Lager Yeast In A Wheat Beer.

[Dave70]

As far as I know, with very my limited knowledge, a bock and it's brethren are all lagers right?
Well have a look at this:
http://www.monteiths.com/nz/siteFiles/show...ock_winter.html
I enjoyed a few of these on the weekend - very malty as you would expect, but unless Monteiths are just calling them an ale for the hell of it, I asume they are using an ale yeast.

So it just got me to thinking how you would go using a larger yeast in a wheat beer?
Is there already a style that does this? If anybody has had a go I'd be interested in hearing in the result.
I'm guessing you might end up with something like a kristallweizen (without the filtering) after lagering.
On the flip side I guess you might also strip away a lot of the flavours during the process and just wind up with a fizzy bland tasting weizen.

Its just an idea I'm tossing around while I've got a couple of lagers on the go. What do you think?

A: doable, interesting.

B: silly, you're a wanker.

 

[Sammus]

As far as I know, with very my limited knowledge, a bock and it's brethren are all lagers right?
Well have a look at this:
http://www.monteiths.com/nz/siteFiles/show...ock_winter.html
I enjoyed a few of these on the weekend - very malty as you would expect, but unless Monteiths are just calling them an ale for the hell of it, I asume they are using an ale yeast.

So it just got me to thinking how you would go using a larger yeast in a wheat beer?
Is there already a style that does this? If anybody has had a go I'd be interested in hearing in the result.
I'm guessing you might end up with something like a kristallweizen (without the filtering) after lagering.
On the flip side I guess you might also strip away a lot of the flavours during the process and just wind up with a fizzy bland tasting weizen.

Its just an idea I'm tossing around while I've got a couple of lagers on the go. What do you think?

A: doable, interesting.

B: silly, you're a wanker.

Can I go (A+B )/2 ?

I think wheat beers are driven primarily by yeast character, so using a lager yeast you're removing any aspect of wheat character from a traditional weizen. I reckon you'd be left with a pale fizzy beer with very little flavour. I guess the only interesting part is that it could kind of highlight a real wheat tartness... I've heard of people saying wheat gives a tart flavour, but haven't experienced it.

 

[Nick JD]

Just this minute I have a glass of Wheat Lager sitting next to the keyboard. What can I say about it? Pale is the first thing that comes to mind. It's between 2 and 3 EBC, so yeah - it looks exactly like your piss when you've have a few, but not a gutfull. Pale, pale yellow. It's got 20% rice in it as well and 15% dextrose - so malt flavours are just not there. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just different.

There is a tartness, but I'd call it "crisp", not tart - it's sharp but not excessive. There are some rice/wheat "malt" flavours in there, and it's dry, but the aftertaste is crisp and this dominates.

Hop are a big part. There's only a 60 minutes addition but there's nothing for them to hide behind so they are present. A hint of sulphur that the nose seems to disregard quickly - and it seems to "fizz off" and only really be in the bottle, not the glass.

There's nothing for any bad flavours to hide behind. Over all, if you use >50% wheat and a lager yeast you haven't made a wheat beer, you've made a lager.

 

[manticle]

You will have made a wheat beer - just not a yeast wheat beer.

I remember trying one of those winter bocks last year and being disappointed (don't mind a few others in the monteith's range). I might give it another go if I see it around.

 

[Kingy]

i got my cubes mixed up and accidently added lager yeast to a wheat beer. It turned out an awesome drink. Going to do it again next time :beerbang:

 

[haysie]

Sort of :icon_offtopic:
Another take is wheat yeast in a non wheat recipe. I had a beer brewed this way over the weekend, the yeast character was slight banana and clove, bubblegum was also there, the main difference I got was a lack of sweetness and graininess that IMO wheat brings to the table. Like a APA with some weird phenolics, very drinkable and interesting.

 

[Verbyla]

:icon_offtopic:

Monteith's Crushed Apple Cider...... Best Cider Ever!!!