Hefeweizen Made with Red Shed

Sonja’s favorite beer style is a big bold barrel aged stout, but when she’s been bagging malt or busy in the sun her go to is a cool refreshing Hefeweizen. This light coloured, easy drinking beer still has interest thanks to a hefty dose of wheat and a yeast strain that brings flavours of banana and baking spice.

Vital Statistics:

ABV: 4.75% SRM: 4 IBU: 12 OG: 1.050 FG: 1.014 

Ingredients:

Yeast: Escarpment Weizen I

Strike Water Temperature: 70°C

Water Profile: Light Coloured & Malty

Mash Rest Temperature: 64°C

Mash pH: 5.4

Brewing Process: 

Mash:

• Heat strike water to 70°C.
• Add all malt and brewing salts to strike water.
• Mash in at a temperature of 64°C. (If you are worried about a stuck mash, you can add rice hulls to the mash or conduct a protein rest at 55°C for 20 minutes then heat ramp to 64°C. The strike water temperature would need to be 60°C for the protein rest.)
• Acidify the mash water as necessary to achieve a mash pH of 5.3–5.5.
• Hold the mash at 64°C for 60 minutes.
• Mash out by raising the temperature to 78°C for 10 minutes.

Sparge:

• Sparge the mash with water acidified to a pH between 5.2 and 5.7.

Boil:

• Bring the collected wort to a boil.
• Add flavouring hops (Hallertau Blanc) at the 15 minutes remaining in the boil.
• Add Yeastex at 10 minutes.

Cooling:

• After boiling for 90 minutes, cool the wort rapidly using a wort chiller or an ice bath.

Fermentation:

• Transfer the cooled wort to the fermenter.
• Aerate the wort by shaking or using an aeration stone.
• Pitch Weizen I yeast at a temperature of 18°C.
• Ferment at a temperature of 18°C for more clove like characteristics or 23°C for more banana.
• Monitor fermentation until the final gravity is consistent for 3 days.
• Cold crash beer to 0°C and condition for 1-2 weeks.
• Dump yeast.
• Once fermentation is complete, proceed to canning, bottling or kegging.
• Carb to 2.8 – 3.0 volumes of CO2