St. Arnold "Weedwhacker"

[Nosybear]

Spent the Holidays in Texas with family. There I picked up a six-pack of St. Arnold Brewery's "Weedwhacker", their Koelsch-style ale (called Fancy Lawnmower) fermented with hefeweizen yeast. So of course, being the happy brewer I am, I'm out to steal the idea. In most respects this is just a standard Koelsch, the only modifications to the recipe are the use of the organic Crystal hops I scored in Palisade this year and the yeast. Here's the recipe:

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... nold-style

Any opinions?

Cheers!
Nosy

 

[LarryBrewer]

German hefe yeast gives banana/clove flavors. The american hefe gives a wheaty profile. Kolsch yeast gives a fairly clean, slightly fruity/smokey profile in my opinion. The flavor difference between these yeasts is huge. Never tried the Wiezen yeast you have picked out in the recipe. I'd make sure to select the variety of hefe yeast that matches what you tasted from the beer.

As for only using crystal hops - that should be a really smooth beer. Is that all the clone recipes call for? Seems a bit one dimensional to me, but should be refreshing.

 

[Nosybear]

Ended up going with the traditional Hefeweizen yeast - will brew tomorrow. I don't have a "clone" recipe per se, it's just my Koelsch recipe with different hops and yeast since their beer is, according to the label, their Koelsch fermented with hefeweizen yeast. Their version could have stood another few days in secondary - strong sulfury note in the nose and some rough edges. I want the banana/clove notes, just subdued (means fermenting cool). I guess the best way of putting it is I'm not trying to clone their beer, but improve it.

 

[LarryBrewer]

Let us know how it turns out. I love that style of beer.

 

[Nosybear]

Had planned to brew today but life didn't cooperate. Maybe I'll get it in the fermenter tomorrow eve.

 

[Nosybear]

Weedwhacker is in the fermenter. I used WLP 380 to get more clove than banana. Nice, light straw color, looking forward to it!

 

[Nosybear]

Weedwhacker update: Racked today. Attenuation is low but the green beer is yummy - better than the original, cleaner with less sulfur in the nose, more clove, less banana. I'll let it sit for another week and see what it's like but I do like this beer! Better than hefeweizen in some respects.

 

[Sluggo]

I did Austin Homebrew's Weedwacker clone recipe back in the summer. Their recommended yeast was WLP300. Came out pretty close to the original.

 

[Nosybear]

Our homebrew shop was out of WLP 300 so I used the 380. Seems like a better outcome to me but I prefer the clove over the banana. And I used only Crystal hops in the brew. Green, it was great - we'll see once bottled.

 

[Nosybear]

This was a successful experiment! The first thing you notice about it is esters, banana and clove. The color is light straw, white head, good carbonation. The flavor is bready like a Kölsch with nice tartness from the wheat in the grist and the yeast, followed by the flavors of a light, slightly sweet hefeweizen. Body is light, carbonation prickly on the tongue. The finish is dry, just a touch of malty sweetness. All in all, I got what I wanted, a lawnmower beer with some rather unique character from the "mismatch" of Kölsch grist and Hefeweizen yeast. I do like this beer....