My First Weisbier Recipe - Up for Discussion

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Boodlemania

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Comments/Feedback would be most appreciated. I'm targeting an Ayinger-style weisbier.


Bavarian Wiesbier



Type: Extract
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 3.00 gal
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: Brew Pot (4 Gallon)

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU

0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) (30 min at 155F) Grain 7.69 %

2.00 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) (60 min) Dry Extract 30.77 %
2.00 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) (10 min) Dry Extract 30.77 %
1.00 lb Briess Pilsen DME (1.5 SRM) (60 min) Dry Extract 15.38 %
1.00 lb Briess Pilsen DME (1.5 SRM) (10 min) Dry Extract 15.38 %

2.00 oz Hallertau (Low AA) [1.00 %] (60 min) Hops 5.0 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertau (Low AA) [1.00 %] (10 min) Hops 0.9 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc

1 Pkgs Hefeweizen Ale (White Labs #WLP300) Yeast-Wheat



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.051 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG

Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.03 %
Bitterness: 8.0 IBU
Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 5.8
 
if you are using extract, i would not use anything but Wheat DME. it's already a 60/40 blend of wheat and barley.

some people may say that hops should be used only for bittering (some flavor comes through with 60 min anyway) but i've used hallertau and saaz for finishing on many a weizen and they come out great, it just might not be as "german" as the next beer. for a true bavarian, skip the 10 min addition.

other than that, it looks good!
:mug:
 
you might be late adding your 10 min hops becuase your putting your extract in at the same time. maybe put your extract in at 15 min and hops at 10min. the 15 min extract addition will give you a little more time to get the boil rolling before you put in your hops
 
Thanks for the feedback! The change to a 15 min DME addition with the 10 min hops addition sounds like a winner.
 
brewed this today, taking into consideration the suggestions above.

  1. - Used 1 oz of Williamette pellets 5.1% for the bittering addition.
  2. - Used softened water for both the boil (3 gal) and top-off (chilled from tap, not pre-boiled)
  3. - Did not use a starter, but used the yeast fuel capsule that came with the yeast from AHS.
  4. - Calculated OG was 1.051, I measured 1.050. Yippie!
  5. - Cooled wort to 75F and racked to carboy, filtered with a strainer/funnel and let the wort fall into the carboy. Think I got good aeration this way as I had about 3" of foam when I got done.
  6. - After adding chilled water, temp on sticky-thermometer was 61F. Pitched at this temperature.
  7. - Put carboy in cooler w/about 3" of water. 2 hrs after pitching, temp was 64F.
  8. - I'm going to target 65-66F as a fermentation temperature.
  9. - I did not have a hose with large enough ID to rig a blow-off. Hope this won't be an issue. I'll have to keep a good eye on it the next couple days.
 
you may want to try to rig something up for the blow off. wheats tend to be quite active. otherwise you should be good to go!
 
Well. pitched yesterday ~ 3PM. Definitely no blow-off worries this morning...no activity whatsoever. Hope the little yeasties wake up and get to work soon.

The "best by" date on the vial was Nov '08.
 
Krausen was nice and thick Monday afternoon - about 3". No dangers of blow-off yet, though I'll leave the blow-off tube in place for a few days.
 
Took a gravity sample last night from this receipe brewed 8/30/08. SG spot on to BeerSmith's calculation of 1.013, reading 1.012. Notes on the taste:

- Very strong clove aroma, like a Weihenstephen (sp?) I had a week ago
- Clove notes in taste, though not nearly as strong as Weihenstephen.
- No banana to speak of.
- Fairly clear for a wheat - I could read the hydrometer numbers through the 250ml cylinder I use.

I think this will be a good brew, though I want to lower the amount of clove in successive batches. This one was pitched at 61, raised to 64 over the 1st 2 hours, then held at 66-68 to date in a 6" deep water bath w/towel. Krausen appeared a couple days after brewing. Temperature measured by stick-on thermometer.

Thought WLP300 would have given more banana at these temps. I'm really after an Ayinger taste.

During this fermentation, I monitored the ambient temperature with a digital weather station that records hi/low. Ambient fluctuated from 69.5 to 70.5. So, I think my fermentation temps were consistent. Should I ferment above 70 for the next batch?
 

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