Questions on a hefeweizen recipe

[Ouroboros]

Any input on this recipe would be appreciated! Hefeweizens are tasty summer beers and a good chance for me to try out decoction mashing. I'm assuming 60% efficiency in the mash. This is only my second all-grain, and 60% was my extraction efficiency the first time around. If the decoction mash improves my efficiency, I'll just dilute with water to keep my OG fitting with the style.

I'm not sure about how long the rests need to be, though. I'm more of a clove than a banana guy, so I was thinking about a longer rest to generate more feurilic acid. I don't know how long is too long, though. Same goes for the saccharification rests. With respect to hops, is FWH and a 0.25 oz finishing addition appropriate for the style? I heard that FWH can generate smoother, more refined bitterness.

Vital Statistics
OG: 1.056
Projected FG (70% attenuation): 1.017
IBU: 13
Yeast: WY3068 fermented at 62-68F (the range that my water bath seems to stay)
Batch size: 6 gal (my bucket is about 7.5 gallons so why not)

Grains
9 lb White Wheat (60%)
4 lb German pilsner (26.67%)
1 lb Light Munich 6L (6.67%)
0.5 lb Carmel Wheat 40L (3.33%)
0.5 lb Vienna (3.33%)

Extras
1 lb rice hulls, rinsed

Hops
1.5 oz Hallertau (3.9% AA) FWH
0.125 oz Northern Brewer (8.5% AA) 60 min
0.25 oz Hallertau (3.9%AA) 5 min

Mash Schedule
1.25 qt / lb grain
Strike Water: 110F
pH buffered at 5.2

100F - 90 min - Acid Rest
10 min into rest, remove 2 gal, hold at 150F for 30 min, boil 10 min

145F - 45 min - Saccharification Rest
Upon reaching temperature, immediately remove 1 gal, hold at 150F for 30 min, boil 10 min

155F - 45 min - Saccharification Rest
Upon reaching temperature, immediately remove 1 gal, hold at 150F for 30 min, boil 10 min

>170F - Mashout

 

[Oldsock]

There is no need for such a complex mash bill, I've had good luck with 50/50 pils/wheat. A bit of crystal can be nice, but with a decocation I'd skip the Munich/Veinna since you'll be producing melanoidins in the mash.

Sounds like a fine mash. I've done mine with a single decoction to cut time:
4 vinyl guaiacol 15 min @ 113 (Infusion)
Protein 10 min @ 126 (Direct)
Sacch Rest 1 40 min @ 144 (Direct)
Sacch Rest 2 40 min @ 161 (Decoction boiled for 20 minutes)

Finishing hops aren't really traditional, but .25 oz won't be out of style.

I would guess that you'll get better than 70% attenuation with such a long rest at 145. I like a cool fermentation with 3068 pitch ~60 hold there or a couple degrees warmer.

Good luck.

 

[944play]

What he said. And I don't know how you got only 13 IBU from that much hopping, but the best hefeweizen I ever made was basically EdWort's with .5oz 3.2% Crystal at 60 and .5oz at 10 targeting 9 IBU. Still on the hoppy side, but that's the sweet spot for me.

A pound of rice hulls may be overkill.

Barley apparently has more ferulic acid than wheat. Might want to lean towards that side of 50-50.

 

[Ouroboros]

I don't know how you got only 13 IBU from that much hopping

I calculated the IBU contribution of first wort hopping as I would a 20-minute hop addition. With my OG, utilization comes out to 0.134 ... though I'm unsure about the appropriateness of FWH in a hefeweizen. I've never done it, so I'm just relying on descriptions of its effects (smoother bitterness). I wouldn't think it would add any flavor/aroma since the hops are in the wort for the full duration of the boil. But then again, what the hell do I know.

A pound of rice hulls may be overkill.

Maybe 0.5 lb then?

Barley apparently has more ferulic acid than wheat. Might want to lean towards that side of 50-50.

I just read that hefeweizens use between 50-70% wheat in the grain bill, so I split the difference. I love the taste of wheat, but I guess the difference between 50% and 60% wheat in a grain bill wouldn't be that much of a difference.

 

[944play]

Maybe 0.5 lb then?

That's more like it. I suppose it depends on your lautering rig, but the last wheat beer I brewed (same batch of Ed's I mentioned, @ 64% wheat!) I used no rice hulls and had no problem running off with my standard SS braid.

I don't know about FWH either. I mean, I've done it a couple times, but never in anything approaching a scientific way. But since the most unfortunate flaw in a hef I brewed was too much leafy/veggie stuff, I'm really timid with hop rates in the style.

 

[Ouroboros]

Thanks for the input.

Yeah, I brewed it with just 1 oz hallertau boiled for 60 min and 0.25 oz boiled for 15 min. Not going to mess with new hopping techniques in a malt/yeast-oriented brew like a hefeweizen. I'll probably give it a whirl on an ESB, though. I left out the munich (subbed pilsner for it), but kept the vienna malt. It smelled amazing during the decoctions. It was the first time I've done decoction mashes, and it was some nice aromatherapy (though a bit of a PITA).

My efficiency was of 82%, though, so I ended up with way more wort than I really needed. I guess people weren't joking about an increase in efficiency when you do decoctions. Boiling it down would have increased the OG way outside of what is appropriate for the style, so I just put the excess in some sterile jugs (autoclaved @ the lab I work in) and froze it. I figure I can always thaw + boil it for starters or a "kitchen sink" batch.