Why is my Weizen crystal clear?

[MikeSkril]

Hi,

I'm not complaining but I still want to know.

I brewed a Hefeweizen and I was always told that wheat will make my beer cloudy. Well, in my Hefeweizen, the yeast is the only thing that makes it cloudy.

Simple grainbill:

7# German Wheat
4# German Pils

Simple question:
Why is my beer crystal clear (if I don't shake up the yeast a the bottom of the bottle)?

Thanks,

 

[Shooter]

It's nothing special about your beer. They will all clear up eventually, even Weiss beers. I often flip those kegs back and forth a few times to stir the yeast back into solution before tapping them.

 

[BigMack]

The beers you don't want crystal clear always seem to come out that way....

 

[Rev2010]

Umm yep, this is why in Germany they pour out until a little is left in the bottom then they swirl it around to rouse the yeast then pour the rest into the glass. 100% completely normal. Even though yeast manufactures list their hefe yeasts to have low flocculation they always seem to flocculate pretty darn well if you ask me. I've had hefe's that got crystal clear - clearer (without rousing the yeast of course) than many of my other beers.

When kegging what you can do is gently swirl the keg a bit before serving if you haven't poured from it in a few days.


Rev.

 

[benzesp]

Just not drinking it fast enough .

 

[MikeSkril]

Just not drinking it fast enough .

It was clear 3 weeks after bottling. I had no chance to drink it before!

 

[brewshki]

Mine does that too! And I use WLP300. I just rouse the yeast from the bottom and then pour. Then save a little in the bottle, swirl again and pour. Now if I could get WLP001 to do the same thing...

 

[joshesmusica]

I believe that as far as wheat causing more proteins to remain in suspension, it's likely because of unmodified malts in the past. Either that or breweries intentionally not using any clearing agents. If you cold crash and use gelatin, it's likely you'll be able to make almost anything clear.

But, a little language lesson. The name means yeast-wheat. Which came about because it wasn't like other german beers that had no yeast in suspension. So you're supposed to rouse the yeast. I think the swirling the last portion of the bottle actually comes from instructions from Boulevard. Every German that I've met will gently roll the bottle on the table, then pour it into a weizen glass.