We're kicking off the Classic Beer Styles series with a summer classic. Weissbier, Weizen, Hefeweizen, its all the same!
Hefeweizen is a light beer brewed with mostly wheat malt. They are always low gravity (between 4.5 and 5%
and are considered session beers. That is you can consume them in quantity without becoming too intoxicated. This, combined with a slight bite from the wheat and high carbonation make it a great thirst quencher in the summer.
First, a few links:
BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) Style Guidelines for Hefeweizen
Beer Advocate listing of commercial examples
Homebrewtalk.com wiki entry for Weizen
The Jamil Show - Bavarian Weizen
History of the style
Weissbier as we know it originated in Bavaria. In 1516, Germany passed the Reinheitsgebot, or the German Purity Laws. A lot of people quote this law when declaring their favorite craft beer superior to Budweiser. In reality, the law forced brewers to use taxed brewing ingredients. It was to ensure the grains existed to provide cheap bread for the population. Wheat and Rye were common bread gains. Brewers were forced by law to only use Barley malt. The Reinheitsgebot also signaled the end of Gruit, a mix of proprietary ingredients brewers were forced to use to bitter beer. The final nail in the coffin for the great Reinheitsgebot is that it never mentions the use of yeast. In fact, it couldn't. Louis Pasteur didn't discover the existence of this single celled organism until the 1800's.
While the Reinheitsgebot ultimately killed a lot of creativity in German brewing (and spawned a new wave of "Purity" marketing) it helped give Hefeweizen a solid foothold as one of the most popular beer styles in Germany. The law in fact had a loophole that allowed the use of wheat malt in weizens. The Bavarian Royal family held the rights to brew Weizens for the better part of 300 years (Mosher, 184). Other brewers eventually gained the rights to brew the beer. It was an overnight success.
Hefeweizen is still an extremely popular style in Germany. It is beat out of course by the ubiquitous light lager.
Tasting This Beer
Hefeweizen gets its taste from a large portion of wheat malt and a unique yeast strain. This strain of ale yeast is known for its characteristic production of bananna, clove and bubblegum esters. The character changes greatly between breweries. Hefeweizens are always hazy. Wheat malt contains a lot of protein that contributes to the haze. They are not filtered, so the yeast add a lot of haze.
Hefewiezen should be consumed "Mit hefe", or with the yeast. There is considerable art to a proper pour. Dont despair! Hefeweizen should be served in a proper glass. Rinse the glass with cold water. A damp glass will stop too much foam. Start pouring at a very slight angle. Once you are past the narrow section of the glass, start pouring straight down. Stop before you pour the entire beer. Swirl the dregs and pour over the foam. You should see a lot of yeast cloud up your beer. Enjoy!!
SHOULD I ADD CITRUS???
Adding a slice of lemon or orange goes in an out of popularity. IMO, no wheat style beer should ever get citrus. It does compliment the citrus bite of wheat and makes the beer more refreshing though. I can see the merit, but don't really like it. If you are in the US and don't want citrus, ask them to leave it off.
Brewing this style
Hefeweizens are very easy to brew. I'd like to comment on what I consider a misconception on fermentation temperatures. Most resources will tell you a cooler ferment will produce more clove flavors and warmer will make bananna flavors. I believe this to be false. Weizen yeast is biogically like every other yeast. That is warmer fermentation temperatures will produce more esters/off flavors. The ester responsible for bananna flavor is Isoamyl Acetate, and is produced by ALL ale yeast at high temperatures. It is formed during fatty acid synthesis, then can leak out of the cell (Mosher, 57). Keep your fermentation temperatures under control, just like any beer.
My favorite recipe is straight forward. Order it from Brewmasters Warehouse if you feel inclined!
On my system (75% efficiency, Rager forumla)
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons
OG: 1.051
IBU: 12.3
6lb wheat malt
4lb pislner
(For extract, just use 6.5lbs dry wheat extract)
1 oz hallertauer (3%) - 60
.5oz hallertauer (3%) - 15
Wyeast 3068 (with 2L starter)
Mash at 152 for 60 min. Double batch sparge, no mashout. 90 min boil
Ferment for 14 days at 65F. Rack to keg, or bottle. Drink young.
Commercial Examples
I consider Weihenstephan THE definitive example of this style. Thats probably obvious since I use their yeast strain in my recipe. Franziskaner, Paulaner and Ayinger also make great Hefeweizens. Many US microbreweries make great examples of the style too. Just be careful. If a beer is just labeled "Wheat", it is probably an American Wheat beer. American wheats use American hops, like cascade and American yeast. They are usually clear.
Lets not get confused!!!!!
The term "wheat" creates a lot of confusion. There are in fact a lot of wheat based beers under the weizen umbrella.
Dunkelweizen is exactly the same as Hefeweizen, except the Pilsner malt is substituted for Munich malt. This creates a maltier beer.
Berliner Weiss is a sour style brewed with a large portion of wheat malt. It is very low gravity, exremely spritzy and VERY refreshing. It is soured by lactobacillus.
Witbier is a Belgian style and should not be confused with Hefeweizen. Wit means white. Witbier usues a high portion of unmalted wheat, while Hefeweizen uses malted wheat. Unmalted Wheat adds a lot of starch and creates a slightly drier beer. Witbier is always spiced with a variatoin of corriander, pepper, sweet or bitter orange peel, pepper, grains of paradise and much more.
Resources
I pulled heavily from all the links at the beginning of the post. All citations come from:
Mosher, Randy. Tasting Beer. An Insiders Guide To the World's Greatest Drink. Storey Publishing.
