recipe for widmer hefeweizen clone?
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Don't know about the grain/hops, but I read somewhere that they use the German Duesseldorf Altbier strain to ferment which explains the clean, almost lager-like flavor as opposed to the usual banana/clove you find in a hefe. Wyeast 1007 is the one to use. The White Labs offering (WLP036) seems to be out of season.
Hmm Widmer actually gives a lot of details about their beers. I put together a Broken Halo clone a few weeks ago which I am planning to do soon (another topic).
http://www.widmer.com/beer_hefeweizen.aspx
For the grist they give 11.7*P as the gravity (OG 1.045). 30 IBU. 4.9% ABV so it finishes low (fully attenuated). Pale, Munich, Wheat, Caramel 40 malt. Sounds like a Bavarian hefe but darker. I remember the color being around 5-6 SRM though I haven't had too many. Bittering is Alchemy (from what I have uncovered is a blend of Horizon, Magnum, Columbus, and maybe Summit). Willamette and cascade for aroma. They are in Oregon after all.
The thrill of the hunt continues..
A stab in the dark:
All-grain recipe, 70% efficiency:
4# Pale 2-row
4# Wheat malt
1# Munich
.25# Crystal 40
Mash 75 @149.
.5oz Horizon or Magnum or Columbus 45
.5oz Cascade 10
.5oz Willamette 10
1Tbsp white flour at flameout
OG 1.044 .. SRM 6 .. IBU 30
Ferment w/ Wyeast 1007 as cool as possible (60-64 is ideal).
Partial mash recipe:
6.5# Wheat LME
1# Munich
.25# Crystal 40
.5oz Horizon or Magnum or Columbus
.5oz Cascade
.5oz Willamette
1Tbsp white flour
Steep Munich and Crystal malts for 45 minutes at 152*F in 2 quarts of water. Add malt extract, 2.5 gallons of water, and bring to a boil. Add Horizon hops and boil 35 minutes. Add extract, Cascade hops, and Willamette hops, boil another 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in flour. Add to 2 gallons of chilled water and cool before pitching yeast. Ferment w/ Wyeast 1007 at 62*F.
All-extract recipe:
6.5# Wheat LME
1# Munich LME
.5oz Horizon or Magnum or Columbus
.5oz Cascade
.5oz Willamette
1Tbsp white flour
Bring 3 gallons of water to a boil. Add Horizon hops and boil 35 minutes. Add malt extract, Cascade hops, and Willamette hops, boil another 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in flour. Add to 2 gallons of chilled water and cool before pitching yeast. Ferment w/ Wyeast 1007 at 62*F.
http://www.widmer.com/beer_hefeweizen.aspx
For the grist they give 11.7*P as the gravity (OG 1.045). 30 IBU. 4.9% ABV so it finishes low (fully attenuated). Pale, Munich, Wheat, Caramel 40 malt. Sounds like a Bavarian hefe but darker. I remember the color being around 5-6 SRM though I haven't had too many. Bittering is Alchemy (from what I have uncovered is a blend of Horizon, Magnum, Columbus, and maybe Summit). Willamette and cascade for aroma. They are in Oregon after all.
The thrill of the hunt continues..
A stab in the dark:
All-grain recipe, 70% efficiency:
4# Pale 2-row
4# Wheat malt
1# Munich
.25# Crystal 40
Mash 75 @149.
.5oz Horizon or Magnum or Columbus 45
.5oz Cascade 10
.5oz Willamette 10
1Tbsp white flour at flameout
OG 1.044 .. SRM 6 .. IBU 30
Ferment w/ Wyeast 1007 as cool as possible (60-64 is ideal).
Partial mash recipe:
6.5# Wheat LME
1# Munich
.25# Crystal 40
.5oz Horizon or Magnum or Columbus
.5oz Cascade
.5oz Willamette
1Tbsp white flour
Steep Munich and Crystal malts for 45 minutes at 152*F in 2 quarts of water. Add malt extract, 2.5 gallons of water, and bring to a boil. Add Horizon hops and boil 35 minutes. Add extract, Cascade hops, and Willamette hops, boil another 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in flour. Add to 2 gallons of chilled water and cool before pitching yeast. Ferment w/ Wyeast 1007 at 62*F.
