WB-06 is a pretty good Hefeweizen yeast

[nate_ive]

I brewed a hefeweizen on april 7th, 1 packet of rehydrated WB-06 for 5 gallons. It fermented out in less then 7 days at 68F, but I didn't rack to a secondary(bright tank) until day 7. Left it in secondary for 7 days at 40F to allow more yeast to settle out. I bottled at day 15 and the beer carbonated up in about 3 days. It has a citrusy, clovey, flavor with some banana. Tastes like good hefeweizen to me.

For a comparison, I picked up a six pack of Sierra Nevada Kellerweis and a bomber of Dry Dock's Hefeweizen( GABF gold medal 2011, GABF sliver medal 2010 and 2009 for hefeweizen). The Kellerweis is much drier, more bitter, and has less clove and banana then mine. Mine is more like the Dry Dock hefe, but with a little less banana and slightly less sweet.

It is interesting that there are a lot of anti WB-06 post out there. I wonder if the people who hate WB-06 let it sit in primary for too long allowing the yeast to clean up all the banana flavor. I guess I will see how the hefeweizen ages. I'm also planning on brewing up another hefeweizen with the Munich dry yeast since that one also seems to be "disliked."

 

[Nateo]

I've gotten better results with a lower pitching rate, maybe 3/4 of a pack for a typical 5gal Hefe. I also don't aerate my wort. I ferment a little cooler too, around 64*F.

I'm not a fan of any of the Danstar yeasts. I've had more troubled ferments with those than I've ever had with dozens of batches of Fermentis yeast. It's strange because I like the Lalvin wine yeasts, and it's the same company.

 

[nate_ive]

Good to know. I have been reading that underpitching does help with the overall hefeweizen flavor.

 

[Nateo]

Overpitching will cut down the banana flavors, for better or worse. If you're more into a cloves, and hate bananas, overpitching is the way to go.

 

[nate_ive]

I tasted this one again last night and the citrus flavor has faded and the banana has become more pronounced. It tastes even closer to the Dry Dock Hefeweizen. Maybe it is peaking.

 

[nate_ive]

Just tasted the last bottle of this batch. It has peaked, the banana has faded and there is mostly just citrus with banana and vanilla in the finish. The ester taste/aroma is more pronounced if i swish the beer in my mouth. I definitely see why hefeweizen are said to be best when they are fresh and young. They seem to be the exception to the "primary for at least a month" mantra so prevalent in the forums. The wheat I made with s-33 last year didn't age gracefully either, it had amazing pineapple/mango flavor when it was young but it became an amercian wheat after it peaked.

 

[nate_ive]

I brewed this recipe yesterday, but this time I bumped the mash temperature up my a few degrees to 154F and I'm using Danstar Munich yeast. I'm fermenting at the same temp as the WB06 batch. I did intentionally under pitch to see if that produces more banana -- rehydrated 8g of the 11g packet for 5 gallons of 1.044 wort.
I also tasted Weihenstephan hefe yesterday, It was pretty good, but the Dry Dock hefe was better --- it has less clove and the banana tastes fresher.

 

[julioardz]

I found this thread by googling "WB-06". I've been curios to try this yeast, due to the difficulty I've had working with Wyeast3068 and WLP300. I finally made the hefeweizen I was going for with 3068. More about that here.

US-05 and Windsor have been great yeasts for me, that I do prefer dry over liquid yeast. I'll use liquid for Belgians and Hefes, but I'm going to try WB-06 for my next hefeweizen. Those anti WB-06 posts you talk about are a small part of what has discouraged me from trying this yeast, but I've learned to take what I read on forums and hear at the homebrew shop with a grain of salt. I've been told my wort won't ferment with my grain bill, that I'll have off flavors, that I'll have to primary for 1 month, get and infection, etc... With temperature control, adequate pitch rate, hydrometer readings, and decent enough sanitizing practices, I find it pretty hard to make a bad beer.

