Heffe Brew Day

About 2 weeks ago, I brewed 5 gallons for a German Style Heffe. I split this batch into 5 different 2 gallon buckets, as I wish to discern which yeast I like best. In retrospect, I wish I would have added another step or two to my step mash, which had 3 rests at 122, 150, and 168. Next time, I feel I will start lower, around 108, to develop the precursors for the clove aromas a little more, and have a rest around 156 as well.

The yeast I chose were:

White Labs WLP 001- Cal Ale, a very neutral strain
White Labs WLP 300- Bavariam Wheat- the classic heffe strain
White Labs WLP 320- American Wheat- less banana and clove than the German cousin
White Labs WLP 380- Heffe IV- more clove character than 300
Wyeast 3638- Bavarian wheat- more fruity ester to complement banana with the clove phenols            being more subtle

I also open fermented them all (covered with aluminum foil) at around 70-72 degrees for 1 week. They all finished at roughly around the same gravity, the the WLP 300 finished slightly lower than the rest.

Bottling days was fairly easy, and there was enough for about 9 bottles/batch, but I just stuck with 8/gallon.

 

Tasting notes coming soon.