What else can I brew with Hefeweizen yeast?

[Jayjay1976]

Through a series of unfortunate events I have a spare, already smacked pouch of Wyeast 3638 Bavarian Hefeweizen yeast. I just brewed a batch of hefeweizen last weekend so I don't want to brew another batch and I'm curious what else I can brew with it. An IPA maybe? Can I ferment it really warm or cool and get something else out of it? What about an all-pilsner smash?

 

[DrKnow]

Drain cleaner. (I despise the banana/clove flavor of weizen yeast). But seriously maybe a dunkelweizen to change it up if you enjoy that type of yeast.

 

[Robert65]

In the old days in Bavaria there was Dampfbier (literally "steam beer.") It was a necessity is the mother of invention, farmhouse homebrew or brewpub, sort of thing. An all barley malt beer fermented with Hefeweizen yeast. Basically, a Märzen type grain bill and hopping would get you there. But more everyday strength, no more than 1.050 probably.

 

[Coffeeturnal]

I'd still be looking to do something in the weizen family.

I'd not consider an IPA with weizen yeast. I've had a couple commercial examples of that and they were... Less than pleasant.

 

[Jayjay1976]

In the old days in Bavaria there was Dampfbier (literally "steam beer.") It was a necessity is the mother of invention, farmhouse homebrew or brewpub, sort of thing. An all barley malt beer fermented with Hefeweizen yeast. Basically, a Märzen type grain bill and hopping would get you there. But more everyday strength, no more than 1.050 probably.

I like this idea, any more details or a recipe you could point me to? What kind of hops?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Weizenbock?

 

[Robert65]

I like this idea, any more details or a recipe you could point me to? What kind of hops?

I've never made one, I've just read about them. I would imagine some combination of Pilsner and Munich malt, or maybe Vienna, for an amber or copper colored beer, and old school hops like Hallertau or Saaz. Maybe 20 IBU? Think Bavarian lager, before Helles came around in the 20th century, but with Weizen yeast. The story is that the people brewing for their farmstead or family or little guest house found the yeast easy to maintain, and didn't have the time or ability to make lagers anyway, and that wheat was often considered too necessary for bread so it was forbidden to use it in brewing. There might be recipes somewhere, but I'm sure it was a pretty basic brew, probably SMaSH with local ingredients, maybe even homemade malt. So you'd probably be in the right spirit using whatever you have on hand! I find the idea intriguing too since I'm curious about historical beers, it's always on my "someday I'll get around to it" list but I haven't got there yet.

 

[fourfarthing]

NEIPA. Co-pitch with an English strain.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I've never made one, I've just read about them. I would imagine some combination of Pilsner and Munich malt, or maybe Vienna, for an amber or copper colored beer, and old school hops like Hallertau or Saaz. Maybe 20 IBU? Think Bavarian lager, before Helles came around in the 20th century, but with Weizen yeast. The story is that the people brewing for their farmstead or family or little guest house found the yeast easy to maintain, and didn't have the time or ability to make lagers anyway, and that wheat was often considered too necessary for bread so it was forbidden to use it in brewing. There might be recipes somewhere, but I'm sure it was a pretty basic brew, probably SMaSH with local ingredients, maybe even homemade malt. So you'd probably be in the right spirit using whatever you have on hand! I find the idea intriguing too since I'm curious about historical beers, it's always on my "someday I'll get around to it" list but I haven't got there yet.

I really like your train of thought. I have some saaz and hersbrucker along with a fresh sack of German pilsner malt. Add a pound or so of Munich to boost the maltiness and I'll ferment it warm to maximize yeast character. I'll add more saaz during whirlpool for aroma, then I'll fine it with gelatin to drop it clear before kegging. Hey this might be a good recipe, thanks @Robert65 !!

 

[Lefou]

A basic 50/50 wheat and Munich weizenbock would be my winter warmer choice.
Use about 2oz of Hallertau Hersbreucker hops first wort around 4AAU.
I'd take some of the wort and water it down some for a fresh starter done during the boil. WLP300 is strong yeast and will run right through something like this but I'd definitely use a blowoff. Learned my lesson the first time purchasing the yeast when the beer shop clerk smiled and gave me a free length of hose and said "You'll need this".

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Recipe: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...embertheMaineDamfbier.pdf?9123352349170857084

 

[bkboiler]

Lol...you guys might laugh at this...but I've been mulling around the idea of a lightish beer that I secondary on strawberries and ferment with a hefe yeast. No clove, aiming for strawberry, banana and Graham and crackery flavors. ..

