So, my friends, this started out as a not-so-crazy seeming idea, but my search of the general interwebs has proved fruitless, so maybe it is completely bonkers.
I have 5 gallons of weissbier that included a tiny hint of lemon peel in the boil. It's two weeks in, fermentation is done, and it's ready to bottle. Or is it?
See, I have these American medium-toast oak chips lying around, looking at me with those beady little eyes of theirs. I thought it might be fun to oak part of the batch. But when I tottered off to the Googles to see whether others had enjoyed success with oaked hefeweizen, there was nothing substantial. Diamond Knot Oaked Industrial Hefeweizen was the closest thing. And it looks like that was a weizenbock. Mine's probably lighter in all respects.
I'm wondering if any of y'all have tried oaking a hefeweizen, and how that worked out for you.
I'm probably gonna do it either way, but just collecting experiences before taking the plunge. I imagine it will taste sweeter from the oak, and the question is, how will the oak mingle with the banana clove thang going on? Barf taste or no barf taste: the experiment begins.
UPDATE: Taste testing results downthread.
Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 4.58%
IBU (tinseth): 21.45
SRM (morey): 4.79
FERMENTABLES:
6.5 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (65%)
3 lb - American - White Wheat (30%)
0.5 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 20L (5%)
HOPS:
0.75 oz - Cluster for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil (AA 6.8, IBU: 20.11)
0.25 oz - Cluster for 5 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil (AA 6.8, IBU: 1.34)
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.125 oz - Dried Lemon Peel, Time: 15 min, Type: Flavor, Use: Mash
1 each - Whirlfloc, Time: 15 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil
YEAST:
White Labs - American Hefeweizen Ale Yeast WLP320
I have 5 gallons of weissbier that included a tiny hint of lemon peel in the boil. It's two weeks in, fermentation is done, and it's ready to bottle. Or is it?
See, I have these American medium-toast oak chips lying around, looking at me with those beady little eyes of theirs. I thought it might be fun to oak part of the batch. But when I tottered off to the Googles to see whether others had enjoyed success with oaked hefeweizen, there was nothing substantial. Diamond Knot Oaked Industrial Hefeweizen was the closest thing. And it looks like that was a weizenbock. Mine's probably lighter in all respects.
I'm wondering if any of y'all have tried oaking a hefeweizen, and how that worked out for you.
I'm probably gonna do it either way, but just collecting experiences before taking the plunge. I imagine it will taste sweeter from the oak, and the question is, how will the oak mingle with the banana clove thang going on? Barf taste or no barf taste: the experiment begins.
UPDATE: Taste testing results downthread.
Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 4.58%
IBU (tinseth): 21.45
SRM (morey): 4.79
FERMENTABLES:
6.5 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (65%)
3 lb - American - White Wheat (30%)
0.5 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 20L (5%)
HOPS:
0.75 oz - Cluster for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil (AA 6.8, IBU: 20.11)
0.25 oz - Cluster for 5 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil (AA 6.8, IBU: 1.34)
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.125 oz - Dried Lemon Peel, Time: 15 min, Type: Flavor, Use: Mash
1 each - Whirlfloc, Time: 15 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil
YEAST:
White Labs - American Hefeweizen Ale Yeast WLP320