8 replies to this topic

[SchwanzBrewer]

I've played around with hefe's for a while. I can never seem to really get a good balance of phenols to esters. One is usually heavier than the other. I pretty much exclusively use the WYeast weihenstephaner 3068 yeast. I've tried a couple others but end up going back to that one. I've tried doing a ferulic acid rest and playing with ferm temps. The ferulic acid rest seemed to improve phenolics, but the beer wasn't as pillowy and balanced. Might have been screwed up in other ways.

 

Anyway, next weekend I'm gonna brew a hefe again. I'd like to get a balanced beer. I'm thinking that I'm gonna skip the ferulic acid rest, it's a PITA since I don't have a HERMS or RIMS and it makes the brew day extra long since I have to let it mash at those temps for about 45 min to an hour, then do a beta/alpha rest. So I think I'm gonna mash around 150. Then I'm gonna ferment starting at 65 and ramp it to 72 by day three and let it finish there.

 

Any other suggestions?

 

 

[TAPPER]

I'm a huge hefe fan and been playing around with yeasts, ferment temps, acid rests, etc. for years.  Here's what I've found works best.

 

- 3068 yeast

- 62 degrees for 48 hours, then walk up to 68 for a few days, then 72 to finish.  If you don't have that kind of control 62 to 65 works well.

- 70% - 75% yeast pitch of what all the calculators tell you.  This was the final "secret ingredient" I discovered through Stan's "Wheat Beer" book.  I read that Schneider pitches at this rate so I tried it and this step alone has made all my hefe's better.

 

I've got a beer I call "20 minute hefe".  It has to be the easiest and fastest beer in the world to make.  Bring water to a boil, cut heat, add Wheat DME, 1/2 to 1 oz hops, drop in your chiller, boil 20 minutes, chill, whirlpool, transfer, ferment as directed above.  Ferments out in 7 - 10 days, keg, shake for 10 minutes at 25 psi and drink.  It turns out as well as almost any all-grain version I've ever made.  If you use Briess Wheat DME or LME they already did the ferulic acid rest for you (I read that on some Briess blog somewhere).  The secret is that yeast pitch.  You need to underpitch or the esters are muted.  Low to mid 60's gives a nice clove character too.

 

If you really want to nail the style then do an all grain with the ferulic acid rest, double decoction, and ferment as stated above.

Edited by TAPPER, 20 February 2015 - 08:41 AM.

[SchwanzBrewer]

That's some good info.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

My ferulic acid rest for 15 minutes. I just add in enough water to wet the grains and get it up to 115. It's pretty simple. From reading here, 10-15 minutes is enough. I also agree with the underpitching for huge ester production.

[SchwanzBrewer]

My ferulic acid rest for 15 minutes. I just add in enough water to wet the grains and get it up to 115. It's pretty simple. From reading here, 10-15 minutes is enough. I also agree with the underpitching for huge ester production.

 

I've read elsewhere that 10-15 wasn't enough to make a noticeable difference. I believe it was from Kai. So you could see why I'm hesitant to do it again.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

I've read elsewhere that 10-15 wasn't enough to make a noticeable difference. I believe it was from Kai. So you could see why I'm hesitant to do it again.

I hadn't read that. I'll have to check the Wheat book to see if Tonsmiere is correctly quoting Stan.

 

[color=rgb(41,48,59);font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,243,219);]There has been debate over the effectiveness of the ferulic acid rest, a traditional start to a hefeweizen mash, but in [/color]Brewing with Wheat[color=rgb(41,48,59);font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,243,219);] Stan cites a study that found adding a rest for 10-15 minutes doubles the perception of clove (4 vinyl-guaiacol) in the finished hefeweizen. [/color]

[SchwanzBrewer]

I hadn't read that. I'll have to check the Wheat book to see if Tonsmiere is correctly quoting Stan.

 

[color=rgb(41,48,59);font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,243,219);]There has been debate over the effectiveness of the ferulic acid rest, a traditional start to a hefeweizen mash, but in [/color]Brewing with Wheat[color=rgb(41,48,59);font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,243,219);] Stan cites a study that found adding a rest for 10-15 minutes doubles the perception of clove (4 vinyl-guaiacol) in the finished hefeweizen. [/color]

 

Dammit. You're not helping me try to be lazy!

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

I like more banana than clove in a hefe. If you underpitch to bring up the ester, you'll probably be fine with the amount of phenol from that yeast. If I were doing a dunkelweizen or weizenbock, I'd definitely do the acid rest.

[realbeerguy]

I'm fine fermenting @ 62dF for my Hefe