Maybe 90% German pilsner and 10% Briess carabrown (supposedly gives Graham cracker notes)?

 

[Jayjay1976]

The batch I just brewed was a weizenbock-ish Sternweisse clone with an og of 1.062. I used 1.5 lbs of cara wheat to give it an SRM around 11. Whatever I brew with the spare pouch of 3638 will be lighter in color and body, a lower gravity and hoppy.

 

[bkboiler]

Oh nice! Hoppy, eh? maybe a juicy NEIPA? I suppose banana and citrus already go well in smoothies...and some hefes are renouned for cloudiness. ..

Correction to my previous post: Briess doesn't describe carabrown as giving Graham cracker as I think I saw on like Reddit or something. I see on the Briess website that Cara Copper malt lists Graham cracker as a tasting note.

 

[Robert65]

Remember the collab, Braupakt? Weihenstephan brewed a Hefeweizen, with very West Coast hops supplied by Sierra Nevada.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Remember the collab, Braupakt? Weihenstephan brewed a Hefeweizen, with very West Coast hops supplied by Sierra Nevada.

Wow I had no idea that Weihenstephan has done collabs, any idea which hops they used specifically?

Last summer I brewed a hefeweizen with lots of huell melon and mandarina bavaria as late additions, that batch turned out pretty tasty though it had nowhere near the aroma intensity I was hoping for. It might have turned out much better with American hops.

 

[Robert65]

Wow I had no idea that Weihenstephan has done collabs, any idea which hops they used specifically?

Last summer I brewed a hefeweizen with lots of huell melon and mandarina bavaria as late additions, that batch turned out pretty tasty though it had nowhere near the aroma intensity I was hoping for. It might have turned out much better with American hops.

It was 2018. SN has been doing their collab Oktoberfests for a while, that year they did it with Weihenstephan, and in exchange Weihenstephan did the wheat beer in the spring. Last two Oktoberfest collabs have been the Weihenstephan and Bitburger, and both have been so awful, you wonder why the German brewers would allow their names to be attached. Oh, yeah, big money, volume sales. Cool.

 

[Coffeeturnal]

Wow I had no idea that Weihenstephan has done collabs, any idea which hops they used specifically?

Last summer I brewed a hefeweizen with lots of huell melon and mandarina bavaria as late additions, that batch turned out pretty tasty though it had nowhere near the aroma intensity I was hoping for. It might have turned out much better with American hops.

There's used info on it on the Sierra Nevada website. I'm not about to find it at the moment... But IIRC it's basically a hefe with some crystal malt and late/dry hopped with Amarillo and Chinook.

Was super fantastic. The hops were definitely there, but kept in check to allow it to still taste like a hefe.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Haven't brewed a Dampfbier in ages. That'd be a fun one.

Hefe yeast in NEIPA is definitely a thing that has been done. Can't say I've liked the ones I've had though. Going that route, I'd definitely try to minimize the clove (which is antithetical to my usual goals).

If it were me, I'd stick to Dunkelweizen, Weizenbock, or if you feel like a PITA maybe a Roggenbier (which I also haven't brewed in ages).

 

[Soulshine2]

Through a series of unfortunate events I have a spare, already smacked pouch of Wyeast 3638 Bavarian Hefeweizen yeast. I just brewed a batch of hefeweizen last weekend so I don't want to brew another batch and I'm curious what else I can brew with it. An IPA maybe? Can I ferment it really warm or cool and get something else out of it? What about an all-pilsner smash?

dunkelweizen !! use a low amount of Hallertauer or similar(less than 15 ibu's)and ferment in the low -mid 60s .

 

[Soulshine2]

Wow I had no idea that Weihenstephan has done collabs, any idea which hops they used specifically?

Last summer I brewed a hefeweizen with lots of huell melon and mandarina bavaria as late additions, that batch turned out pretty tasty though it had nowhere near the aroma intensity I was hoping for. It might have turned out much better with American hops.

We LOVE Braupakt !!!

 

[Soulshine2]

Drain cleaner. (I despise the banana/clove flavor of weizen yeast). But seriously maybe a dunkelweizen to change it up if you enjoy that type of yeast.

why tell someone to make drain cleaner of it because you dont like that particular flavors...what if he enjoys that flavor...I dont like IPAS , should I tell everyone that does to dump theirs???