 

[Nateo]

I also tasted Weihenstephan hefe yesterday, It was pretty good, but the Dry Dock hefe was better --- it has less clove and the banana tastes fresher.

I'm not a big fan of any of the imported Hefes. It's a style that's really best when it's young, like under 4 weeks grain-to-glass. The slow boat across the Atlantic doesn't do it justice.

 

[befus]

I did a WB-06 dunkelweizen and it turned out well. I also was worried about some negative posts, but it was fine.

 

[badlee]

I think it's great too.
I have had great results with it at hot temperatures too.
Great in wheat beers and even in Belgian inspired blondes.

 

[befus]

There is some fantastic information on this site and some that is extremely frustrating.
1) You don't have to leave your beer in primary for 87 years.

Comment of the day

 

[MisterTipsy]

I recently brewed an 8% Wiezenbock with wb-06 and then read a bunch of negative comments about the yeast while it was fermenting. I was worried until I tasted the first sample after 2.5 weeks in the primary.

It attenuated 82%. I only used one package in a 5 gallon boozy batch. Fermented at 64-67F. I dry pitched the yeast and gave it a stir. It took off overnight and the airlock was still bubbling very slowly after 2.5 weeks and fermentation was complete.

The yeast produced some light banana notes. I couldn't detect any clove which is fine. It's a hoppy wheat brew, not a Hefe so I didn't really want clove.

I haven't sampled the carbonated batch yet, but the primary sample tasted pretty good and I feel confident saying WB-06 doesn't suck. It may not make a great Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier clone, but it is a good yeast to use for other wheat beer styles.

 

[nate_ive]

I just dropped the temp on the hefe with Danstar Munich yeast to 40F to get the yeast to settle out so I can bottle it next weekend. The 40F hefe measured 1.010 for gravity. I tasted the sample, but didn't taste much banana or clove -- mostly tasted yeasty. I will update again when I bottle next weekend and taste it again.

 

[nate_ive]

I bottled the hefe made with Munich yeast today. It didn't have the citrus that WB-06. It was heavy on clove and banana though. It was more clears, looks like a lot of the yeast have dropped out. It tastes a lot like the Weihenstephan hefe I had a few weeks ago, but flat. I'm looking forward to seeing how it is after is carbonates.

 

[nate_ive]

The Munich yeast from Danstar is very solid. I bought another bottle of Dry Dock hefe and compared mine with it. They were very close. My hefe has more clove and a lot of ripe to overripe banana flavor, with a vanilla finish. Dry Dock's hefe has a fresher banana flavor and less clove. I want to try the WB-06 and either Wyeast 3068 or 3333 with the higher mash temp. The posts on the forums knocking Safbrew WB-06 and Danstar Munich are misguided(they probably overpitched). Both dry yeasts produce fantastic results!

 

[julioardz]

I just bottled my first hefe/wheat beer that I made with WB-06. My benchmark for a great Hefeweizen is Live Oak. I like this style of beer to lean more towards the spicy clove flavors and less towards the banana and bubble gum. No hefeweizen or wheat beer I have tried or made has ever come close to being as good for this style of beer as Live Oak, until now. I've made many different Hefes using WLP300, 320, 380, and Wyeast 3068. Using these liquid yeasts, I have overpitched, pitched the recommended amount, underpitched, fermented warm, fermented cool, and I have done decoction mashes and ferulic rests. They were good, but not great, and not as good as this current one.

This hefeweizen/wheat beer has been the easiest to make and has been the most tasty by far. I did a normal light body mash, nothing fancy, then I used WB-06. I underpitched, poorly aerated, and did not rehydrate. I wanted to stress the yeast in order to produce more flavor and it produced a beer, that to me, is on par with Live Oak Hefeweizen. It went from 1.054 to 1.009 in 4 days at 68 degrees. Then I cold crashed and bottled on day 5 (yes, in 5 days, I had two consistent readings of 1.009 over two days and decided it was done fermenting). We'll see how it turns out once it's carbonated, but judging from all my other hefes at the time of bottling, I'm pretty sure I'm going to like this one much more. On top of all this, WB-06 has been very easy to work with. I didn't have to make a starter, no ferulic rest, it didn't produce a sulphur smell, it fermented in half the time, and it cost half the price of liquid yeast.

