Diet beer????

[tat2Pompadore]

Ok folks, I need your help. My wife likes lite beer and some Hefeweizens. I am an IPA, stout kinda guy. But that’s beside the point.

I bought the grains for a 15 gallon Hefeweizen and told the misses that I will be making it soon. That’s when she hits me with......
Can you make me a diet Hefeweizen, translated to a Hefeweizen lite. Ugh!

Any suggestions?

I would like to give her a tap to go to. But lite? I cringe.

 

[day_trippr]

Don't overthink this.
If you brewed a hefe at the low end of the ABV scale and just told your SO it's a "Uber Light Hefe" would she be any wiser?

Cheers!

 

[z-bob]

Well, reduce the base malt a little (the pils or 2-row) and add amylase enzymes or Beano to make up for it? It should work, but it might be hard to get the balance right.

 

[tat2Pompadore]

Well, reduce the base malt a little (the pils or 2-row) and add amylase enzymes or Beano to make up for it? It should work, but it might be hard to get the balance right.

Beans, yeah that should hide the flavors of being a lite beer. I’ll search the medicine cabinet. I hope they go through my grain mill.

 

[z-bob]

Not beans. Beano pills. They contain an enzyme that breaks down unfermentable sugars so the yeast can eat them.

 

[Wolfbayte]

Ok folks, I need your help. My wife likes lite beer and some Hefeweizens. I am an IPA, stout kinda guy. But that’s beside the point.

I bought the grains for a 15 gallon Hefeweizen and told the misses that I will be making it soon. That’s when she hits me with......
Can you make me a diet Hefeweizen, translated to a Hefeweizen lite. Ugh!

Any suggestions?

I would like to give her a tap to go to. But lite? I cringe.

Halfaweizen? I did this once. Brewed a 3 gallon batch, but bottled 5. Racked on top of 2 gallons of spring water in the bottling bucket. It came out good and light. I did not calculate the calories though.

Probably did not come out as good as one mashed low and slow then fermented with a high attenuating yeast. But it was good nonetheless. SWMBO approved.

YMMV

 

[day_trippr]

Alpha-galactosidase (Beano) is a big hammer. Alpha-amylase is a small hammer.
In between is Glucoamylase, which has become popular with the brut IPA folks...

Cheers!

 

[tat2Pompadore]

Not beans. Beano pills. They contain an enzyme that breaks down unfermentable sugars so the yeast can eat them.

I see the typo. I typed beano the spell check got me there.

 

[Qhrumphf]

A principal caloric driver in beer is ethanol itself. Using enzymes to convert dextrins to alcohol might reduce the carb content but it won't do as much for the caloric content. There's a reason light beers are also low alcohol.

Assuming that's why she wants "lite".

Even then, regardless if the goal is lighter character, lighter body, lighter carb, lighter calorie, just brew it smaller.