Hefeweizen is a light beer brewed with mostly wheat malt. They are always low gravity (between 4.5 and 5%
and are considered session beers. That is you can consume them in quantity without becoming too intoxicated. This, combined with a slight bite from the wheat and high carbonation make it a great thirst quencher in the summer. First, a few links:
BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) Style Guidelines for Hefeweizen
Beer Advocate listing of commercial examples
Homebrewtalk.com wiki entry for Weizen
The Jamil Show - Bavarian Weizen
History of the style
Weissbier as we know it originated in Bavaria. In 1516, Germany passed the Reinheitsgebot, or the German Purity Laws. A lot of people quote this law when declaring their favorite craft beer superior to Budweiser. In reality, the law forced brewers to use taxed brewing ingredients. It was to ensure the grains existed to provide cheap bread for the population. Wheat and Rye were common bread gains. Brewers were forced by law to only use Barley malt. The Reinheitsgebot also signaled the end of Gruit, a mix of proprietary ingredients brewers were forced to use to bitter beer. The final nail in the coffin for the great Reinheitsgebot is that it never mentions the use of yeast. In fact, it couldn't. Louis Pasteur didn't discover the existence of this single celled organism until the 1800's.
While the Reinheitsgebot ultimately killed a lot of creativity in German brewing (and spawned a new wave of "Purity" marketing) it helped give Hefeweizen a solid foothold as one of the most popular beer styles in Germany. The law in fact had a loophole that allowed the use of wheat malt in weizens. The Bavarian Royal family held the rights to brew Weizens for the better part of 300 years (Mosher, 184). Other brewers eventually gained the rights to brew the beer. It was an overnight success.
Hefeweizen is still an extremely popular style in Germany. It is beat out of course by the ubiquitous light lager.
Tasting This Beer
Hefeweizen gets its taste from a large portion of wheat malt and a unique yeast strain. This strain of ale yeast is known for its characteristic production of bananna, clove and bubblegum esters. The character changes greatly between breweries. Hefeweizens are always hazy. Wheat malt contains a lot of protein that contributes to the haze. They are not filtered, so the yeast add a lot of haze.
Hefewiezen should be consumed "Mit hefe", or with the yeast. There is considerable art to a proper pour. Dont despair! Hefeweizen should be served in a proper glass. Rinse the glass with cold water. A damp glass will stop too much foam. Start pouring at a very slight angle. Once you are past the narrow section of the glass, start pouring straight down. Stop before you pour the entire beer. Swirl the dregs and pour over the foam. You should see a lot of yeast cloud up your beer. Enjoy!!
SHOULD I ADD CITRUS???
Adding a slice of lemon or orange goes in an out of popularity. IMO, no wheat style beer should ever get citrus. It does compliment the citrus bite of wheat and makes the beer more refreshing though. I can see the merit, but don't really like it. If you are in the US and don't want citrus, ask them to leave it off.
Brewing this style
Hefeweizens are very easy to brew. I'd like to comment on what I consider a misconception on fermentation temperatures. Most resources will tell you a cooler ferment will produce more clove flavors and warmer will make bananna flavors. I believe this to be false. Weizen yeast is biogically like every other yeast. That is warmer fermentation temperatures will produce more esters/off flavors. The ester responsible for bananna flavor is Isoamyl Acetate, and is produced by ALL ale yeast at high temperatures. It is formed during fatty acid synthesis, then can leak out of the cell (Mosher, 57). Keep your fermentation temperatures under control, just like any beer.
My favorite recipe is straight forward. Order it from Brewmasters Warehouse if you feel inclined!
On my system (75% efficiency, Rager forumla)
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons
OG: 1.051
IBU: 12.3
6lb wheat malt
4lb pislner
(For extract, just use 6.5lbs dry wheat extract)
1 oz hallertauer (3%) - 60
.5oz hallertauer (3%) - 15
Wyeast 3068 (with 2L starter)
Mash at 152 for 60 min. Double batch sparge, no mashout. 90 min boil
Ferment for 14 days at 65F. Rack to keg, or bottle. Drink young.
Commercial Examples
I consider Weihenstephan THE definitive example of this style. Thats probably obvious since I use their yeast strain in my recipe. Franziskaner, Paulaner and Ayinger also make great Hefeweizens. Many US microbreweries make great examples of the style too. Just be careful. If a beer is just labeled "Wheat", it is probably an American Wheat beer. American wheats use American hops, like cascade and American yeast. They are usually clear.
Lets not get confused!!!!!
The term "wheat" creates a lot of confusion. There are in fact a lot of wheat based beers under the weizen umbrella.
Dunkelweizen is exactly the same as Hefeweizen, except the Pilsner malt is substituted for Munich malt. This creates a maltier beer.
Berliner Weiss is a sour style brewed with a large portion of wheat malt. It is very low gravity, exremely spritzy and VERY refreshing. It is soured by lactobacillus.
Witbier is a Belgian style and should not be confused with Hefeweizen. Wit means white. Witbier usues a high portion of unmalted wheat, while Hefeweizen uses malted wheat. Unmalted Wheat adds a lot of starch and creates a slightly drier beer. Witbier is always spiced with a variatoin of corriander, pepper, sweet or bitter orange peel, pepper, grains of paradise and much more.
Resources
I pulled heavily from all the links at the beginning of the post. All citations come from:
Mosher, Randy. Tasting Beer. An Insiders Guide To the World's Greatest Drink. Storey Publishing.
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