Wyeast 3638

[Hubby]

Been sampling the first few of a "hefeweizen" I did last month using Wyeast 3638.

3638 Bavarian Wheat Yeast. Top cropping hefeweizen yeast with complex flavor and aroma. Balance of banana and bubble gum esters with lichi and apple/plum esters and cloviness. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 70-76% (64-75 F, 18-24 C)

It was a partial recipe I threw together:

1.4 kg wheat malt (JW)
1.4 kg pale malt (JW)
0.6 kg DME light
0.6 kg DME wheat light
14g POR pellets (9.2) - 60 min
14 g Saaz pellets (3.4) - 15 min
Wyeast 3638 1.5 L starter

Thin mash 3L / kg - single infusion @ 67 degrees C (batch sparged)

Batch: 22L
OG 1.046 FG 1.010

Comments: Fermentation was very strong and "complete" @ 19 degrees C within 3 days, then racked to secondary for 7 days (19 down to 16 degrees C) & bottled. (Yes, I wanted it done before Xmas ). Selection of hops based on what I had in hand.

I know it's not an ideal recipe or method, but it worked and I'm very pleased with the result.

Wyeast 3638 - highly recommended :beerbang:

 

[Ross]

looks nice Hubby, i reckon the spiceyness of por would go well in the style, though never thought of using it before . With a wheat i'd be pitching a lower volume to get more character out the yeast though, you don't really want a big starter...

cheers Ross

 

[Hubby]

I will try less starter next time, Ross. Thanks for the tip.

By the way, the POR & Saaz idea came from Matilda Bay Brewing Co - used in Redback (not that I was looking for that style).

I forgot to mention, I used 3638 simply because 3068 was out of stock at the time. In any case, I now have several 3638 cultures ready to go for the next trials :chug:

 

[Weizguy]

Hubby, ...mate, the W3638 is the Schneider yeast, IIRC.

Great choice for yeast. This style focusses on the malt, esters and phenolics. 19C is a good temp to ferment a weizen.
As Ross sez, a smaller culture should produce more esters, but I have no experience with this yeast and it's prob good either way. Can you describe the balance of flavours? Does the malt, wheat and banana/ other fruit tastes shine through?

How was the bitterness and hop flava. I'd hope for floral and not too bitter.

Redback was a good introductory weizen, and I'm not sure if the recipe has changed much since I last had one. It's certainly not a bad thing to emulate a good, clean beer and then update the recipe to match your own tastes.

Your recipe looks pretty reasonable. I never (can't remember if I did anyway) make a partial mash weizen. The all-DME weizens were great and I just went straight to a.g. rather than going halfway. I did a few partials, including some Witbiers, and they were great too, but the clour was a little dark. By the time I got to brewing another weizen, I had used up all my Muntone wheat DMA and already had a few ag's under my belt, so I jumped in and made an ag weizen. A bit nicer than the DME beer, but both are still good for the style.

Great to see another wheat beer brewer in the ranks. I'm keen to try the W3638 soon, but I better save up, coz I spent all my State comp prize vouchers at the lhbs already.

Weizen on! :beer:

Seth out

 

[Hubby]

Hey Seth, thanks for the words of encouragement. I only do partials because I'm still building the AG rig - time/cost permitting. The brew prior to this pushed the partial rig to its limits and I still fluked a very nice pilsener. In my research for a wheat beer, I recall that 3638 was the Schneider yeast - although I've never tried one, so that put me behind the 8-ball. I like this little blurb from Georg Schneiders first wheat beer lexicon (link):

Typology of a wheatbeer drinker
It is very difficult to imagine wheatbeer drinking people as lonesome, grumpy, and we-against-the-world-attitude, sitting in front of the TV. Rather, people come to mind that indulge in wheatbeer together, that discuss beer, politics, sport, and cultural events until late during warm summer nights. Such tightly knit communities of happy, dynamic, sociable, and life enjoying people sometimes spontaneously organize themselves in Schneider Weisse Fan clubs.

In terms of taste (excuse my poor description here): it had the initial bite then lots of bananas. The hop bitterness is very slight and there's a nice subtle spiciness to balance the bananas. It has a full body and creamy head, and of course the mandatory bottle roll to rouse the yeast. Colour is light amber and with a chill haze evident.

Still over the moon with the result. :chug:

 

[Jye]

I pulled a year old start of 3638 out of the fridge this arvo and chucked it on the stir plate for an up coming hefe. There was still plenty of bubble gum esters in the beer but not a lot of banana. Does anyone else have some tasting notes and fermentation temp with this yeast?

Im pretty excited about giving it another go especially if the banana also comes through with the bubble gum.