I stayed away from WB-06 because of all the negative reviews. Now I only wish I would have tried it sooner. I have to say, I think I'm done with liquid Hefeweizen yeast. The only drawback I experienced was that the krausen left very gunky "lacing". I have never had to put this much effort into cleaning a fermenting bucket, but it was nothing a soft bristle brush and dish soap couldn't handle.

 

[tx-brewer]

I just bottled my first hefe/wheat beer that I made with WB-06. My benchmark for a great Hefeweizen is Live Oak. I like this style of beer to lean more towards the spicy clove flavors and less towards the banana and bubble gum. No hefeweizen or wheat beer I have tried or made has ever come close to being as good for this style of beer as Live Oak, until now. I've made many different Hefes using WLP300, 320, 380, and Wyeast 3068. Using these liquid yeasts, I have overpitched, pitched the recommended amount, underpitched, fermented warm, fermented cool, and I have done decoction mashes and ferulic rests. They were good, but not great, and not as good as this current one.

This hefeweizen/wheat beer has been the easiest to make and has been the most tasty by far. I did a normal light body mash, nothing fancy, then I used WB-06. I underpitched, poorly aerated, and did not rehydrate. I wanted to stress the yeast in order to produce more flavor and it produced a beer, that to me, is on par with Live Oak Hefeweizen. It went from 1.054 to 1.009 in 4 days at 68 degrees. Then I cold crashed and bottled on day 5 (yes, in 5 days, I had two consistent readings of 1.009 over two days and decided it was done fermenting). We'll see how it turns out once it's carbonated, but judging from all my other hefes at the time of bottling, I'm pretty sure I'm going to like this one much more. On top of all this, WB-06 has been very easy to work with. I didn't have to make a starter, no ferulic rest, it didn't produce a sulphur smell, it fermented in half the time, and it cost half the price of liquid yeast.

I stayed away from WB-06 because of all the negative reviews. Now I only wish I would have tried it sooner. I have to say, I think I'm done with liquid Hefeweizen yeast. The only drawback I experienced was that the krausen left very gunky "lacing". I have never had to put this much effort into cleaning a fermenting bucket, but it was nothing a soft bristle brush and dish soap couldn't handle.

Please tell me you are still subscribed to this thread. I NEED this recipe

 

[julioardz]

Like I said, nothing fancy

5.5 Gallon Batch
OG=1.054
60 minute boil

7lbs White Wheat
4lbs 2-row
mashed at 148 for 60 minutes

.75 oz Hallertauer 60 minutes
.25 oz Hallertauer 15 minutes

Fermented at 68F with one pack of WB-06 pitched straight into the wort.

Now this was not a Live Oak Hefe clone. I just felt it was on par with it, since I hold that as my standard for a great tasting hefeweizen/wheat beer. I haven't made a wheat beer in a while, but I went back to using Wyeast-3068 with very large starters so that I overpitch and I ferment on the cooler side. I find that to give me a flavor profile I prefer.

 

[tx-brewer]

Thanks a lot. I really love live oak hefe. And would like to make a beer on par and similar, sounds like your recipe might be next on the agenda.

My first beer was an extract clone kit from Austin homebrew. It was decent at best, but I could have messed it up at many points of the process. It had wheat lme and dme and .5 lb white wheat and .5 lb carapils as steeping grains. Do you think the addition of the carapils would help or hurt your recipe? (im doing all grain now)

Thanks a lot for all your help, any other tips are much appreciated. I might have to go get a growler full of live oak today. Haha

 

[julioardz]

I use carapils to add body and head retention to my beer. With 7 lbs of wheat, it will produce a nice foamy head on it's own. The carapils will add a some body leaving you with a higher FG. I like my wheat beers to have a FG of 1.010 or below.

