wheat beer

[sam.k]

hey guys.
after rekindling my love of homebrew I am starting to get a bit more adventurous with what I drink, im trying and brewing many styles that I wouldn't of tried (or thought I disliked) a few years ago.
it came to my attention that I don't recall trying a wheat beer and I know I have certainly not brewed one, now I know for sure that I dislike (well haven't acquired the taste yet maybe) for some Belgium beers, leffe is a prime example of a beer I seriously don't like.

so what wheat beers does everyone drink so I can give them a prod? I have an erdinger wheat in the fridge that I intend to try tonight.
also how do you serve it? is it supposed to be cold like lager? do you swish the bottle at the end? im sure ive seen somewhere that you swish the bottle to get the yeast at the bottom.

thanks guys.

 

[StevieDS]

The Erdinger is good, both the hefe and the dunkel.
Also Franziskaner is lovely, a bit spicy with nice clove flavour.
Another great wheat beer is Wiehenstephen, which iirc is the oldest brewery in the world.
Those are a good place to start :thumb:

 

[sam.k]

well its not as different as I expected, I quite like it if im honest, it has an obviously non English taste but is very refreshing.

I may have to look at brewing one.

 

[phettebs]

Hacker Pschorr is probably my fave wheat and it's what my recipe is based upon. That beer is always a crowd pleaser and something I frequently brew for group outings where I'm providing beer.

 

[StevieDS]

To answer your other question, I think they are generally served chilled, or certainly cooler than an ale.
Pour 3 quarters of the beer into a glass, gently swirl the bottle to rouse the yeast then pour it into your glass. Though if you are new to bottle conditioned beer the increased amount of yeast can have undesired effects, see here viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46475
:sick:

 

[sam.k]

I think I am safe on that front :) I've been brewing for years so I've likely consumed my weight in yeast now.

 

[pittsy]

Imo erdinger is almost tasteless , no banana and almost no clove , try a weihenstephan as mentioned above , lovely .

 

[Baldbrewer]

None of them will be as good as your own

 

[iceo]

Tesco have a good range they had some on there 4for £6 . I might get shot for this but i found the blue moon bland and lacking .

I drinking a brupak Weiss as I type 3 pints already on a school night :drink:

 

[sam.k]

Well my pint is gone ( ) and I enjoyed it, I will certainly be trying some others when I see them.

 

[sam.k]

Anyone got a tried and proven recipe? Or any of the kits any good?

 

[iceo]

Anyone got a tried and proven recipe? Or any of the kits any good?

As pittsy is ranked as wheat chief have a search. He gave me a extract recipe that I post the other day

 

[sam.k]

so todays is a franziskaner, it is one of two varieties my local sainsburys have, I tried the other yesterday.
im just chilling it a bit, I fancy trying a fruity one at some point :)

 

[sam.k]

hmmm this is different, well out of my comfort zone but not unpleasant, I can certainly taste clove and im not sure if its a flavour I would seek out.
I guess I may change my mind when the pints done.

 

[brewtim]

I prefer more clove than banana !

My own wheat brew is a good balance between the two, I've also just discovered that a shot of homemade Damson Gin goes extremely well in wheat beer, something you wouldn't do in an English Ale, well worth experimenting with different flavours :party:

 

[Edindie]

My favourite is the Paulaner hefe, definately available from Majestic but I'm pretty sure I've seen it in a supermarket or two.

 

[Awfers]

Schneider Weiss is good mass produced Weissbier. Franziskaner is good too. Never in a can though!

Hofmühl in Eichstät make a great Weissbier and Dunkles Weiss. As well as Guttmann in Itting for their Weissbier.

 

[puravida]

I was lucky enough to go on a tour of the Erdinger brewery near Munich at the end of September followed by a night out at their own Herbst fest party in Erding. Bit like Octoberfest.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=e...CVhQe2o4GYDg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1440&bih=726

Outstanding night and very messy. I met the boss of Erdinger Brewery, ate currywurst, drank my bodyweight of Erdinger and fell off a table whilst dancing to an oompah band with some beautiful Bier Mädchen.

Anyway - it gave me a real taste for wheat beer so I brewed one whet I got home and it is on tap right now.

Color: 7.4 EBC
Bitterness: 11.5 IBUs
Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.050
Est FG: 1.009
ABV: 5.4%

Ingredients
1.98 kg Wheat Malt, Ger
1.82 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
130.0 g Munich Malt
25 g Hallertauer Hersbrucker - Boil 60 min
1 pkgs Bavarian Wheat Yeast (Wyeast Labs #3056)

Really simple brewday. Ferments nice and quick.
The yeast is very temperature sensitive. Brewing it cooler emphasises the clove-aroma and taste. Brewing it warmer accentuates the banana. At least I think it is that way round.
Mine seems to have brewed a little warmer than I would have liked (about 21 degrees) so I will try and keep it cooler next time.

Next time I plan to split the batch and try leaving it on some fruit in the secondary.

 

[brewtim]

Outstanding night and very messy. I met the boss of Erdinger Brewery, ate currywurst, drank my bodyweight of Erdinger and fell off a table whilst dancing to an oompah band with some beautiful Bier Mädchen.

Anyway - it gave me a real taste for wheat beer so I brewed one whet I got home and it is on tap right now.

There's nothing like a good night out in Germany : :drink: :drunk:



Has anyone successfully cultured yeast from any of the commercial Wheat beers?

 

[pittsy]

most have been filtered then bottle conditioned using lager yeast , better shelf life and easier to condition (for them)