 

[razz]

Sorry Jye, no tasting notes. Just this courtesy of Wyeast.
3638 Bavarian Wheat Yeast. Top cropping hefeweizen yeast with complex flavor and aroma. Balance of banana and bubble gum esters with lichi and apple/plum esters and cloviness. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 70-76% (64-75 F, 18-24 C)

 

[Paul H]

I pulled a year old start of 3638 out of the fridge this arvo and chucked it on the stir plate for an up coming hefe. There was still plenty of bubble gum esters in the beer but not a lot of banana. Does anyone else have some tasting notes and fermentation temp with this yeast?

Im pretty excited about giving it another go especially if the banana also comes through with the bubble gum.

From what I have read & my limited experience with this yeast I believe the higher temp range you go the more banana comes through.

 

[mika]

Though some podcasts recommend fermenting as low as 16degs, with all the extery notes coming from the high precentage of quality wheat malt in the grainbill.

 

[Weizguy]

I have my first beer using W3638 carbing up in a number of bottles now.

It's a Schneider Weisse clone and the initial tasting suggests an excellent balance of malt and fruity (banana and apple/lichi/fruit salad) flavour, with some clove.

If I remember, I'll post here when it's gassed up (and tasted). It's a little slow at room temp 16C at the moment.

Very similar to commercial Schneiders I've sampled. I'll be very pleased to have a crack at an Aventinus clone with this yeast.

Beerz
Seth

 

[user 1153]

Wyeast 3638 - highly recommended :beerbang:

Very nice

I just pitched a 3638 into my Schneider Weisse clone (all grain) this morning. Looking forward to the outcome.

Using the "No Chill" method in Canberra at this time of year can actually go a bit too far. My 100 degree wort last night at 8.30 was a 13 degree wort this morning at 7am!!! And that is inside a garage. Bloody cold. Thank god for my fish tank immersion heaters

 

[Jye]

It's a Schneider Weisse clone and the initial tasting suggests an excellent balance of malt and fruity (banana and apple/lichi/fruit salad) flavour, with some clove.

Are you fermenting at ambient temp 16C? I was thinking of fermenting between 19-20C.

Its been less than 24 hrs and the starter has kicked off woo-hoo

 

[Inge]

I just put on a hefe yesterday, made as per Les' Saaz + liquid extract recipe in some other thread which I have now lost. I made a hefe some time ago using the 3638 and the Black Rock whispering wheat kit, and found it had very little of the ester character that I was after. In fact, the tartness of the wheat is what shone through the most. I put it down to too low a fermentation temperature :huh:

Bloody strong fermentation, the constant release of CO2 is damn near blowing all the water out of my airlock. SG is sitting at 1020 from 1040, and initial tastes of the wort suggest a better ester flavour than the last time, but it's still not as strong as I had hoped. Tartness still very much noticeable. I'm fermenting at around 21 degrees. I read before that maybe the size of the starter has something to do with it, I pitched roughly 1200 mLs of starter... Maybe try to pitch less next time?

:unsure:

 

[Inge]

Patience....

Spoke too soon. The banana is on its way now.

 

[Hubby]

I've just put down a third brew using a 3638 split (from the original - seems like a long time ago :blink: ) and I'm really looking forward to the result. It's great to see everyone else trying it too

 

[clay]

I ended up with a pack of this after my supplier ran out of 3068. I'm still deciding whether to use the 3638 or Ross' new dried yeast in my next hefe...maybe split the batch and do a side by side comparrison.

 

[Weizguy]

Are you fermenting at ambient temp 16C? I was thinking of fermenting between 19-20C.

Its been less than 24 hrs and the starter has kicked off woo-hoo

Finally replying to this message...

I fermented at 16, then raised to 20-22, with the fermentor 1/2 on/off a heat pad.
Would have preferred a constant temp of 20.

The beer is drinking well with the right bready and fruity notes.

There seems to be an issue with head retention, so I'll leave out the protein rest next time. Maybe the maltsters have made the malt so idiot-proof that the protein rest is not required.

Beerz
Seth

 

[pk.sax]

going to get a delivery of this soon
would be fun brewing a weissbeer when I do.... Already have a kit + extract brewed wheat ale done with US-05 carbing up, I'm gonna love my summer if I can get these beers done and bottled up

Now, bottles! I NEED more bottles, stubbies, 500ml, 750 ml whatever really.. lol anyone in melbourne looking to get rid of glass? I bought my last batch of second hand 500 ml bottles from the shop @ 40 cents a piece, can do that again if anyone is supplying bottles.... good ideas even?

http://www.onebeer.net/yeaststrains_wheat.html

Now who has tried them ^ all!!

 

[Phoney]

Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of 3638 with 3068? Im interested in the differences.

 

[pk.sax]

I have a sleepy weiss yeast :S

Pitched earlier today, been nearly 10 hrs, wort was well and truly aerated. No crausen yet
Yeast does seem to have grown a bit, neat layer of deposit at the bottom. I didn't let the smack pack swell all the way through though, pitched into fwk diluted to 1051. Well, considering people have these yeasts trying to burst out of everything, I am a bit worried. Temp was 20C at start but ice packs have worked to get that down to 18.

Wake up I'm der morgen?! Sigh...