop oil isomerization.

 

[Freakyreef]

Thanks again. Lady question if I could. When steeping grains. 150 degrees, do I let them sit or should I be dunking like a tea bag? ? Last time I was fairly aggressive ands loved the tray initially but it had a bit of an off aftertast. Could this have been from incorrect ateeping? Gotta love new questions right?

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks again. Lady question if I could. When steeping grains. 150 degrees, do I let them sit or should I be dunking like a tea bag? ? Last time I was fairly aggressive ands loved the tray initially but it had a bit of an off aftertast. Could this have been from incorrect ateeping? Gotta love new questions right?

You need to steep the grains in water that is between.......100 and 200. You should just let them sit.... or you should dunk them. In other words the way you steep the grains has little effect on the outcome. You are looking for the sugars, flavor, and color from them.

The temperature you ferment the beer will have a lot of effect on the beer. Research the yeast you use and choose to ferment it near the lowest temperature in its range unless you want some special flavors that that strain of yeast gives.

 

[flars]

Thanks again. Lady question if I could. When steeping grains. 150 degrees, do I let them sit or should I be dunking like a tea bag? ? Last time I was fairly aggressive ands loved the tray initially but it had a bit of an off aftertast. Could this have been from incorrect ateeping? Gotta love new questions right?

I begin the steep in cold water. I take the grain bag out at 160°F and rinse with warm water. I stir the bag every couple of minutes so the water doesn't come to a boil underneath the bag because of trapped heat. Steep time is 20 to 25 minutes.