Clear Hefeweizen? Not intended...

[agentbud]

I have made this Hefeweizen recipe twice now and doing a 3rd batch tonight. The first two times were fantastic. I have a friend who lived in Germany for 10 years and he said it was the closest thing to the hefe's he had there since returning to the states. I only had one issue on the second batch that I am confused about - the beer ended up clear, not hazy. I followed the original recipe in that thread to a T, no substitutions or changes at all. I did not use any clearing/fining agents. I may have cold crashed an extra day (3 instead of 2) but I did not think cold crashing would cause the wheat protein haze to drop out. The one I'm doing tonight will be for a competition so I want the appearance correct. I know there are clear Hefe's (crystalweizen) but this one should be the traditional hazy kind. Any thoughts?

Mike

 

[Miraculix]

Why on earth would one want to cold crash a Hefeweizen?

 

[agentbud]

to drop some, but not all, of the yeast. Again, this should not affect protein haze, as I understand it anyway. just trying to understand why it went completely clear

 

[tracer bullet]

I've read conflicting messages if it's a protein type haze or suspended yeast or both. Curious if anyone can say for certain.

As for cold crashing - well unless you planned to drink it at room temp, simply storing the keg in a frig is a cold crash anyhow so kinda hard to avoid it.

At any German restaurant here or actually in Germany, I've only had hefe's be cloudy, but I have purchased bottled hefe that's been clear. Maybe just meant it was crazy old, as there was yeast on the bottom.

Not sure if that helped.

 

[Miraculix]

to drop some, but not all, of the yeast. Again, this should not affect protein haze, as I understand it anyway. just trying to understand why it went completely clear

Well, that is not necessary. Some yeast is supposed to stay in suspension and some drops out naturally. Do not overcomplicate things... just leave it be.

 

[Miraculix]

And btw. Even chill haze drops out over time when being cold, which is actually nothing but a special protein haze. I guess that the size of the proteins play a role in the timing.

 

[Witherby]

It is my understanding that Hefeweizens traditionally (throughout the 20th century at least) were all bottle conditioned. Hard to avoid stirring up some of the yeast that way. And if you have to bottle it for competition anyway I’d go that route if you haven’t been.

 

[SFC Rudy]

I was stationed in Germany for 10 years. The yeast is what makes a good hefeweizen. One brewery, Fuchsbeck in Sulzbach-Rosenberg there would be about a 1/4 inch of yeast in the bottom of the bottle. You have to swirl the bottle at the end of the pour to get it all.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Just a quick search online, seems to be a common problem. I have about 1.5 gal left in my 3rd keg of a hefe that I just kegged on 6/28 and still hazy. I used 60% wheat in mine and used OYL 021 which I believe is the same strain as WY3068. I think long enough cold conditioning of any of these beers will cause them to clear. I just finished a 6 pack of Weihenstephaner Hefe that if I didn't swirl the bottle, it poured fairly clear.

One trick that @couchsending has recommended in other threads:

Personally I would suggest a long rest at 160-162 (20-30 minutes) over a protein rest. Or you could do both. If it was all barley I’d recommend a rest at 130 instead of 122 but I’m not 100% sure with wheat.

Another trick is to lower the pH of your boil to around 5.0 before it starts. You’ll get less protein coagulation And better haze stability.

For the competition, I've read you can tell them in the notes that the bottles need to be turned upside down a couple of times to get the haze back in suspension again.

 

[agentbud]

Yeah, the more I read about it the more I'm convinced the extended cold crash, plus the time cold in the keg while drinking caused it to go clear. Had I thought about it before I emptied the keg I shoulda given it a good shake to see. Thanks to all for the tips.