All-extract recipe:
6.5# Wheat LME
1# Munich LME
.5oz Horizon or Magnum or Columbus
.5oz Cascade
.5oz Willamette
1Tbsp white flour
Bring 3 gallons of water to a boil. Add Horizon hops and boil 35 minutes. Add malt extract, Cascade hops, and Willamette hops, boil another 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in flour. Add to 2 gallons of chilled water and cool before pitching yeast. Ferment w/ Wyeast 1007 at 62*F.
UnaBonger
Well-Known Member
I just stumbled across this looking for something similar and am curious why the white flour? I've never seen that in a recipe before... Cloudiness?
Yup, guaranteed to get a hazy, cloudy beer.
UnaBonger
Well-Known Member
I think I'm giving this a run tomorrow... Had some Widmer over the holiday and really enjoyed it. Very easy drinking...
I picked up -
6.6 lbs Wheat Malt Extract
2 lbs Munich
2oz Liberty
1oz Saaz
Wyeast 1007
Thinking -
1oz Liberty 60 mins
1oz Liberty 30 mins
1oz Saaz 5 mins or flameout
Unsure about the flour addition...
Thoughts suggestions?
I picked up -
6.6 lbs Wheat Malt Extract
2 lbs Munich
2oz Liberty
1oz Saaz
Wyeast 1007
Thinking -
1oz Liberty 60 mins
1oz Liberty 30 mins
1oz Saaz 5 mins or flameout
Unsure about the flour addition...
Thoughts suggestions?
![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
ajwillys
Well-Known Member
What do you guys think of this recipe? At least, those of you that have tried it...
Also, how important is the yeast? I have a cake of Wyeast 2565 (Kolsch) and tons of dry yeast (Notty and US-05), I'd rather use one of those.
Also, how important is the yeast? I have a cake of Wyeast 2565 (Kolsch) and tons of dry yeast (Notty and US-05), I'd rather use one of those.
UnaBonger
Well-Known Member
I did the extract a while back and am enjoying it very much. it came out darker than I would have liked but I blame that on having used extract.
I think I'm going to give the AG version of this a try soon. I really like the Widmer wheat and would love to find a suitable clone.
I think I'm going to give the AG version of this a try soon. I really like the Widmer wheat and would love to find a suitable clone.
retired_young
Member
On the same topic, has anybody tried to regenerate yeast from a bottle of Widmer Hefe?
(I, too, love Widmer. East coast hefes taste like formaldehyde to me, by comparison.)
(I, too, love Widmer. East coast hefes taste like formaldehyde to me, by comparison.)
Beerzoid
Well-Known Member
Here's a recipe I'm working on, inspired by Widmers.
Extract:
6lb Wheat LME
.75lb Munich
.50lb Crystal 40
1 Tbsp flour
Just use an American Hefeweizen style yeast
Extract:
6lb Wheat LME
.75lb Munich
.50lb Crystal 40
1 Tbsp flour
Just use an American Hefeweizen style yeast
It's available as WLP320.
I'm not sure if it can be cultured. I would imagine it is bottle conditioned but it wouldn't hurt to ask the brewery if it is and if so if they use the primary strain.SumnerH
Well-Known Member
Despite using the word "hefeweizen" in the name, style-wise Widmer (and Pyramid, etc) are American pale wheat ales and not hefeweizens.
I'm not sure what east coast hefes you're referring to, but maybe you just don't like hefeweizens? American wheats don't have anywhere near the level of phenols and esters that hefeweizens do.
BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines - Category 06
BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines - Category 15
or
American Pale Wheat Ale - BeerAdvocate
homebrewer_99
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In my snobbish opinion, if it's not a German Hefe Weizen or a Belgium Wit then it's an American Wheat...there are no American Hefe Weizens!!!
In my snobbish opinion, if it's not a German Hefe Weizen or a Belgium Wit then it's an American Wheat...there are no American Hefe Weizens!!!
Fair enough
but it's still beer and most likely tastes good
homebrewer_99
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I can't argue with that logic...allow me to buy you a brew...Fair enough
SumnerH
Well-Known Member
In my snobbish opinion, if it's not a German Hefe Weizen or a Belgium Wit then it's an American Wheat...there are no American Hefe Weizens!!!
IMO, style labels are there to describe flavor. It's a lot more useful to say that Allagash White is a wit, Pyramid Hefeweizen is an American pale wheat, and New Glarus Unplugged is a hefeweizen than it is to say "they're all wheat beers from the US".
Honestly, flavor-wise Allagash White and Brooklyn Grand Cru have more in common with Hoegaarden or St Bernardus Wit than with American pale wheats like Pyramid or Widmer (or Sam/Anchor Summer, or Bell's Oberon, or whatever).
Likewise, New Glarus Unplugged and Live Oak Weiss have more in common with Weihenstephaner and Paulaner hefeweizens than with those American Pale wheats.
cory41287
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this is from a LHBS (in vancouver WA, 5 mins from portland OR) they claim it is similar to widmer. i have not brewed this so i have no clue if it is or not.
Northwest Style HefeWeizen Ingredients :: USA Microbrewery Beer Recipes :: "Replicator" Beer Recipes :: Bader Beer & Wine Supply, Inc.
Northwest Style HefeWeizen Ingredients :: USA Microbrewery Beer Recipes :: "Replicator" Beer Recipes :: Bader Beer & Wine Supply, Inc.
Has anyone done the all-grain version of Saccharomyces recipe? I think I'll give it a go as I have some 1007 and all the ingredients on hand right now.
FWIW, I did a brewery tour recently and I'm pretty sure they don't bottle condition. They talked about co2 and controlling the yeast count in the bottle.
FWIW, I did a brewery tour recently and I'm pretty sure they don't bottle condition. They talked about co2 and controlling the yeast count in the bottle.
I haven't, let me know if it's any good...
I'm going to do a bit of hop subbing to get rid of inventory, but will be brewing this on friday.
Here is where I ended up on this. I had 17.6% summit but it's old so I discounted it to 13%. Trying to ferment at about 62 but it was a few degrees higher initially.
Ended up not boiling off enough because I only did a 60m boil instead of normal 90m and forgot to compensate.... so the gravity is actually 1.045 and IBU will be closer to 31.
Ended up not boiling off enough because I only did a 60m boil instead of normal 90m and forgot to compensate.... so the gravity is actually 1.045 and IBU will be closer to 31.
so if hefeweizen means yeast and wheat then i would say that widmer and pyramid both make excellent examples of that. Even if they are not traditional. just like good music or good automobiles things evolve thank god for good old american enginuity
mordantly
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so do any come close to widmers?
Mine came out pretty good, and was rather similar to Widmer Hef, but definitely not spot-on. It had a certain lemony-ness that the Widmer one has, and initially, it was very cloudy. I let it age too long in the keg and it got 100% crystal clear. My version was a bit too malty, I would say. I would also probably up the hops a bit.
mordantly
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i can't wait!
I am trying to lock in a Widmer Hefeweizen recipe and after looking at a few different ideas and drinking their beer... We decided to go with a slightly changed version of Saccharomyces's partial mash recipe! Here is exactly what we did:
Wyeast 1010 or White Labs WLP320
Steep Munich and Crystal malts for 45 minutes at 152°F in 2 gallons of water. Add 4 gallons of water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling remove from heat and add 5 lbs. Wheat DME, stir until completely dissolved. Bring back up to a boil while watching for boil over!. After obtaining a soft roiling boil, start a timer for 45 min and add Hallertauer hops and continue to boil. At the 15 minutes remaining mark, add your wort chiller to the boiling wort to sanitize. At the 10 min remaining mark, add your Cascade and Willamette hops. Once the 45 minutes is up, remove wort from heat and sift/stir in flour. Cool wort to below 75° before straining (not filtering) into primary bucket and then pitch yeast. Store in a dark cool place according to the directions found on your yeast packet. To prevent clogged airlocks use a blow off tube during fermentation.
Notes: Our 40,000 b.t.u. burner and 7.5 gallon pot took a while to reach boil, however the 6 gallons made just enough wort to reach the 5 gallon mark on the fermentation bucket. After tasting the sample vs the real Widmer beer, our hops might be a little weak, time will tell, but it's close! Color looks to be spot on. O.G. was 1.048 (corrected for temp). This is the first brew I had to fight (hard) to stop from boiling over, the DME really locked in the heat on the smaller pot. The flour turned into little dough balls. We used a grain sack and a colander to aerate the wort and try to catch the dough balls (we never found them). It's currently sitting in the cellar at approx 63°. We will not be using a secondary fermentation vessel.
- 1lb Munich
- 0.25lb Crystal 40
- 5lbs Wheat DME
- 0.50oz Hallertauer 45 min (4.8% AAU@ 1oz)
- 0.50oz Cascade 10 min (6.8% AAU @1oz)
- 0.50oz Willamette 10 min (4.8% AAU @ 1oz)
- 1Tbsp White General Purpose Flour @ Flame Out
Wyeast 1010 or White Labs WLP320
Steep Munich and Crystal malts for 45 minutes at 152°F in 2 gallons of water. Add 4 gallons of water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling remove from heat and add 5 lbs. Wheat DME, stir until completely dissolved. Bring back up to a boil while watching for boil over!. After obtaining a soft roiling boil, start a timer for 45 min and add Hallertauer hops and continue to boil. At the 15 minutes remaining mark, add your wort chiller to the boiling wort to sanitize. At the 10 min remaining mark, add your Cascade and Willamette hops. Once the 45 minutes is up, remove wort from heat and sift/stir in flour. Cool wort to below 75° before straining (not filtering) into primary bucket and then pitch yeast. Store in a dark cool place according to the directions found on your yeast packet. To prevent clogged airlocks use a blow off tube during fermentation.
Notes: Our 40,000 b.t.u. burner and 7.5 gallon pot took a while to reach boil, however the 6 gallons made just enough wort to reach the 5 gallon mark on the fermentation bucket. After tasting the sample vs the real Widmer beer, our hops might be a little weak, time will tell, but it's close! Color looks to be spot on. O.G. was 1.048 (corrected for temp). This is the first brew I had to fight (hard) to stop from boiling over, the DME really locked in the heat on the smaller pot. The flour turned into little dough balls. We used a grain sack and a colander to aerate the wort and try to catch the dough balls (we never found them). It's currently sitting in the cellar at approx 63°. We will not be using a secondary fermentation vessel.
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
Would love to know how the extract of PM version of this came out -
Seems to be consensus that the hops needed to be bumped up a bit. Does the color/cloudiness come out as Widmer's has? That has been my issue with Hefs, either they come out too dark (amber like) or to clear, I can never nail down that perfect cloudiness with nice white head.
Maybe the flour addition will do that? But I don't like the idea of "dough balls" in my beer.
Seems to be consensus that the hops needed to be bumped up a bit. Does the color/cloudiness come out as Widmer's has? That has been my issue with Hefs, either they come out too dark (amber like) or to clear, I can never nail down that perfect cloudiness with nice white head.
Maybe the flour addition will do that? But I don't like the idea of "dough balls" in my beer.
Our sample was taken directly after pouring into the bucket and before the yeast. The color of what we brewed held up to a class of Widmer's hef was extremely close. The cloudiness was a bit heavier then the Widmer, but we expect it to fall into trub and are hoping the flour will retain a very close cloudiness. Taste was a bit malty but we are expecting that the yeast will eat enough of it's sweetness and that aging for a month on the trub will bring the hops out. All in all it will be a good beer and "should" be quite close to Widmers.
