INTRODUCTION

HISTORY

It has been argued on a number of fronts that wheat beers have enjoyed a special place in the minds of the populace because wheat is also indispensible to the baker. Various royal decrees have regimented the brewing of wheat beer throughout German history, and some argue that Germany's famous brewing purity law, the Reinheitsgebot, was passed in part to keep the available wheat out of the hands of thirsty brewers.

STYLE DEFINITION

It is easier to find examples of the Bavarian Weizen style, both imported from Germany or made by micro-breweries here in the States. This is the highly-carbonated, fruity-tasting (often with notes of banana or clove) cloudy brew that is frequently marketed as hefe-weizen ("wheat beer with yeast" in German). These beers use a higher proportion of wheat malt, usually 50-67%, and do not go through the lactic fermentation that the Weisse beers do. They are not as tangy as the Weisse beers, but they are very distinct from other beer styles. The traditional yeast strains used to ferment hefe-weizens produce several distinctive phenols and esters, chemical compounds which impart strong flavor and aroma. The flavors of these compounds are so unique and assertive that when they are present in other beer styles they are usually considered a sign of bad brewing practices or bacterial infection.

BREWING PRACTICES

Brewing from Malt Extract:

Brewing from Grains:

Because wheat is high in the proteins that create haziness in a finished beer, you'll have to decide how important it is to have a clear beer. Haziness, both from the wheat and from the yeast, is generally accepted as a facet of the wheat beer style, but steps may be taken to achieve greater clarity if the brewer so desires. Using Irish Moss during the boil or clarifyers before bottling will help remove much of the haze problem.

Because wheat is low in the enzymes required for starch conversion, it is generally recommended that barley be used in addition to wheat, and preferably that the barley be a high-enzyme malt. However, modern farming and malting methods have brought malted barley to a very high level of quality and consistency, and there is less of a need for choosing a high-enzyme malt. The standard high-enzyme malt to accompany wheat in a grist is 6-Row barley. But this has become less and less of an issue as the quality and enzyme content of malted grains has improved.

Because wheat has little to no husk, it cannot be relied upon to create a good filter bed for sparging. This is usually counteracted by using barley in addition to wheat. If you'd like to try a 100% wheat beer, you'll have to use rice hulls on the bottom of your lauter tun.

Yeast! Yeast! Yeast!

Bavarian Wheat WYEAST #3056

This is a blend of traditional ale yeast and the characteristic German Wheat Yeast. More sour, with hints of the banana/clove/vanilla flavor. We found this to be rather bland alongside the Weihenstephen. However, the same beer fermented with German Ale yeast would probably be bland alongside this one. Our recommendation is that you use this yeast to duplicate the American style Hefe-Weizens or to get just a hint of the characteristic German wheat yeast flavor to see if it suits you.

Weihenstephan WYEAST #3068

Much more pronounced banana/clove/vanilla flavor with added spiciness. We all associated it with Paulaner's excellent German Hefe-Weizen. Very low flocculation, as evidenced by extreme yeasty cloudiness. This won our tast-test hands down. However, many of our customers are put off by its distinctive flavors. Before brewing a batch with Weihenstephen, we recommend you sample a Paulaner Hefe-Weizen to get a feel for the unique characteristics of this style.