It took me a lot of iterations to, in my opinion, perfect my Hefe.
45% German wheat malt
45% German Pils malt
10% Flaked Wheat (if you don't wanna use it because reinheitsgebot nonsense then use 55% German wheat, but it adds a little something to the mouthfeel)
Size your grain bill for 1.050.
Mash in at 110F. Hold for 45 mins.
Decoct to 130F (as thick as possible, rest decoction pull at 154 for 15 mins).
As soon as you're rested pull next decoction to 144 (thick and rested at 154 again). Hold 20 mins.
Decoct to 158 (thin, go straight to boiling). Hold 20 mins.
Decoct to 168 (thin, go straight to boiling). Hold 10 mins.
Like 15 IBUs of something noble, bittering only. I typically use Mittelfruh but it's not critical. Something like Magnum would be fine. Don't use Chinook or Citra or anything like that.
Knock out at 60F. Do not oxygenate. Pitch 3068 at 0.33 million cells per ml per °P (should be circa 12.5°P). A fresh smack pack might be a little much for 5 gallons. A normal month old smack pack should be about right.
Ferment at 62F.
As far as water, my tap water is pretty neutral (sulfate and chloride 50-75 depending on the time of year) so I just use that. Last tweak was the counterintuitive mashing at higher than pH than normal (5.7-5.8) since that also reportedly helps with with ferulic acid extraction (and acidify sparge water to the same or you're gonna have a bad time) and then dropping the pH down to 5.3 in the kettle.
This route has finally led me to the mouthfeel, malt character, and dryness I want while simultaneously having plenty of both banana and clove (balanced to the clove side).
45% German wheat malt
45% German Pils malt
10% Flaked Wheat (if you don't wanna use it because reinheitsgebot nonsense then use 55% German wheat, but it adds a little something to the mouthfeel)
Size your grain bill for 1.050.
Mash in at 110F. Hold for 45 mins.
Decoct to 130F (as thick as possible, rest decoction pull at 154 for 15 mins).
As soon as you're rested pull next decoction to 144 (thick and rested at 154 again). Hold 20 mins.
Decoct to 158 (thin, go straight to boiling). Hold 20 mins.
Decoct to 168 (thin, go straight to boiling). Hold 10 mins.
Like 15 IBUs of something noble, bittering only. I typically use Mittelfruh but it's not critical. Something like Magnum would be fine. Don't use Chinook or Citra or anything like that.
Knock out at 60F. Do not oxygenate. Pitch 3068 at 0.33 million cells per ml per °P (should be circa 12.5°P). A fresh smack pack might be a little much for 5 gallons. A normal month old smack pack should be about right.
Ferment at 62F.
As far as water, my tap water is pretty neutral (sulfate and chloride 50-75 depending on the time of year) so I just use that. Last tweak was the counterintuitive mashing at higher than pH than normal (5.7-5.8) since that also reportedly helps with with ferulic acid extraction (and acidify sparge water to the same or you're gonna have a bad time) and then dropping the pH down to 5.3 in the kettle.
This route has finally led me to the mouthfeel, malt character, and dryness I want while simultaneously having plenty of both banana and clove (balanced to the clove side).