Hefeweizen!

[Kai]

I enjoy the challenge of trying to get the colour right. Also, unless you drink in the dark, colour does affect your flavour perception.

 

[DJR]

Had a bottle of Schneider sitting up the back of the fridge, waiting for me to get around to stealing a sample of the yeast and culturing it. With the warmer weather, seems like an appropriate thing to do. :beerbang: (this sentence took a few goes, the big words are getting hard to spelllfianj)

It's dark, as you can see in the photo, definitely some sort of roast barley or carafa in the finish. pH wouldn't be a concern enough for them to add roast malt, as we all know when using dark malts with proper pH adjustment, add them in at the end, just before sparging, to stop your mash falling below 5.2 pH.

Anyway, on the back of the bottle it says something about "Pure beer, nothing added, nothing removed. Unfiltered and unpasteurised."

Tastes pretty good to me :super: Lots of banana, a little clove but tending towards the banana (iso-amyl acetate). Tastes better with a bit of yeast in suspension too. Loads of carbonation and just a hint of bitterness, not much but just behind the level where it would be balanced.

This yeast should be a good one!

 

[Weizguy]

DJR,

Did ya tell us which yeast you used?
I've been thinking of changing my brand.

I heard that W3638 is similar to a Schneider weissbier yeast.

Every so often, with yeast, a change is as good as a holiday. I feel that weizen yeasts "wear out" when cultivated from yeastcake. To keep the yeast "true", I'm gonna top-crop from now on. I hear that it's well woth the effort.

I'm just waiting for my Kmas Kase weizen to show signs of carbonation soon B4 shipping. Hope, hope, or U all get some Rauchbier.

Now I'm off to the NSW Xuly case thread to tell Stuster about his Dubbel.

Seth

 

[DJR]

DJR,

Did ya tell us which yeast you used?
I've been thinking of changing my brand.

Seth

Wasn't my beer, was Georg Schneider's!

I hear reculturing this yeast works fine, for $5 a bottle who cares, you get $4 worth of decent beer, a bottle worth $1 and a yeast to reculture to boot!

 

[Murcluf]

I read a couple of articles recently regarding Hefeweizen and there was an emphasis the importance of the Hefe and the Hefe being putting the yeast through the beer before pouring, as you do when you are going a Cooper Pale Ale and the called that "Hefe"ing and that is the difference between a Hefe weizen and any other wheat beer. I don't know how accurate that is but I did see more then once.
Worst part is now I can't find the articles so I can link them here.

 

[Whistlingjack]

You're on the right track there, murcluf.

But the translation is hefe = yeast, weizen = wheat.

The yeast strain remains in suspension and the wheat proteins add to the cloudiness of this style. Over time, and with chilling, the yeast will settle out.

Swirl the bottle at the end of the pour to get the health benefit of the live yeast.

 

[neonmeate]

i'd be interested to hear how you go with the schneider yeast DJR, i used it for a couple of beers and found it didn't attenuate enough and left some strange baked-apple esters and not much clove (even after a ferulic rest). i could have got a mistreated bottle though i don't know.

 

[DJR]

I'll see, it's more of an experiment than anything else, i hear it's a mix of 2 strains so if one dominates you get strange results. If the starter goes crappy i'll use some Weihenstephan 68 that i got from one of our many ISB yeast-swaps.

 

[Lukes]

I accidentally created a kristalweizen early this week by chilling a 2 liter PET bottle in the freezer and forgetting about it. :blink:
Once thawed, it flaked out to be the clearest wheat based beer I have seen (made at home).
A quick regass with a carb cap and I will enjoy tonight.

Tis the season to brew wheat beer. :beerbang:

- Luke

 

[user 384]

wheat proteins add to the cloudiness of this style

As was discussed earlier in this thread, wheat proteins should not add cloudiness to this style. You should be aiming for a crystal clear beer, with no haze. It is the yeast that makes this style cloudy. Traditionaly the beer is made using a mash schedule that includes a protein rest to deliberately breakdown the higher molecular weight proteins. This is done for 3 reasons:

1. to supply the yeast with an adequate amount of free amino acids,
2. to aid in lautering by reducing gloutinous substances, and
3. to reduce chill haze in the final product.

Plus a longer boil, about 2 hours, is used to further aid clarification through the coagulation of proteins. This longer boil is needed not only because of the use of wheat malt, but because of the low bittering there is a reduced level of hop tannins that aid in protein coagulation.

Cheers
MAH

Above information attributed to Claissic Wheat Beer by Eric Warner

 

[Whistlingjack]

to reduce chill haze in the final product.

Reduce, or remove it entirely?

From the BJCP style guidelines

Appearance: Pale straw to very dark gold in color (rarely, can be as dark as amber). A very thick, moussy, long-lasting white head is characteristic. The high protein content of wheat impairs clarity in an unfiltered beer, although the level of haze is somewhat variable. A beer "mit hefe" is also cloudy from suspended yeast sediment (which should be roused before drinking). The filtered Krystal version has no yeast and is brilliantly clear.

 

[user 384]

to reduce chill haze in the final product.

Reduce, or remove it entirely?

Reduce the chance of chill haze. Chill haze should not be seen as something to aim for in a hefe.

As others have pointed out hefe or yeast is the operative part of the descriptor, not chill-haze-weizen.

Cheers
MAH

 

[Whistlingjack]

Sorry about that, MAH

Wasn't quick enough with the edit, to add the BJCP gudelines, before you replied. So I'll C&P it here.

From the BJCP style guidelines

Appearance: Pale straw to very dark gold in color (rarely, can be as dark as amber). A very thick, moussy, long-lasting white head is characteristic. The high protein content of wheat impairs clarity in an unfiltered beer, although the level of haze is somewhat variable. A beer "mit hefe" is also cloudy from suspended yeast sediment (which should be roused before drinking). The filtered Krystal version has no yeast and is brilliantly clear.

 

[Whistlingjack]

Still, I agree.

Chill haze is not something you should aim for.

But for the vast majority of homebrewers, at least, and for many large brewers, its something that does no harm and for this style is not really worth the effort to avoid.

 

[Weizguy]

i'd be interested to hear how you go with the schneider yeast DJR, i used it for a couple of beers and found it didn't attenuate enough and left some strange baked-apple esters and not much clove (even after a ferulic rest). i could have got a mistreated bottle though i don't know.

I found a similar flavour profile in the Schneiders I have sampled. The yeast gives a little breadiness and a unique characteristic ester profile. I may not be perceiving the same flavours, but it's a character that is borne of that yeast.
(note: need make an Aventinus clone for the Newie get-together - BYO javelins).

A chill haze is "to style" by the way I read the guidelines. Not preferred, but acceptable.

MAH, that book-learnin' of yorn ain't gonna git ya knowhere heyar. Seriously, I got the Warner book with some of my comp prize vouchers. Hope it'll improve either my appreciation or brewing skills, to get more out of the style.

Out 4 now.
Seth the Rauchbierist