3. German Hefeweizen
With big clove, bubblegum, and banana flavors, German Hefeweizens are fantastic session beers and ridiculously easy to brew. The recipe is simple: Wheat malt extract comes blended as half wheat and half barley, and that’s exactly the mix we need. A touch of hops at the beginning of the boil will keep it from being too sweet. Use a German Hefeweizen yeast, and let it rip through fermentation.
Recipe
Batch Size: 5 Gallons
Boil Size: 6 Gallons
OG 1.050
FG 1.012
IBU: 15
Alcohol 5%
Malt
8.5 lbs Wheat Liquid Malt Extract (a 50/50 or 60/40 wheat and barley blend will work)
Hops
1 oz Hallertau Hops (4% AA)
Yeast
White Labs WLP 300 Hefeweizen Ale or Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen
Procedure
Add the wheat liquid malt extract and bring to a boil. Once you reach a boil, add hops and continue to boil for 60 minutes. Chill to 65º F, pitch yeast and ferment. Allow a week ten days for fermentation. Take a gravity reading and if the final gravity is 1.012 rack (or at least within a few points), proceed to bottling or kegging.
All-Grain Version
Mash 5.5 lbs of Wheat Malt and 5.5 lbs of German Pilsner Malt together with a half pound of rice hulls to keep the mash from getting gummed up. Mash at 155º F for 60 minutes.
Riffs
Use an American ale yeast and an ounce or two of American hops late in the boil to convert this into an American Wheat beer.
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