One of the first craft beers I remember seeking out was a Weissbier (what we commonly refer to as Hefeweizen in the United States). I didn’t know much about craft beer at the time (and hadn’t yet started homebrewing), and I was at lunch with a friend one warm summer day. Taking a flier, I ordered something I hadn’t ever heard of (it was Circus Boy from Magic Hat) on a recommendation from my buddy. It was probably the perfect summer beer, and while I don’t consider it (now) a world-beating example of the style, it was certainly enough to pique my interest. The very next day I picked up a case for an upcoming barbeque. Weissbier really is one of the great summer beer styles, from its flavor profile to its light, fluffy body—heck, even the way sunlight makes it glow a hazy, golden color. Every homebrewer should have a good Hefe recipe on the shelf for a crowd-pleaser of a beer in hot weather!
Style
A classic world beer style, Weissbier is a pale, drinkable wheat beer with a modest ABV, virtually no bitterness, and a distinctive appearance and flavor profile. By tradition, the grist for Weissbiers is at least half malted wheat, which contributes a nice bready background. Grist isn’t where the interest is here, though—what makes a Weissbier a Weissbier is in its yeast. First, the traditional strains are incredibly persistent non-flocculators. While some breweries have (deliberately or accidentally) selected their strains to create clear or “crystal” wheat beers, most still leave a ton of yeast in suspension, which adds a unique mouthfeel to Weissbiers. More important, though, are the characteristic esters and phenols produced, specifically a banana-and-clove flavor that has come to be its most noticeable trademark. When we talk about styles with a particular “hook,” this is always my go-to example. Want to know if you’re holding a Weissbier? Give it a sniff. If you don’t immediately smell banana and spice, you know it’s not a great example of the style. You’ll taste wheat, of course, but it’s kind of like how you taste pumpkin in pumpkin pie: it’s there, but what makes it a pumpkin pie is the spice behind the pumpkin!
Ingredients
I say give this beer about as much wheat as you can handle. To be true to its history, at least 50 percent of the grist should be malted wheat, but I end up higher than that. How high? As high as I can go and reliably lauter/sparge without getting stuck. Start with 5 lb (2.3 kg) of malted wheat and then add 4 lb (1.8 kg) of floor-malted Pilsner. Those two should give you some great low-Lovibond bread-and-biscuit aromatics with a touch of honey. You can stop here with the grist, or if you want to add a bit more light malt flavor (I recommend it, especially if you can’t source floor-malted Pils) add 4 oz (113 g) pound of your favorite 20-ish Lovibond character malt (Melanoidin is popular, but I prefer Victory). In a traditional recipe, we’d then do a decoction mash, but honestly, who has that kind of time? You’ll also need some rice hulls (8 oz/227 g seems to do the trick) for later.