 

[jesterking]

Roggenbier. I just made one (leftover Weizen yeast that I didn’t want to throw out). It was awesome. Use the Brewing Classic Styles recipe.

 

[DrKnow]

why tell someone to make drain cleaner of it because you dont like that particular flavors...what if he enjoys that flavor...I dont like IPAS , should I tell everyone that does to dump theirs???

Calm down. I think the OP understood I was joking. Hefeweizen is just not for me. That means there’s more for those of you who enjoy it.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I really enjoy the typical banana and clove character, as does my wife. In fact she's an even bigger fan of hefeweizen than I am. Our favorite is Hacker-Pschorr Sternweisse which is a deep amber weissbier with some dark crystal. Up to now I haven't managed to clone it but I'll be kegging my latest attempt today, thumbs pressed that it turns out.

My dream though is a big malty golden weizenbier like Sternweisse but with cream and biscuit notes like Monchshof Kellerbier, and tons of fruity hop aromas.

I met the head brewer at Hacker-Pschorr several years ago and tried to get some hints about the grain bill for Sternweisse but he was pretty tight-lipped other than mentioning "some cara wheat".

 

[Soulshine2]

Calm down. I think the OP understood I was joking. Hefeweizen is just not for me. That means there’s more for those of you who enjoy it.

eh, its all good. Sometimes the wonderful interwebs dont translate dry humor as much as one would like

 

[Soulshine2]

I really enjoy the typical banana and clove character, as does my wife. In fact she's an even bigger fan of hefeweizen than I am. Our favorite is Hacker-Pschorr Sternweisse which is a deep amber weissbier with some dark crystal. Up to now I haven't managed to clone it but I'll be kegging my latest attempt today, thumbs pressed that it turns out.

My dream though is a big malty golden weizenbier like Sternweisse but with cream and biscuit notes like Monchshof Kellerbier, and tons of fruity hop aromas.

I met the head brewer at Hacker-Pschorr several years ago and tried to get some hints about the grain bill for Sternweisse but he was pretty tight-lipped other than mentioning "some cara wheat".

my wife loves a good hef. each one ive made (3 and counting) have all been pretty much for her.

 

[Soulshine2]

I really enjoy the typical banana and clove character, as does my wife. In fact she's an even bigger fan of hefeweizen than I am. Our favorite is Hacker-Pschorr Sternweisse which is a deep amber weissbier with some dark crystal. Up to now I haven't managed to clone it but I'll be kegging my latest attempt today, thumbs pressed that it turns out.

My dream though is a big malty golden weizenbier like Sternweisse but with cream and biscuit notes like Monchshof Kellerbier, and tons of fruity hop aromas.

I met the head brewer at Hacker-Pschorr several years ago and tried to get some hints about the grain bill for Sternweisse but he was pretty tight-lipped other than mentioning "some cara wheat".

Jay , do you want my hef recipe? I developed my own and were my last 2 hef brews. wife says mine is best one shes had and shes quite the hef connoisseur.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Jay , do you want my hef recipe? I developed my own and were my last 2 hef brews. wife says mine is best one shes had and shes quite the hef connoisseur.

Hey sure! Thanks!

 

[ESBrewer]

I think you could brew Belgian beers, maybe saisons or golden ales that are regularly brewed with POF+('clove capable') yeast. Reducing the wheat and keeping ferm temp down should dimininish the banana flavor. Forget about the ferulic acid rest and mash at low pH to reduce the clove. Add some sugar to bring FG down. Drop some yeast by conditioning the beer longer or use finings. The yeast in solution is very important for the Hefeweizen character. According to DNA sequencing WB-06 (used for Hefeweizens by some people) is genetically ~equivalent to Duvel yeast.

 

[Soulshine2]

Hey sure! Thanks!

pm'ed you

 

[couchsending]

Next time try a kettle sour. Hefe yeast in a low pH environment is extremely different.

Also a great yeast to primary ferment then add Brett. Brett will turn all those esters into some really interesting aromas and flavors.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Next time try a kettle sour. Hefe yeast in a low pH environment is extremely different.

Also a great yeast to primary ferment then add Brett. Brett will turn all those esters into some really interesting aromas and flavors.

Consider my interest piqued.

 

[riceral]

Next time try a kettle sour. Hefe yeast in a low pH environment is extremely different.

Also a great yeast to primary ferment then add Brett. Brett will turn all those esters into some really interesting aromas and flavors.

