Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?  (Read 4523 times)

Offline David

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« on: February 17, 2017, 05:03:30 am »
We made a hefeweizen...er, Weissbier (Author:  Horst Dornbusch) yesterday and it doesn't look at all like a hefeweizen.  It's dark!?!? 

I don't understand.  We made a 6 gal batch employing a BIAB method.  We came up light on the the pre-boil gravity too (1.34 vs 1.043) thus requiring additional wheat DME.


Here is the ingredients list.  Unfortunately exact grains were not available and thus required the purchase of "standard versions" of each.   Still, this doesn't explain the very dark color.

7.4 lbs. (3.4 kg) Weyermann pale wheat
    malt (2 °L)
1.85 lbs. (0.84 kg) Weyermann Pilsner
    malt (1.8 °L)
1.85 lbs. (0.84 kg) Weyermann Vienna
    malt (3.3 °L)
0.53 lbs (0.24 kg) Caramunich®
    Type III malt (56 °L)
3.1 AAU Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops
    (30 mins)
    (0.74 oz./21 g of 4.2% alpha acids)
1 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops
    (10 mins)
1 tsp. Irish moss
2 packages of White Labs WLP380
    (Hefeweizen IV Ale) or Wyeast 3068
    (Weihenstephan Weizen) yeast 
    (one for primary fermentation, one for
    inoculating Speise)
2 qts. (~2 L) sterile wort
    (for bottle conditioning)

Any ideas?  Tried to post a picture but can't figure out how.


Offline JJeffers09

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1127
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2017, 05:09:43 am »
Is it still in primary?  If so, a weissbier is generally cloudy because of the extra proteins from wheat which may look dark but it will settle out.  You may be surprised but with .5# of caramunich III you could have close to an amber than pale blonde.  Also the added dme will darken the brew.

Worse case call it a dunkel weisse...

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk
"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin

AHA Member
Indiana Brewers Union (IBU)

Offline David

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2017, 05:32:03 am »
Yes, still in primary.  Okay, thanks for the info.   We'll just have to wait-and-see.

Offline 69franx

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 3210
  • Bloatarian Brewing League
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2017, 05:34:31 am »
Is it still in primary?  If so, a weissbier is generally cloudy because of the extra proteins from wheat which may look dark but it will settle out.  You may be surprised but with .5# of caramunich III you could have close to an amber than pale blonde.  Also the added dme will darken the brew.

Worse case call it a dunkel weisse...

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk
+1

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

Frank L.
Fermenting: Nothing (ugh!)
Conditioning: Nothing (UGH!)
In keg: Nothing (Double UGH!)
In the works:  House IPA, Dark Mild, Ballantine Ale clone(still trying to work this one into the schedule)

Offline Iliff Ave

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4507
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2017, 09:21:14 am »
With that recipe, I get around 7 SRM without any DME which would be in the 'amberish' range? How dark is dark? When you say standard versions of grains were used, what did you use in place of the Caramunich III which is where a lot of the color probably came from?
On Tap/Bottled: IPL, Adjunct Vienna, Golden Stout, Honey Lager
Fermenting: IPA
Up Next: mexi lager, Germerican pale ale

Offline Joe Sr.

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4467
  • Chicago - NORTH SIDE
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2017, 10:13:48 am »
Any chance you used Breiss Bavaraian Wheat DME?  I've had that come out darker than expected on at least one batch.  Not sure why.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline HoosierBrew

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 13031
  • Indianapolis,IN
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2017, 10:18:28 am »
Any chance you used Breiss Bavaraian Wheat DME?  I've had that come out darker than expected on at least one batch.  Not sure why.

Yeah, I remember using that stuff before. Was WAY darker than I was counting on. It made a hefe that looked more like Schneider Weisse (which I love) than the paler ones.
Jon H.

Offline Joe Sr.

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4467
  • Chicago - NORTH SIDE
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2017, 10:20:32 am »
Any chance you used Breiss Bavaraian Wheat DME?  I've had that come out darker than expected on at least one batch.  Not sure why.

