Hefeweizen mash

[mrobertson]

Hi guy,

I’m going to be brewing my first beer of the year in the next couple of weeks. This will also be my first brew using my mash tun rather than BIAB.

I’m planning on brewing a Hefeweizen and I have been doing some reading and everything seems to state I need to do a decoction mash, only problem is I have no idea how this is done.

Is this essential or will I get away with a standard mash?

 

[Clint]

Not too sure but just think a decoction involves removing some of the mash and heating it until the sugars caramelise....or I might be completely wrong!

 

[Oneiroi]

There’s a bit of discussion in this article about decoction vs step vs single mashes: https://byo.com/article/german-hefeweizen-style-profile/

The takeaway is this though - “If you do not have the ability to perform a decoction or a step mash, or are too lazy like me, then do not worry. Yes, a decoction mash will enhance the malt profile and a step mash will ensure enough clove flavors are present, but most important is using the best quality malt or malt extract you can find and fermenting the beer properly. You should be able to make a fantastic example of the style just using a single infusion mash. Once you have mastered that, then you can try the mash techniques of masters like Gulbransen and Brynildson”

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
There's a good write-up here.
The purpose of the decoction mash is to raise the temperature of the mash - something that you can do easily by directly heating it, as in a RIMS or HERMS set-up.
On brewing a Hefeweizen, this gives lots of good advice, including this:
If you do not have the ability to perform a decoction or a step mash, or are too lazy like me, then do not worry. Yes, a decoction mash will enhance the malt profile and a step mash will ensure enough clove flavors are present, but most important is using the best quality malt or malt extract you can find and fermenting the beer properly. You should be able to make a fantastic example of the style just using a single infusion mash
For a single infusion mash, target a temperature range of 150 to 154 °F (66 – 68 °C). If you are making a lower gravity beer, use the higher end of this temperature range to leave the beer with a bit more fullness. If you are making a bigger beer, use the lower end of the range to avoid too full of a character, which can limit drinkability. Keep in mind wheat malt is huskless, so if your equipment is prone to stuck mashes, you can add a volume of rice hulls equal to the volume of wheat malt.
Darn! Pipped at the post by @Oneiroi!

 

[svenito]

I did a Hefeweizen a couple of brews back and was in the same boat: decoct or not decoct.

Already mentioned here are reasons to decoct. @Bigcol49 is right that is about raising temp, but there also side effects of boiling a portion of the wort that affect the end result. Not sure how true this is, but I plan to find out at some point. It was also most important in the olden days when malts were not heavily modified, and the temperature step would help extract the sugars and break down acids and proteins. So all in all you can get away with just changing the temp in a HERMS, RIMS, or BIAB setup, but you will be missing the flavours from the boil.

Having said all that I did a single infusion mash with Weyerman malts at around 65-66C. No rest before that, just an hour at that temp. It was 40% wheat, 50% pilsner, and 10% Munich, no husks this time. I purposefully underpitched my yeast (Wyeast 3068) and fermented at 20-21C. The resulting beer was freaking delicious. Ok, there's a few things I would adjust, there was a slight tanginess that I'd like to get rid of, but over all I was very happy with it. I sent a bottle to someone on the forum who also said it was a good beer. There was elements of clove and banana, and I mean yes, you will probably get a difference from a decoction mash or a stepped mash, but for the first time, just take it easy.

 

[BeerCat]

I have read a ferulic rest is good for a hefeweizen for increasing phenols. Cant remember the details though. I accidentally boiled the entire mash once and the wort tasted fine.

 

[krispn]

Gonna get one of these brewed soon too probably add raspberries to it in secondary. Loosely based on the Greg Hughes recipe but maybe borrow David Heath's step mash profile from his Grain father video just becasue it can be programmed to do one!