Hello. I am thinking of brewing a German style wheat/white. Never did one of these before, any tips/tricks?
I'm assuming you mean a German style hefeweizen? If so a couple questions... All grain or extract? Are you ok with liquid yeast? Do you want more clove or banana flavor?
I was pretty happy with the way this batch of hefeweizen turned out. Reminds me I need to put one on the schedule for the summer!
Thanks to all. Yes a Hefe-Weisse, little bit of banana. I don't know what the Brewers supply in my local will carry...yeast, extract etc. thnx for the temp advice too.
I would use Wyeast 3068 for any hefeweizen, dunkelweizen, weizenbock, etc. If you are brewing a lighter hefe, then it's probably best to just pitch a smack pack of 3068 (no starter needed) if you're wanting some banana. Also fermenting around 68-70 will help. Overpitching and fermenting in the low 60s will eliminate the banana esters almost completely. You'll still get the clove, but for me, a perfect balance of banana and clove is what I'm looking for in a hefe.
Couple things... Since you are doing an extract batch, just buy wheat extract and don't feel that you need to combine it with regular malt extract. Wheat extract is already combined with malt extract, usually at a 50-50 ratio. Don't be afraid to add a little munich malt extract if some added maltiness is your thing. For yeast strains, WLP300 or WY3068 are both great. Fermentation temperature is important. 65 is a good average. If you go lower you get more clove, higher you get more banana. You'll hear a lot of people tell you to underpitch on a hefe. It's not necessary, and I doubt beneficial.
Easy to make a good one, imo, but challenging to make it or precisely to one's liking, if one is finicky
True. I always enjoyed the basic weyermann wheat extract/tettnanger/3068!batches I made when I was just starting out. Really simple to brew. But... That was then. It's still one of my favorite styles to brew (and it's on tap almost year-round)- but it's among the most labor intensive that I make. Ferrulic acid rest, then triple decoction to hit protein rest, sacch., and mash-out. I like to ferment cool (64F) with WLP380. It's a lot more work than those early extract batches but worlds apart in terms of flavor and authenticity.
Exactly. I can play around with decoction in my brewhouse, but I don't have sufficient temp control to really hit those rests precisely. Furthermore, the 3D mash is a major effort, which I have only undetaken 1-2x. Consequenly, I have only brewed them as extract or single infusion mashes. I enjoy the ones I have made, but I'm not sure I have a sufficiently discerning palate for this style to pick up the finer nuances of melanoidin, ester, and clove. I definitely don't have a brew system designed for controlling these nuances. However, despite the finer challenges, I think it is a reasonable undertaking for a new brewer to take, provided he will be OK with something less than a 40 point beer. Or maybe less than a 35 point beer? The finer points of judging elude me too.
Glad to see there's another wlp380 fan out there. It's my go-to for hefes. For dunkels/weizenbocks, I like wy3638.
