Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen questions

[rhcp313]

@greatscmaltez Thanks, that puts my mind at ease. Its crazy how I almost feel "guilty" pitching without a starter, but hey, I'll just have to plan my brew schedules better in the future.

This is sitting at a solid 68, and I'm planning on letting it sit for 15 days before racking to a keg.

 

[jmole]

I am a little confused and can't seem to dig up any good info - so why not give life to this thread

Both Wyeast 3068 and Fermentis 34/70 are "Weihenstephan" strain as marketed, but 3068 is an ale, while 34/70 is a lager. How can the same strain be classified two ways? Am I missing something?

I have used 34/70 before at lager temps (53F), but if they are both technically the same strain, then just adjusting temperature would make the difference?

Many thanks,
Justin

 

[tehnick]

I believe they are different strains. Weihenstephan is a Bavarian brewery.

http://us.weihenstephaner.com

 

[zachattack]

Weihenstaphaner makes ales as well as lagers.

 

[greatschmaltez]

Since I created this post I have brewed hundreds of batches so it's funny to see my noob session from so long ago. 3068 is an ale yeast. I love this yeast and to ferment it around 67. To answer my own original noob concerns, you should make a starter if you have the means. This yeast makes a money hefe if you allow it to work for about 3-3.5 weeks.

I've also actually been to Weihenstephaner since I've posted this and it's worth the trip. The beer definitely tastes better there. But honestly, if you're in Munich, Ayinger should be your number 1, followed closely by Augustiner.

 

[TxBigHops]

Great post. I'm gonna bring it back to life again! I plan to brew with this yeast in a few weeks, to make a real German Hefe for a good friend who loves Ayinger. (but don't we all hate the cost!) So the original post warns against over pitching, but there are other recommendations to make a starter. I've haven't done so yet - been happy so far with hydrated dry yeast. But since this is a smack pack, I'm going to give it a try. But I'll just pitch straight from the package. Given that scenario, what's the best advice on fermentation temperature, and time to leave it in primary? With a flavor profile close to Ayinger as the goal.

 

[beardown2489]

Jamil suggests pitching and fermenting the majority of the wort at 62

 

[StrangeBrew78]

So brewed a hefe 2.5 weeks ago. Here is set up. I hit all my numbers. Mash temp was 152 I hung around 151-152 for the entire mash. Mashed out and hit OG on the nose after fly sparge and boil. Used a 1liter starter decanted and pitched slurry. Fermenters at 64* and it finished in about 6 days. Cold crashed at 2 weeks fermentation and racked 2 days later to keg. This morning. My FG was 1.010 which is on the money. But it had a very soapy flavor, which I know can be from
Auto lysis of the yeast. But can it happen it that quickly? Or will this mellow out. There was no banana clove or spice flavor that I could tell. It actually was very bland.

 

[dttk0009]

I've got a Weizen using this yeast sitting in the fermentation bucket right now. As I didn't have temp control at the time, this yeast was churning away for about 48 hours at 73-75F. (23-24C) until it just stopped.

Smelled pretty strongly of sulfur so I'm gonna let it sit for a bit longer. Hopefully the smell won't linger.

 

[Gavin C]

10gallons of distilled water in recipe. No mention of minerals.

Autolysis is not in play here.

What is possibly a factor related to the bland flavor is the complete absence of any minerals in the water. This is analogous to cooking without any seasoning or salt. Bland food results.

Minerals in the brewing water are required for a variety of reasons but getting a good tasting beer is chief among them.

Also Distilled water is about 3 times as expensive as RO water. RO water is just as good as distilled for building from a blank slate. Minerals are needed though. That's very important.

 

[StrangeBrew78]

The water was actually filtered tap water. So it had minerals. Just never changed the profile. My bad.

 

[monkamillion]

I fermented a hefe at 80F for the first three days, then dropped to 70F for two weeks after. Bottled with corn sugar and was ready to drink in a week! Flavors were right on, good mix of clove and banana. Three months later the banana is gone, but with 12 bottles left, time to make a new batch.

Currently fermenting a NEIPA with this yeast. Kept it at 80F again for three days, then dropped to 75F. Hoping to get more banana to add to the Amarillo and Citra late hop addition juicy flavors/aroma. Time will tell...