Tell us more.

What type of interesting flavors and aromas when following it with Brett?

If kettle soured and using hefe yeast, how does the beer turn out?

 

[Jayjay1976]

I brewed a Dampfbier today with this leftover pouch of 3638; my boil off rate was a little off due to replacing my heating elements so instead of a 1.049 OG I ended up at 1.060. Hopefully it will still turn out, next time I'll get it right.

I named this recipe after a little pub outside Stuttgart in the suburb of Obertürkheim that sits just next to the bahnhof. The name means 'Little Steam Locomotive' in the local Swabian dialect. It was the stop just before mine when I would ride the train home from the city and I always thought it was a great name. A great little local place to stop for dinner, I dream of sipping a pint there again someday soon.

I'll update with photos of the finished beer along with tasting notes.


HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: S’DAMPFLÖKLE
Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Mixed-Style Beer
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 6 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7.75 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.039
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)
Hop Utilization Multiplier: 1
STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.049
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV (standard): 4.77%
IBU (tinseth): 20.27
SRM (morey): 4.12
Mash pH: 5.15
FERMENTABLES:
9 lb - Pilsner (81.8%)
2 lb - Munich Light (18.2%)
HOPS:
0.5 oz - Tettnanger, Type: Pellet, AA: 5.5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 9.6
1 oz - Tettnanger, Type: Pellet, AA: 2.7, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 7.25
1 oz - Tettnanger, Type: Pellet, AA: 2.7, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 3.42
MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 152 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 8.25 gal
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1.5 tsp - Lactic acid, Time: 0 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
6 g - Calcium Chloride (dihydrate), Time: 0 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
YEAST:
Wyeast - Bavarian Wheat 3638
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 73%
Flocculation: Low
Optimum Temp: 64 - 75 F
Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / deg P)
PRIMING:
Method: co2
Amount: 7.69 psi
CO2 Level: 2.25 Volumes
TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Profile Name: Light colored and malty
Ca2: 60
Mg2: 5
Na: 10
Cl: 95
SO4: 55
HCO3: 0

 

[Jayjay1976]

I just wanted to add, this recipe was the first time I've used more than a smidge of Munich light in a recipe. The aroma of the grain while milling was incredibly sweet and malty, it reminded me of smelling a jar of Ovaltine when I was a kid. The mash and boil both smelled incredible as well, I can't wait to taste this batch. I'm already looking into other recipes that use lots of Munich light; if it tastes as good as it smells I'm going to be brewing a lot of recipes that include it.

Would be cool to brew an 'Ovaltine' chocolate milk brown ale, back-sweetened with lactose.

 

[ajbosley2015]

Through a series of unfortunate events I have a spare, already smacked pouch of Wyeast 3638 Bavarian Hefeweizen yeast. I just brewed a batch of hefeweizen last weekend so I don't want to brew another batch and I'm curious what else I can brew with it. An IPA maybe? Can I ferment it really warm or cool and get something else out of it? What about an all-pilsner smash?

GO BIG OR GO HOME...DO A SAHTI!!!!!!!!

 

[Jayjay1976]

GO BIG OR GO HOME...DO A SAHTI!!!!!!!!

Um no, not ready for that just yet but the style has been on my radar. Coincidentally, there are a bunch of junipers growing down the street from my house, the fresh boughs loaded with berries call out to me every time I see them.
Slightly OT, we like to make pork shoulder carnitas with our sous vide; adding a dozen or so juniper berries gives it an incredible flavor. Now that spring has arrived I'm planning on making this again and using the grill to put a quick char on the pork after it comes out of the bag; I might throw some juniper branches on there to give it a bit of smoke.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Just kegged my Dampfbier last night. I pulled a sample this morning and though not yet fully carbonated it's tasting pretty good! I fermented in the low 60's to tame the yeast character, though it still has that familiar Hefeweizen tang which I always thought came from the wheat.

The apparent IBUs came in a little lower than I anticipated so I might dose it with a bit of hop tea; I'll give it a week to condition and taste it again before I make up my mind. Either way I'm going to toss an ounce of Tettnang in there just to boost the aroma. Kegging is so much better than bottling, I dunno why I waited so long to get into it.

 

[Beernik]

Nice.

Dampfbier is truly underrated and a style that needs resurrecting. My recipe is 1/3 light Munich, 1/3 Vienna, and 1/3 pilsen and about 20 IBUs of Columbus hops for an hour boil.