Hefeweissen Review

Appearance: Pretty nice. Color is hazy orange, with a persistent white head.

Aroma: Yeasty esters of ripe bananas, but not strong. Bready malt notes. No hops.

Taste: Not sure. I think the initial taste is a kind of malty bread character, followed by yeasty phenolics and some cloves. I don't get a strong banana flavor  however. Good, moderate body, with solid carbonation on the high side. Bitterness is very low.

Aftertaste: Again yeasty phenolics. Not especially pleasant but not undrinkable. Similar to the failed wit beer from almost a year ago.

Generally pretty bland wheat beer, with phenolic character bordering on unpleasant. I suppose I will need to wait to have a temp-controlled fridge before I can really do well with this style. Apparently 62F is the optimal temperature and this type of yeast is sensitive to deviations from the optimal temp, but as yet I cannot maintain a fermentation at that temperature.

Maybe the yeast is the issue. Perhaps a liquid yeast will be superior?

So, it's disappointing. But I'll try again at some point.

Bavarian Hefeweissen

My in-laws were visiting from Germany for a while in June. They were very interested in the homebrewing process, so naturally the day after they arrive we just hung around and brewed a batch of hefeweissen. Of course the danger in homebrewing a German beer with a group of Germans who have ready access to the best examples of the style is that the homebrew version will suck in comparison to the commercial example. Apparently that's a risk I'm willing to take.

Note: Review to follow shortly.

Bavarian Hefeweissen
3 gallon batch

3.375# German Dark Wheat
3.375# German Munich 10L

0.625 oz Hallertau, 4.5%, 60min

Danstar Munich Bavarian Wheat dry yeast

Expected OG/FG/IBUs/ABV: 1.050 / 1.013 / 14 / 4.9%

Brewed 6/15/15 with Assistant Brewer NB

Sorry, no real brew day notes. But it went generally pretty smoothly.

Pitched yeast at around 63F, when beer was sitting the cool basement.

Let ferment at 63F for a week, then moved upstairs to around 70F to finish out fermentation. Finally put back in basement for a couple of days before bottling.

Bottled 7/22/14. Aimed for 2.75 volumes of CO2 at bottling, got 29 standard bottles.

American Pale Ale Review

It's summer. I've been busy ... or maybe lazy. In any case, it's been a while since I posted but my brewing has only slowed down for the summer, not stopped. By this point this brew is fairly old for a hoppy beer and may be past its prime as far as the hops go, but I'll supplement my tasting notes with memories of how the beer was in its prime.

Appearance: Very clear, light-medium orange color, with persistent, slightly off-white head that sticks to the side of the glass nicely. Decent carbonation bubbles on the side of the mug. Perhaps a little too dark.

Aroma: Hoppy, mostly, with an American hop character of fruity citrus, slight pine. Good bready malt smell as well. Hops could be stronger in the smell. I don't get any yeast esters.

Taste: Pretty evenly balanced between the hops and malt. Fairly dry, but bready malt flavors and a little bit of fruit, and a nice but subdued hop bite at the end. No yeasty flavors, clean fermentation. I like the bready character without the caramel sweetnes.

Mouthfeel: Good moderate body, carbonation slightly higher carbonation than most of my beers but not excessive. 

Overall: A refreshing pale ale with a pretty even balance between hops and malt. Maris Otter base malt  probably helped to put it into the maltier side for this style. I like it quite a bit.

Next Time: Try this with US 2-Row as a comparison, or try to hop it up a bit more, especially in the aroma.