First go at a traditional German Weissbier

LlewellynBrewHaus

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Hello good people,
As a background for recipe, my family had been hosting a exchange student from northern German and I have promised him we would try to brew weissbier during his stay with us. His favorite is Erdinger and from I’ve been able to find from the web and other sources I’ve come up with this :
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/711844/rautinger
^ don’t be gentle with feedback ... i don’t have feelbads :)
 
This is the best I can without putting real work into criticizing anything.
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-Definitely add rice hulls!! ;)
-Others might have better ideas about actual decoction schedule - seems to me that a single decoction might be more useful later in the mash.
-The percentage of wheat malt is usually higher than the percentage of Pilsner and your percentage of unmalted wheat seems a little high so might cause some trouble with full conversion. I did a Wit with only around 12% unmalted grain and it took forever to convert. Unless you really know what that much unmalted wheat will do, I'd opt to lower that percentage substantially and add in wheat malt to bring the wheat/Pilsner ratio more in line.
-The Saaz hops are great for most styles, but I think I'd prefer Hallertau or Tettnager in a Hefe. More herbal/floral than the rich spice you get from Saaz...probably go better with the yeast flavors.
 
-Definitely add rice hulls!! ;)
-
Great points @J A . I guess maybe I have entered the wrong type of wheat... had planned on using mostly wheat malt.
My initial hop schedule was fwh tettnanger 0.5 oz- 45 mins 0.5 oz hallertau and 0.2 perle at 10 mins but looking at my inventory I had a pound each of Saaz and aurora on hand thought at such a low ibu value I might get away not buying more hops (8.5 pounds currently on hand lol)
For the mash I plan on doing the first part Biab style in my kettle for the ferlic acid rest then slowly walking the temp up to 151 , then I will move the works over into my 56 Lt cooler tun where I felt a single decoction rto bring everything up to mash out temp would be appropriate then lauter from there
 
I notice your water profile says your SO4 is 110 and Cl is 2, giving you a ratio of around 55:1. You may want to see if you can balance that closer to 2:1 or 1:1 or you might end up a little more bitter/hoppy than you're hoping for.
 
I notice your water profile says your SO4 is 110 and Cl is 2, giving you a ratio of around 55:1. You may want to see if you can balance that closer to 2:1 or 1:1 or you might end up a little more bitter/hoppy than you're hoping for.
I hear ya on my water... it’s great for pales and other hoppier species , just haven’t progressed far enough in my home brewery to mess with my water yet .... maybe all hit up DG and cut my house water with 3-4 gallons of distilled or spring water
 
I hear ya on my water... it’s great for pales and other hoppier species , just haven’t progressed far enough in my home brewery to mess with my water yet .... maybe all hit up DG and cut my house water with 3-4 gallons of distilled or spring water
Good ta see ya back around these parts!
I just recently started dabbling in my water, more than just a Campden tablet I mean. The new water calcs here make it a bit easier, but just dive in!
 
@LlewellynBrewHaus , you put your comments into the quote so I can't "reply" to your comments but..

The hops make sense if you already have a lot on hand. With the decoction I see that you have it listed on place in the "mash type" and at a different step in the notes. Yes, I think a single decoction to get to conversion temp, like you have in the notes is more common than using decoction only to get to protein rest. If I'm remembering right, a small decoction can be pulled to raise to protein temps in a triple decoction with larger ones pulled to get to conversion and mash-out.
 
Look at this classic recipe Hefe Weissbier, Bavarian Style posted @ Beer Advocate... I followed this and added a single decoction to the mash started fermentation @ 65° and raised it to 68° held it for two weeks... Tasted like a classic Hefe weiss bier... follow @CRUNK's recipe and you cant go wrong... your hop schedule is way to complex for this classic style... if your trying to create something your guest will recognize as a genuine Hefe use "Hallertau Mittelfruh" at 60 minutes and that's it.

Michael Tonsmeire has a an article over at his The Mad Fermentationist Blog describing the technique he used to brew an All Grain Decocted Hefeweizen and points to Kai's decoction guide as a go to reference...
 
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@NOmad I’m all for simplicity :) I’m switching the hop to hallertau
@White Haus Brews i cut my water with distilled and adding back 3g CaCl brings my ratio to 50:50 fingers crossed on me performing chemistry lol
Grains are purchased and packs are smacked bout time to fire up the kettle
 
German folk enjoy wiese bier anytime of the day, but i have heard they really enjoy it in the morning hours due to its mild, smooth, and refreshing taste.
 
@NOmad I’m all for simplicity :) I’m switching the hop to hallertau
@White Haus Brews i cut my water with distilled and adding back 3g CaCl brings my ratio to 50:50 fingers crossed on me performing chemistry lol
Grains are purchased and packs are smacked bout time to fire up the kettle

Sounds like a great place to start! Good luck with your brew :)
 
Unless you really know what that much unmalted wheat will do
It will considerably drop efficiency but otherwise, it does convert using a multistep mash. I accidentally did a beer with 100% unmalted wheat. Came out way better than I would have expected.
 
Evidently wy 3056 don’t mess around 56 hrs post pitch had my batch sitting at 1.009
Dang ! Performance right up there with my French saison 3711
Howd the decoction go there mate! I turned around a strawberry wheat recently in under 2 weeks yep that yeast at higher temp dont take long to rip through the wort. Hope your guest likes it if not more for you:D!
 

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