Weissbier Yeast Flavor is Strong

[triwave]

As the title says

Brewed a fairly simple Weiss bier recipe with close to 90% wheat and Hallertau hops fermenting with Safale wb-06 yeast. Fermentation was vigorous at 70°F

I sampled it today and I Achieved the flavor that the Munich Weiss biers have, the cloves and spice taste but it's like I got too much of it.

I was just in Munich a few weeks ago and had plenty of samples... I would say the flavor profile is pretty close but Somehow very intense.

How would I mellow this out a bit? Did I do something wrong or is this common with this yeast?

Advice appreciated, I'm not a complete newbie at brewing but probably not quite an intermediate yet.

 

[user 141939]

Prob too high fermentation temps? Was it 70 ambient temp or 70 in the beer?

Also I have read with hefeweizens that the flavor will be reduced when the yeast is crashed from the beer so perhaps this will be the case with hours. So maybe after a few weeks in the fridge or keg it will lesson a bit.

 

[triwave]

I use a stick on thermometer attached to the fermenting vessel. It was reading right around 70F and I think that reflects the liquid temp reasonably well as it doesn't vary too much (like the room temp does) because of the thermal mass. So I would say the wort was a consistently 70 or below (the house is a bit cooler at night. Best guess is a 68-71 range ... maybe too warm but I had others saying it worked OK so thought it worth a try.

My plan is to let sit a while and try another bottle. I'll be sure to put one in the fridge and let it sit cold for a week or two.

 

[user 141939]

Yeah you might find it more subtle with the yeast crashed and if you pour off. I've noticed this with my saisons too.

 

[shanecb]

How long has it been since you brewed/bottled? Hefes are typically meant to be enjoyed somewhat young but it may just need another week or so to mellow.

 

[pdxal]

90% wheat might be a contributor to the flavor, most weiss beers run around 50/50 wheat/barley.

 

[Rev2010]

90% wheat might be a contributor to the flavor, most weiss beers run around 50/50 wheat/barley.

For American wheats that ratio is more common, however true Bavarian Weissbiers often use a higher wheat ratio, often around 65% wheat to 35% barley ratio. Paulaner uses that ratio and Franziskaner actually uses even more than 2/3rd's wheat, they state it on their Deutsch website though they don't state exactly how much wheat. I've seen people on here do 100% wheats as well. Never tried it myself though. Think the highest I've gone so far is 75% wheat.


Rev.

 

[pdxal]

For American wheats that ratio is more common, however true Bavarian Weissbiers often use a higher wheat ratio, often around 65% wheat to 35% barley ratio. Paulaner uses that ratio and Franziskaner actually uses even more than 2/3rd's wheat, they state it on their Deutsch website though they don't state exactly how much wheat. I've seen people on here do 100% wheats as well. Never tried it myself though. Think the highest I've gone so far is 75% wheat.


Rev.

And Schneider uses 60% wheat, Schonram uses 65%. 90% is a lot higher than 2/3 of the grist was what I was trying to explain. Sorry about generalizing and missing that extra 10-16%.

 

[Rev2010]

Sorry about generalizing and missing that extra 10-16%.

Wasn't intending to upset you bro.


Rev.

 

[triwave]

I hope I was just a little impatient and sampled a bit young. I'm letting it sit in bottles another week and will be sure to chill for 3 days or so . Looking forward to next sample.

 

[pdxal]

Let us know the results.

 

[triwave]

Sampled another bottle ... things have changed a bit with chill time.

I have found the overall flavor profile a bit different now - the strong clove/spice taste has subsided and the palate is now dominated with more of a banana/lemon flavor.

The clove and spice is still there but relative to the other flavors it's the sweeter banana/lemon that takes center stage and hits your tongue at first sip.

Maybe related to taste is the fact that I don't get much head on the beer (surprised for a 90% wheat bill) - it's there at pour but doesn't last.

In my mouth the beer is fairly thin and there are no linger aftertastes. It's clean and easy to drink (wish it was hot outside!) but I was aiming for more head.

 

[pdxal]

Regarding the head, what was your mash regime? You break down head maintaining proteins with a rest at 122ish, perhaps that is a part of the issue.

 

[triwave]

Regarding the head, what was your mash regime? You break down head maintaining proteins with a rest at 122ish, perhaps that is a part of the issue.

It was an extract recipe (DME) so the only milled grains were a small amount of Caramel Pils (about 8% of bill) that I steeped. 88% was wheat DME and 4% was Amber DME

 

[user 141939]

Interesting. Are you sure it was %90 wheat? I think if you used wheat malt extract that doesn't mean it is all wheat. I think it is a combo of wheat and barley. So you may have less wheat than you think. I'm not sure what else in your process would make the head crappy. Maybe it's your glassware?

Any ways sorry about the lack of head. It's worse than too much head. I mean the right amount of head is ideal but I would choose too much head over not enough head. That way when I pour I can tell people "sorry about all the head".

 

[Rev2010]

Interesting. Are you sure it was %90 wheat? I think if you used wheat malt extract that doesn't mean it is all wheat. I think it is a combo of wheat and barley.

That's correct. Wheat DME is typically around 65% Wheat and 35% Barley. At least Briess' is 65/35. Munton's is 55/45.


Rev.

 

[triwave]

That's correct. Wheat DME is typically around 65% Wheat and 35% Barley. At least Briess' is 65/35. Munton's is 55/45.

Good to know! I assumed the label "Wheat" was all wheat. I used Briess so I guess it was actually 65% which means as a percent of the total grain bill it is down to 0.88x0.65 = 57%

Carbonation was a bit on the low side, not as effervescent as a commercial beer, nor is the glassware a proper Weissbier Glass, but it's close ... more of a pilsner with the tall flute shaped design that don't close up again at the top ... but still, I was expecting something out of it.

In Germany it comes with a pretty thick frothy head

I wouldn't expect a glassware difference to be such a big contributor to almost no head.

I'll have to try again after I get through this batch and pay careful attention to the recipe and wheat % and any adjuncts to maybe help head a bit.

Anybody have a fool-proof recipe for extract or partial mash they care to recommend?

 

[Rev2010]

Anybody have a fool-proof recipe for extract or partial mash they care to recommend?

When I was brewing extract this was my favorite hefe recipe I came up with:

4.50 lb Wheat Dry Extract (Briess) (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 75.00 %
1.00 lb DME Golden Light (Briess) (4.0 SRM) Dry Extract 16.67 %
0.50 lb Carahell (Weyermann) (13.0 SRM) Grain 8.33 %
0.25 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [3.10 %] (60 min) Hops 2.0 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer [3.80 %] (60 min) Hops 9.9 IBU
1 Pkgs Bavarian Wheat (Wyeast Labs #3638) Yeast-Wheat

Obviously the Carahell is steeped, I seem to recall I steeped it for about 30 minutes at 160-165 degree water or something around there. It only equates to about 53% wheat and I use a higher percentage of wheat in my all grain hefe's but it was a really great extract hefe.


Rev.

 

[user 141939]

I meant by glassware that maybe it is the way you are cleaning them. Like maybe there is soap residue that is affecting the head. I'm sure there is prob a better explanation though.

 

[triwave]

Thanks for the suggestion Rev