House Hefeweizen 1.5 tasting

Wheat beers are a big reason that I got into craft beer in the first place. When I was in college, I remember a friend of mine giving me a bottle of Hoegaarden and saying "this is my favorite beer." The translation being, "when I have a little extra money, I'll buy some of this stuff instead of a 30 rack of Natural Light." I can remember tasting it and being a little perplexed by the tart, yeasty flavor, but liking it. I remember coming home and looking around at local gas stations for the intriguing brew (then with a little bit of my parents' cash in my pocket) and, not being able to find it, settling for a six pack of Miller High Life. I tragically had no idea what a bottle shop or craft beer was at the time.

A few years later I realized that my Saxon Club, a group that I've been a fraternal member for all my life, had the Bavarian variation of wheat beer on tap in the form of Paulaner Hefeweizen. I love Paulaner Hefeweizen. I quickly switched from Warsteiner to Paulaner and eventually found that it was my favorite of the European wheat beers. After discovering home brewing a few years ago, it wasn't long after that I started brewing an attempt at the perfect hefeweizen myself. Rarely will I go a month without brewing a variation of my House Hefeweizen, a recipe I've settled on after brewing a handful of variations.

It's caught on too. I've got a large following amongst my friends and family for hef. It's a great gateway beer - BMC drinkers can tolerate it at first (what else will they drink on tap amongst IIPA, stout, and ESBs), but then come to crave it - and I find total non-beer drinkers are always intrigued by it. My Mom, who never drinks beer, will always pour herself a glass of hefeweizen after mowing the lawn if it's available.

What do I want in my hef? Simple. Apparent malt character - something where I'm able to pick out the bready flavor of a decent Pilsner malt and the sweetness of wheat malt - hefeweizen yeast - banana esters and a touch of clove and bubblegum flavor - a refreshing acidity that makes it great for summer drinking or quenching my thirst, and just a touch of bitterness to balance it. I like a more aggressive banana flavor than the style guidelines call for and have brewed my hefs to accomplish that. 

Last round I throttled back my fermentation temperature to get more within style guidelines with an eye towards the National Homebrewers Conference. I also cut out my decoction mash because of brew day constraints. I still used Safbrew WB-06, which I have come to love at 78-80 degrees fermentation temp, and kept everything the same. Here are the results:

Admire the head. It didn't last long.

Appearance: golden, hazy, yeasty. Just slightly off white color head with very big bubbles. Head recedes in less than a minute.

Smell: juicy fruit with a touch of bread.

Taste: bubblegum, banana, a hint of clove. It's got a nice acidity that I don't think I tasted in earlier batches. 

Mouthfeel: full and creamy. It quickly dissipates making me want to take another sip.

Overall: Solid iteration of hef. The more balanced approach allows the malt flavor to come out more than my more aggressive fermentations did. No discernible mouthfeel difference from my decoction hefs. The head retention is disappointing. I need to tweak the recipe because clearly the decoction does help with head retention. 

Next time? More carapils or maybe a bit of Munich to help with head retention. But I'm enjoying the balance and the fact that I can taste malt. I'm happy with the flavor and can confidently skip the decoction mash, unless I have the time on the brew day. Set the fermenter for 73-74-75. The new name of the game is assertive, but balanced banana yeast ester.

A minute and a sip later.