Yeah, I remember using that stuff before. Was WAY darker than I was counting on. It made a hefe that looked more like Schneider Weisse (which I love) than the paler ones.

Right on.  I was really confused when it happened.  The beer was good, just not the pale weiss I was planning on.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline David

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #8 on: February 17, 2017, 10:50:41 am »
"Any chance you used Breiss Bavaraian Wheat DME?"

That is indeed what we used.  And a whopping 1.65 lbs of it at that.  Okay, so that might explain the dark color which, I have to say, in the carboy, as best I can tell, more closely resembles the color of a stout or a porter than a hefeweizen.

Thank you gentleman, I appreciate your comments and knowledge.  Just one more indicator that I've still much to  learn!

Offline HoosierBrew

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 13031
  • Indianapolis,IN
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #9 on: February 17, 2017, 10:58:12 am »
And a whopping 1.65 lbs of it at that.  Okay, so that might explain the dark color which, I have to say, in the carboy, as best I can tell, more closely resembles the color of a stout or a porter than a hefeweizen.


That wheat DME is fairly dark, but only using 1.65 lbs of it (along with your grist) wouldn't make a beer look anything like porter or stout. But beer that is fermenting is a tough thing to gauge an accurate color on - it's cloudy with yeast, proteins, and sediment that distort the end color. Any chance you could've used a dark DME instead of wheat DME?
Jon H.

Offline David

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2017, 11:03:37 am »
No, we used wheat DME.  That said, I just learned that I should have put the DME in during the last 15 minutes.  Instead, I put it in at the beginning of the 60 min boil, and, according to some, doing so will make the wort even more dark.  Is that the case?

Offline HoosierBrew

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 13031
  • Indianapolis,IN
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2017, 11:05:52 am »
No, we used wheat DME.  That said, I just learned that I should have put the DME in during the last 15 minutes.  Instead, I put it in at the beginning of the 60 min boil, and, according to some, doing so will make the wort even more dark.  Is that the case?



There would be a little more darkening, but not enough to explain that IMO. I think you're looking at cloudy, yeasty beer now that's not indicative of what it'll look like in the glass. No worries, you made beer. Let us know how it comes out!
Jon H.

Offline JJeffers09

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1127
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #12 on: February 17, 2017, 11:15:43 am »
No, we used wheat DME.  That said, I just learned that I should have put the DME in during the last 15 minutes.  Instead, I put it in at the beginning of the 60 min boil, and, according to some, doing so will make the wort even more dark.  Is that the case?

Most likely, just assuming you had a little caramelization on the dme could get you to a brown color.  Again don't judge the brew until it is carbonated and in your glass.  Everything until that point is guesswork.  For the future you can test for conversion in your mash.  Wheat malt take a little longer to convert its fermentables.  There is an explanation for that, but I wont bore you with unless that is what you would like to hear.  Iodine Mash Conversion test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzrNE3gr8qM
"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin

AHA Member
Indiana Brewers Union (IBU)

Offline skyler

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 956
  • Hmm. Human music. I like it.
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #13 on: February 17, 2017, 11:31:22 am »
To begin with, 7 SRM is darker than most hefeweizens, IMO. Your recipe is probably a darker-than-average hefe. Add to that, malt extract will make beers darker than they would otherwise be and not all the calculators have extract entered correctly, for some reason. A 100% Pilsner malt Extract 1.050 OG beer will come out ~7 SRM, IME, where the same beer with 100% Pilsner malt would be ~3 SRM. I don't have much experience with wheat DME, but I would bet that it is darker than the pilsner extract. Personally, I would expect your beer to be ~8-9 SRM, which is orange to amber in color, like a good pale ale and a bit dark for a hefeweizen, but that doesn't mean it won't taste good.

Offline BrewBama

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 6050
Re: Dark hefeweizen...Huh?
« Reply #14 on: February 17, 2017, 03:57:16 pm »
Dunkelweizen


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk