weissbeer recipies

[Desert_Sky]

I had a dunkelweizen develop a very strong banana taste and aroma in the bottle (there was very little when I bottled it). The banana faded over time so that it's not quite so pronounced now, but it took several months.

sorry for the hijack first off....

A couple months eh? hrmm....great I'ts wierd. Theres not so much of a banana flavor as there is a really strong aroma. This will probably end up being one of those beers i keep for myself and SWMBO. Im not sure I will want anyone to sample my banana hefe. It was only my second attempt, but would still be embarrasing.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I've had some hefes with the banana aroma that didn't bother me at all...in fact, I liked them.

 

[Biermann]

I've had some hefes with the banana aroma that didn't bother me at all...in fact, I liked them.

I agree. . .In fact, a little "banana" is sometimes desirable. So far, the AG hefe I've got going has just a hint of banana. I kept it about 65-67 degrees during fermentation.

 

[Biermann]

Ok. . . a bottling question regarding hefeweizen-- I was reading in Papazian's book "The Homebrewer's Companion" that most Bavarian Hefe Weizen brewers will add a highly flocculating lager yeast at bottling for bottle conditioning. Anyone know anything about this, and how I would go about this?? I am trying to make this thing as authentic as possible and "in der Flasche gereift" like any good hefeweizen. Is this really necessary?????

 

[homebrewer_99]

I don't use a second yeast for bottling. I never saw any reason to do it.

 

[Kaiser]

Ok. . . a bottling question regarding hefeweizen-- I was reading in Papazian's book "The Homebrewer's Companion" that most Bavarian Hefe Weizen brewers will add a highly flocculating lager yeast at bottling for bottle conditioning. Anyone know anything about this, and how I would go about this?? I am trying to make this thing as authentic as possible and "in der Flasche gereift" like any good hefeweizen. Is this really necessary?????

The addition of lager yeast for German Hefes is not necessary for the home brewer. It is done by commercial breweries to increase the shelf life of the beer since lager yeast should start autolysis later than ale yeast. But I though that they would use a strain with low flocculation.

When I made my Hefe, I kept it in the secondary for 1 week at ~56F to settle out the yeast. Then I made a 2.5L starter with wort that I saved from brew day. I pitched this starter with some yeast harvested from the Kraeusen and waited for it to be at high Kraeusen. This starter was then added to the beer at bottling time to prime it and to add fresh yeast. I expect this to be fully carbonated after 4-6 days.

You could also make this "starter" with lager yeast. But even then you will have some ale yeast in the bottle since not all primary yeast was settled out during the time in the secondary.

Just using the same yeast for priming ("Flashenreifung") is authentic enough for me.

Kai

 

[Biermann]

Ok. . .Alles klar. Danke!!

 

[El Pistolero]

I've had some hefes with the banana aroma that didn't bother me at all...in fact, I liked them.

I like a little banana too...this wasn't a little, it was overpowering in-your-face banana.

 

[Biermann]

Ok, well, I didn't save any wort/gyle from brew day to krauesen with, nor do I have any of my yeast left over (I haven't started culturing or saving yeast yet). What if I took the standard 1 1/4 cups of dry malt extract normally used for priming, make a starter in a quart or so of water, and pitch some other yeast, wait for it to hit krauesen, and then prime with that?? I do have some dry wheat extract (55% wheat, 45% barley). My original malt bill was 65% wheat. I also have some dry yeast on hand, and I have several white labs strains including lager yeasts that is readily available at my local homebrew store. I guess I'm worried about screwing up the flavor with some other yeast strain and the malt extract. In the past, I've always just primed with corn sugar, or DME, and waited 3 weeks. (I want to drink this one ASAP, and I want it to be as good as possible)

 

[drengel]

forgive me if i'm restating something someone already said, i couldn't find it in me to read all 7 pages, but banana esters are a very desired effect of using a classic hefe yeast. banana and clove are just part of that yeast. if you want a wheat without the banana don't use german hefe yeast, use american.

on another note, the one brew i had that overwhelmed me with bananaa, my double nut brown, has mellowed out after a few months of lagering. the banana was definitely due to mutated yeast, and i happened to pitch a huge amount of it cause it was my first 7+% brew andf i was worried about full attenuation.

 

[Biermann]

Ok, well, I didn't save any wort/gyle from brew day to krauesen with, nor do I have any of my yeast left over (I haven't started culturing or saving yeast yet). What if I took the standard 1 1/4 cups of dry malt extract normally used for priming, make a starter in a quart or so of water, and pitch some other yeast, wait for it to hit krauesen, and then prime with that?? I do have some dry wheat extract (55% wheat, 45% barley). My original malt bill was 65% wheat. I guess I'm worried about screwing up the flavor with some other yeast strain. In the past, I've always just primed with corn sugar, or DME, and waited 3 weeks. (I want to drink this one ASAP, and I want it to be as good as possible)

I hate to be a pest, but I HAVE to bottle tomorrow (day off), or else I will have to wait over a week (due to a messed up work schedule) to bottle the hefeweizen. Anyone have any thoughts about the above method, or should I just play it safe, and prime with DME?

 

[Kaiser]

Biermann,

Don't worry. You can always just prime with DME or corn sugar. If you your beer seems to be to clear, just stir up some yeast from the secondaty

There is nothing wrong with the convertional method and I don't expect that you will screw the flavor. I was just presenting an advanced method for priming a Hefe Weisse (and how to get lager yeast into it, if you would really want that) that you may or may not want to look into for future brews if you think it can make a difference.

Kai

 

[Biermann]

Thanks for the timely reply!

 

[homebrewer_99]

I too stir up a little of the secondary yeast at the end of my racking.

 

[Biermann]

Ok, I realize that this thread has not had much activity, but I tasted my AG Hefeweizen (named Masskrug-Edelweizen) today, and it was absolutely phenomenal. It was true to the Bavarian Hefeweizen style in every aspect. It was very reminiscent in color, mouthfeel, head retention, taste, and flavor to Weihenstephan. (was slightly paler in color). If I can figure out how to post a picture, I will (along with the label I made).

so, if anyone is looking for a tried and true recipe, then my AG worked very well. I'm quite happy. If I can make a hefeweizen this good, there is no reason to buy it!! Definitely in the top 5 I've tasted. I had one of my beer-tasting club friends over, and gave him a taste test, and he ended up picking mine above other commercial brands. He also put it in his top five (he was really impressed with the freshness that was present--unlike commercial brews).

Anyway. . . . Ein Prosit, der Gemuetlichkeit!!!

 

[homebrewer_99]

The only time I ever had weizen in a masskrug was at a fest. Other than that they're in the tall glass for the style.

 

[Biermann]

That's the point. . .It's good enough to drink by the liter in a Masskrug at a festival!! (Although I drank it tonight in a Oberdorfer Weissbier glass). I drank plenty of hefeweizen at Oktoberfest in a Masskrug. . . and I wasn't the only one doing so!!:cross:

 

[Biermann]

Hey, a bit off the topic, but do you ever go to Bent River Brewing in Moline?? They were set up at our Intl' beer fest in Peoria, and I was impressed.

 

[NEPABREWER]

A question for experienced brewers - has any one experimented brewing non-wheat or low wheat dark beer with hefe yeast? I am curious, but would like to know if anyone else has tried or what an educated guess of what might happen would taste like before I say F#$% it and brew a 5G batch.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Hey, a bit off the topic, but do you ever go to Bent River Brewing in Moline?? They were set up at our Intl' beer fest in Peoria, and I was impressed.

I was there on the ground floor before they even put in the flooring, tanks and bar. There used to be a HBS next door called Koskie's that I hung around in to BS and talk beer with customers, answer brewing questions for people just getting interested in the hobby, etc.

Personally, I don't care for their brews. One of the guys from work (he recently left) is one of the owners. I always dogged his brews when he was within earshot. I used to tell him that it's not his fault it's his brewers.

I work at Rock Island Arsenal so I am withing 200 yards of the place whenever I go to or leave work...I just don't stop and go in.

Other than regular spring/summerfests, did you ever go to the Weissbierfest in Bayreuth?

 

[Biermann]

You didn't like their stuff, huh?? Maybe I was just drunk when I had their brews!! Actually, I had a pale ale that I thought was decent, but again, maybe it was because I had already downed tons of other people's pale ales that day.

 

[Biermann]

A question for experienced brewers - has any one experimented brewing non-wheat or low wheat dark beer with hefe yeast? I am curious, but would like to know if anyone else has tried or what an educated guess of what might happen would taste like before I say F#$% it and brew a 5G batch.

I have never tried this, and I doubt that merely using the hefe-weizen strain of yeast would impart their characteristic esters and such that they usually impart to wheat beers. Although, good discoveries sometimes come from experimentation, so you never know if you don't try. . . (although I probably wouldn't). Just my 2 cents worth. Cheers.

 

[homebrewer_99]

There is a dunkel weizen that is about 1-2% higher ABW than Helles HW as well as plenty of recipes out there for it.

 

[BrewStef]

I've had them all. I lived 40 miles from Munich for 4 years.

I used to drive to the Hofbrauhaus after work just for a beer and the atmosphere!

That place is awesome.... You are one lucky dog to have lived that place to the epicenter of gemutlichkeit.

Ein prosit to you!

BrewStef

 

[Biermann]

Drinking my AG hefeweizen right now. . .this stuff just keeps getting better. . .Paulaner, Franziskaner, HB, etc, have NOTHING on this stuff. . . .

 

[homebrewer_99]

Drinking my AG hefeweizen right now. . .this stuff just keeps getting better. . .Paulaner, Franziskaner, HB, etc, have NOTHING on this stuff. . . .

I can taste it from here...no, wait...that's one of mine! Prost!

 

[Biermann]

That's what I'm talking about.

 

[homebrewer_99]

That's what I'm talking about.

Got brewing plans for the weekend?

 

[Biermann]

Yeah, I do actually. . . doing some sort of bastardized red ale with my new brew tower.