Archives for September 2013

Heavyweight Extract Hefe-weizen

September 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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A wheat beer in a wheat beer glass. You can brew this with extract if you follow this recipe.

If you’re a malt extract brewer who wants to make an outstanding hefe-weizen, try this recipe. It’s a little more involved than most extract recipes, but the results will definitely be worth it. See also the series on German hefe-weizens, which is still in progress. There are two versions posted here, one using English units and the other in metric. All-grain recipe to come.

 

Klinkerweizen

Extract (Partial mash); English units

 

DESCRIPTION

A classic Munich-style hefe-weizen for extract brewers. This recipe employs a partial mash and you will need a 3-gallon (or 5-gallon) beverage cooler with a spigot and a steeping bag large enough to line it. The partial mash will give the beer the full bready flavor and aroma of wheat malt, and the yeast will produce a nice balance of clove and banana (provided you follow the yeast selection, pitching rate and fermentation temperatures recommended). If you’ve never done a partial mash, this is a great recipe to begin exploring partial mashing. (They will all seem easy after this one.) You will need to bottle this in heavy bottles, so enjoy some commercial hefe-weizens before brewday and while the beer is fermenting.

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Filed Under: Brewing Recipes

Tasting Notes: Spur of the Moment “Saison”

September 6, 2013 by 4 Comments
Light, fruity and summery.

Light, fruity and summery.

This is the exciting part of homebrewing. When I brewed this beer (see brewing details here), it was a matter of improvisation. A bit of two-row and rye here, a bit of American hops and saison yeast there. I was hoping the combination would be a synergy of the ingredients to produce something new (for me) and fun. The end result is not disappointing.

As you might expect from the recipe, the Amarillo and Mosaic hops added at the end of the boil dominate the flavor. I taste grapefruit, tropical fruit, and a bit of lemon. The aroma, too, is hop forward.

I gave my wife, Susan, a sip, and she said “lemon wheat.” I can see that, too. The citrus is prominent, and I believe the rye adds some cloudiness and body. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Beer, Homebrewing, Tasting Notes

German Wheat Beer: II (Grains)

September 5, 2013 by 3 Comments
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Three German hefe-weizens — two from Munich and one (Julius Echter) from Würzburg.

This is the second part in a series on German wheat beers. The first part was posted September 3rd.

The basic grist for a wheat beer is wheat malt and pale barley malt (typically Pilsner). The classic ratio in a Munich-style hefe-weizen is 70:30 wheat to barley, but the proportion of wheat can drop to as low as half. When choosing a wheat malt, it is helpful to know some general things about the grain.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Beer Styles

100% Rye Pale Ale – Take Two

September 4, 2013 by 14 Comments

Malted rye has no husk.

Hoppy cough syrup. That is how I describe the results of my first attempt at brewing a 100% rye pale ale this past year. This week, I took another stab at the style, reducing the gravity and hoping that the viscous nature of the rye would give me a low gravity beer with a satisfying and substantial mouthfeel.

I first decided to brew a beer based on nothing but malted rye after having several successful attempts at brewing 100% wheat beers. Both malted rye and malted wheat have enough diastatic power (enzymes) to convert the starches to sugar in the mash without the help of barley. The trick is getting the wort to run out of the mash after the rest. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Beer, Brewing Ingredients, Brewing Recipes, Brewing Techniques, Homebrewing

German Wheat Beer: I (Intro and Water)

September 3, 2013 by 2 Comments

This is the start of our third series on beer styles. At Beer and Wine Journal, we hope to eventually cover all the major beer styles, focusing on what sets them apart from other styles and how to brew them successfully at home. The first two styles we covered were dry stouts and hoppy pale ales (encompassing American-style pale ales, IPAs and dIPAs).

 

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Three German hefe-weizens on the shelf at my local liquor store today. This style is easy to brew for beginners, but also has plenty of opportunities for advanced brewers to tweak and experiment.

German hefe-weizens (roughly, yeasty wheat beers) are wonderful beers. At home, you can brew one using almost the same procedures you would employ to make a pale ale, or any other ale, and get good results. For example, if you took the correct ingredients and performed a single infusion mash, boiled the wort as you normally would, pitched an adequate amount of yeast and held the fermentation in normal ale temperature range, you’d likely end up with a tasty hefeweizen.

However, dig a little bit deeper into brewing the style and you’ll find that you have many opportunities to tweak the character of the beer. Switching to a step mash and adding a certain mash rest, your yeast strain, your pitching rate, your fermentation temperature and other variables can all be manipulated to alter the character of your hefe-weizen to your liking. In this series on hefe-weizens, I’ll explain the key points to making a hefe-weizen and, most importantly, the variables that make the biggest influence on how the beer turns out. In this wheat ale, the process has as much to do with your final results as your ingredients. I’ll also dispel a few common myths about making hefe-weizens along the way.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Brewing Ingredients, Brewing Techniques

Plan for Brewing Success

September 2, 2013 by 2 Comments
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Planning your “brewing season” can save you time, frustration and money.

With temperatures cooling off, many homebrewers who lack a modified fridge or chest freezer for fermentation temperature control are going to resume active homebrewing. Likewise, homebrew competitions are more frequent through the fall, winter and spring than in the summer, so competitive brewers have more incentive to brew. One thing that can help you have a more productive and enjoyable “brewing season” is a little planning. 

Making a plan will involve considering how much time can allot to brewing and what special occasions you really want to brew for. This will allow you to set priorities, as well as plan so that your beers are ready on time.

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Filed Under: Brewed For Thought

2013 ZEALOTS Inquisition and Picnic

September 1, 2013 by 1 Comment
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A flight of beers I judged at The Inquisition. The category was strong beers.

A few weeks ago, I judged at the Austin ZEALOTS Inquisition, the homebrew contest of my homebrewing club (The Austin ZEALOTS). This was the 10th annual Inquisition and it went off without a hitch, primarily thanks to Corey Martin — our club’s Primary Fermenter, and guy who somehow got stuck running the contest — and Chris Rauschuber and his wife Whitney Roberts, who hosted the judging at their house.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Homebrewing
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