Weissbier water

[StevieDS]

I'm planning a weissbier brew very soon and was just wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for a good water profile for this style?
Thanks :thumb:

 

[bobsbeer]

Pitsey's your man on this style although I would have thought Beersmith would give you an indication if you know your water content.

 

[StevieDS]

Yeh I do know my water profile but don't have beersmith, too tight to pay for it
:lol:

 

[pittsy]

what water do you have because it don't matter with a hefeweizen :thumb: some Bavarian brewers have mineral rich wells while other have soft spring water but mostly hard water ( mine has too ) to get the best from a weissbier do step temp times , this after a good yeast will make a good difference (decoction is even better but that's a lot of work ) P.s liquid yeast all the way

 

[StevieDS]

My water is moderately soft, 85 ppm CaCO3, 34 ppm Ca.
U reckon water profile not too important then?
I have done decoc mashes before, would really appreciate a mash schedule if u have one handy :)
I bought Safbrew s-33 for this, do u think it'll do the job? I got 2 packs of it for 28 litre brew.
My grain bill is 4 kg wheat malt, 2 kg pilsner malt.

 

[pittsy]

i'll just get my mash sorted for you in a mo , i really would recommend whitelabs 380 liquid yeast, you will not regret it i promise ( if you like hefe that is) since going liquid i won't use dried (well in hefe and wits + lagers)

 

[pittsy]

This is what i do , i like good banana and some nice clove coming through so i mash as such,
Mash in at 41c , i use german and belgian malts which aren't as modified as English and American malts
rest at 41c for 15 mins
Then raise to 50c for a 20 min rest ,
take a thick decoction here and slowly raise to 71c and hold for 15 mins (avoid splashing)
Then slowly raise to boiling and hold for 20/30 mins depending if darker weizen wanted
return to main mash and hold at 64c for 20 mins
then raise to 71c for 20 mins then mash out at 75c , wait 20 mins , sparge .
Hope this helps

 

[StevieDS]

That's excellent thanks so much. :thumb: Unfortunately I'm using British malt so im a bit concerned about the protein rest at 50*c, is there a possibility of it giving me a thin bodied beer?
Yeh I'll def go for the liquid yeast next time but as I mentioned im a tight **** and will probably just use the s-33 this time.

 

[mabrungard]

My water is moderately soft, 85 ppm CaCO3, 34 ppm Ca.
U reckon water profile not too important then?
I have done decoc mashes before, would really appreciate a mash schedule if u have one handy :)
I bought Safbrew s-33 for this, do u think it'll do the job? I got 2 packs of it for 28 litre brew.
My grain bill is 4 kg wheat malt, 2 kg pilsner malt.

With 34 ppm Ca, that water should be a good start. Hopefully you have the rest of the profile. Since this is a crisp and refreshing style, I like to keep the amount of mineralization quite modest. In your case, I might add a touch more calcium chloride to boost the Ca to 50 ppm and add a bit of chloride. I would not add any sulfate-containing minerals or acids. So, CRS is not suitable. Lactic acid is perfect for any acidification needs in this style. I suggest that a water profile along the lines of the Yellow Malty profile contained in Bru'n Water would be an appropriate candidate for brewing a Hefe.

The other strong recommendation is to aim for a slightly low mash pH to help enhance the crispness of the finished beer. Excessive alkalinity in the mashing or sparging water is a killer of flavor in this style. I suggest aiming for a mash pH of about 5.3. Note that this is a Room-Temperature pH measurement with a calibrated pH meter. Remember that pH strips read about 0.2 units lower than actual. Bru'n Water helps guide your mineral and acid additions to work with your actual mash grist and produce a desired pH. It also has calculators for figuring the acid addition for the sparging water.

With regard to the mashing schedule, I recommend going with a Ferulic acid rest in the 43 to 44C range. That will help enhance the clove notes in the finished beer. For the sacharification rest, I suggest something in the 64 to 67C range. The Hefe is one of the few beers that I feel really needs a step mash. Most other beers can use a single temp rest quite successfully.

To get a better grasp on these water issues, I suggest that a visit to the Water Knowledge page of the Bru'n Water website is helpful.

Enjoy!

 

[StevieDS]

Thanks Martin that's a great help and ill def check out ur website. The water calculator on here suggested adding 13ml of crs for 40 liters for a lager style, but I think ur right, don't want to add unnecessary minerals so I'll stick to the lactic acid.