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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org


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Contents:
  Re: Hefeweizen Fermentation Temperature (Robert Tower)
  no mashout ! ("Darrell G. Leavitt")
  Re: Hefeweizen Fermentation Temperature (Aleman)
  Re: The Cost of Brewing a Batch of Beer ("Michael P. Thompson")


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Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:53:38 -0700
From: Robert Tower <roberttower at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: Hefeweizen Fermentation Temperature

I've had quite a bit of success (several 1st places and even had one 
runner-up best of show) with my hefeweizens. The key factors are (in no 
specific order): yeast strain, pitching amount, aeration, and 
fermentation temp.

There are a number of different strains. If you're serious about your 
hefe, you might want to make a 5 gallon batch, and break it into 1 
gallon batches each with a different strain to find the one to focus on. 
Otherwise, you either are going to get sick of drinking this style or 
it's going to take forever for you to go through them all (assuming you 
only brew it once or twice a year like most brewers). A local brew club 
is another way to get taste information fast. Learn from other people's 
mistakes! My personal favorite is White Labs 380 Hefe IV. I've tried 
Wyeast 3068 numerous times but I find it very bland no matter what I do 
with it. White Labs 300 (their regular hefe strain) is too 
banana-centric for my taste. The 380 strain is a nice balance between 
clove and banana. Though I have a friend who recently got a free brick 
of the new Munich dry yeast that he is going to split with me, so I will 
give it a shot and report back here with my experience.

Pitching amount has a large impact on the flavor profile. Too little and 
you either get bubblegum or too much banana, too much yeast and it turns 
out bland. The amount I've arrived at (after a few years of 
experimentation and fiddling) is pitching a single vial of WL380 into a 
2 liter (half gallon) starter (wheat DME) 2-3 days before brew day, then 
pitching the entire starter into a 5 gallon batch. I've made as large as 
a 20 gallon batch in which I pitched the single vial of yeast into a 2 
gallon starter. Even though White Labs recommends not pitching a single 
vial into a starter larger than 2 liters (they recommend stepping up for 
larger starters) I have noticed very little if any difference when 
compared to the times I've stepped up from a 2 liter then on to a 2 
gallon starter.

Aeration also in my experience has a large impact. Too little gives you 
too much flavor (as mentioned above) and too much aeration makes it 
bland. In the past I was pumping pure oxygen through a stone, but in the 
last year or so I've abandoned that practice and now fill my fermenter 
from the top and rely exclusively on the splashing from that. I haven't 
made a hefe since I've switched aeration methods, but this will be one 
variable that I will no longer be able to modify.

Temperature is another big factor. I have found that cooler temps give 
me better results. A lot of homebrewers ferment hefes at 70+ F. I keep 
the ferment between 64 and 66 F. I've talked to several brewpub brewers 
who used WL300 and they've reported wildly different results simply by 
changing the temperature 5 degrees F.

As far as a grain bill, I've had the best results with a 70/30 blend. 
Though I've gotten satisfactory results from 50/50. If you have 
lautering troubles with 70% wheat, then switch your pale malt to six 
row, the added husk material usually does the trick and yet doesn't 
impact the flavor.

Brewing the perfect hefeweizen is kind of a quest, there's a lot of 
factors at play and the only way to find out how to brew it to your 
taste is by fiddling around with these factors. Make sure you take 
really good notes (brewing, fermenting and tasting) otherwise it could 
take you years of frustration to reach your goal. Also keep in mind that 
this style is delicate and doesn't have a long shelf life. I try to have 
it all consumed within 2 months of kegging/bottling. I've found that 
after two months it really begins to deteriorate. Brew it small but 
often is the way to go. I don't make 20 gallon batches any more!

Bob Tower / Los Angeles, CA




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Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:44:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Darrell G. Leavitt" <leavitdg at plattsburgh.edu>
Subject: no mashout !

As of today, I have brewed 567 batches of beer.  Except for the first 50
or so, these have been all-grain, 5.2 gallons each.  Today I forgot to
mash-out for the first time ever!  I was distracted (defragmenting my hard
drive, but fragmenting my conscousness), and as I started the sparge I
noticed that the temperature in the lauder tun was only 150F.

I wonder what the consequences will be on the final product?  The recipe
is 9lb optic pale malt, 1.5 lb Light Crystal, .5 lb Flaked Barley.

I suppose that the amylaze enzymes will continue working longer than
usual, perhaps resulting in a drier beer?

Fragmented.

Darrell



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Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:06:28 +0100
From: Aleman <aleman at uk-homebrew.info>
Subject: Re: Hefeweizen Fermentation Temperature

"Dave Larsen"  Wrote

> Any thoughts about
> weizens and fermentation temperature?

I get good results using the 'German' rule of 30. i.e that the pitching 
temp and the final temp should equal 30C (Unfortunately it doesn't work 
in Fahrenheit ;)

So if I pitch at 12C I let the natural heat of fermentation take it up 
to 18C over say three days, and the temp controller then keeps it at 18C 
until fermentation is finished. I get nicely balanced Clove and banana. 
I've tried 10C and 20C but wasn't impressed, a bit to clovey for me.

- -- 
le Man (The Brewer Formerly Known As Aleman)
Mashing In Blackpool, Lancashire, UK



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Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:53:32 -0600
From: "Michael P. Thompson" <thompson at ecentral.com>
Subject: Re: The Cost of Brewing a Batch of Beer

On JTue, 22 Jul 2008 19:59, Dave Larsen wrote:

> I came to the conclusion a
> long time ago that the homebrewing hobby will never save you money on
> beer.


That may be true Dave, or it may not. You have to admit, the setup  
you described is far beyond what would actually be REQUIRED to brew  
beer. I have a glass carboy and a bottling bucket, and a few tools  
like a racking cane and thermometer and such. I can brew beer just as  
good with this setup as I'd be capable of using your fancy  
arrangement. (You may make better beer than me, but I'd contend  
that's skill and experience, not equipment.)

All in all I've got less than $300 invested in my hobby. I've brewed  
two batches of about forty bottles each, so my cost per bottle is  
$3.75, even more than yours. However that will go down quickly as I  
brew more beer. Plus the enjoyment of making something myself that I  
can really enjoy? Priceless. :-)

- -- 
Doras Cuil Travel--Your one-stop travel source
Do you like to travel? How about wholesale, AND tax-deductible? Ask  
me how.
http://www.dorascuil.com





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