Good luck on trying to make a Live Oak Clone. I can't seem to get the yeast flavor they produce. Wyeast-3068, when overpitched and fermented cool will have much less banana flavor, allowing more of the clove spiceness to come through. I prefer that flavor profile over the WB-06 now, but I also get a bit of tartness that doesn't match the Live Oak flavor.

 

[grathan]

The webpage says go over 73*F for banana flavor. Anyone tried this yet? just pitched, but I am afraid to got that high with how full the carboy is and no blow-off tube.

 

[boicutt]

Just set a 5g batch with two packs at 72. Will report back if you like in two weeks

 

[grathan]

Hey thanks. I ended up going at 68* seemed like an even balance of clove/bananna, I bet warmer will be better.

 

[boicutt]

no worries. It's around 72-73 at the moment. Aerated pretty good and it started within 4 hours. Now it's bubbling crazy fast. In all my batches this is my first wheat and I've never seen a yeast so active. I'll report back with flavor

 

[daggers_nz]

I prefer the German standard of using Wheat and Pils grains, and only a single hop addition at 60min

 

[radio2]

I wanted the banana flavor in my hefe and have used WLP-300 and 3068 with no luck. fermented hi and low temps with no luck. The brewmaster at Barlies in Las Vegas told me he uses WB-06 and to ferment at 72 witch I have done and it was the best Hefe I ever made

 

[wailingguitar]

Thinking about doing a here with this. Forgive me if I missed this, but what have you all done to increase the banana character of this yeast?

 

[radio2]

Thinking about doing a here with this. Forgive me if I missed this, but what have you all done to increase the banana character of this yeast?

Ferment at 72deg that is the key

 

[rupert130]

I pitch one pack (no rehydration) into aerated wort and get a very balanced hefe flavor profile. Bubblegum, banana, clove, and even citrus when young. My malt bill is more of an American Wheat at 50/50 White Wheat / 2 row

 

[brewprint]

I just used this yeast in the American Wheat with centennial and used pilsner malt instead of 2-row. I just kegged it and it tastes like a hef. Bummer because I didn't want that at all. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will change by the time it's carbed.

 

[brewbama]

WB06 = W68 (Wyeast 3068, WLP300) Weihenstephan Wheat yeast strain. Great stuff.

 

[brewprint]

Well I just carbed it up and it actually tastes pretty good. It's crazy how different the exact same beer is from the same batch compared to the 05.

The 06 is super cloudy. It also got down to 1.007 where the 05 only went down to 1.010. I did ferment the 06 at a higher temp though.

 

[Jimbodaman]

Response to OP: I concur. Wb06 is a pretty good hefe yeast.

 

[rhys333]

Same here Jimbo. WB-06 makes a better hefe than WY 3068 for me. Reliably delivers a subtle banana-clove balance, whereas 3068 is temperamental and either all clove or bland.

 

[brewprint]

I'll probably be using the rest of this yeast to add to a sour solera. This stuff isn't terrible but I would've much rather had the 05 in it.

 

[seabrew8]

Same here Jimbo. WB-06 makes a better hefe than WY 3068 for me. Reliably delivers a subtle banana-clove balance, whereas 3068 is temperamental and either all clove or bland.

What fermentation temps do you use?

 

[rhys333]

What fermentation temps do you use?

It's been a while since I used it, but most likey 68F.

 

[doomy86]

I never had any luck with WB06. Even at high fermentation temperatures. I suspect that mash schedule and ingredients have greater influence in creating a good hefeweizen than we previously thought.

 

[seabrew8]

I never had any luck with WB06. Even at high fermentation temperatures. I suspect that mash schedule and ingredients have greater influence in creating a good hefeweizen than we previously thought.

Yeah i will be doing my first step mash actually that jamil recommeded.