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Vienna Hefeweizen


Vital Statistics:

Batch Number:46
Style:Hefeweizen
Brew Date:19 June 2011
Original Gravity:1.040 (9.99 °Plato)
Final Gravity:1.006 (1.54 °Plato)
ABV:4.5%
ABW:3.5%
Calories per pint:171
Estimated IBU (Rager):33.4
Estimated IBU (Tinseth):28.0
Mash Temperature:146°
Mash Efficiency:68%
Days in Primary:9  
Days in Secondary:0 (kegged on 28 June 2011)
Ferm. Temp. Notes:68-72°
Yeast Used:3068 Weihenstephan Weizen
Apparent Attenuation:85%
Real Attenuation:69%
Rating:3.90
Entirely Consumed:Yes (finished 3 September 2011)
Availability:67 days
Recipe:

6 lb wheat malt
3 lb Vienna malt

4.5 AAU (39g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 60
4.5 AAU (39g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 20
4.5 AAU (39g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 5

Wyeast 3068 - Weihenstephan Weizen
General Notes:

FG revised on 8/1/11. Went from 1.008 to 1.006 upon testing -- I'm pretty sure I kegged this a little early and fermentation continued post-kegging.
Tasting Notes:

Tasting notes taken 24 August 2011, 57 days after kegging. Poured from tap into a weizen glass.

Appearance: golden yellow hue with plenty of haze. Head poured three fat fingers of pillowy white foam. After settling down for a couple minutes, there are still two fingers of foam left with an excellent and thick lacing on the glass. Just about as good as a hefeweizen gets, in my opinion. (4.5)

Smell: light wheat aroma with a surprisingly up-front hop nose. It was not my intention to make this beer so hop-forward, but the earthy, noble aroma is pretty much the first thing you notice. Not bad, but I would prefer some fruity complexity here. (3.5)

Taste: a good flavor with some good banana character from the yeast toward the beginning that then fades to a maltier, grainier dry finish. Throughout is a light tartness. I think I would prefer a slightly sweeter hefe, but this is working quite well for me. (4)

Mouthfeel: somewhat disappointing. Body is pretty light and the carbonation, while sufficient to make a spectacular head, is really lacking in the mixture. I don't know what it is, but this beer seems to be a little on the flat side -- no good. That said, it's not insipid or anything. (3)

Drinkability: this is a very tasty and refreshing beer. I like the banana in the flavor and the dryness and light ABV make it a drinkable session beer. (4)

Overall score 3.9 (B+). I fully admit that the look of this beer really improved its rating -- which I do think is appropriate. This delivers the goods from an appearance department. I think some more banana/clove in the smell and a major paring back of aroma/flavor hops would work well with this grain bill. Perhaps I will let the fermentation temp ramp up a bit to get some more interesting aromas. Lastly, maybe some light caramel malt might bump the body of this guy and maybe improve the malt qualities of the aroma a bit as well.
Hops Table
Hop Variety Addition Time AAU AA% Quantity (g) Type IBU (Rager) IBU (Tinseth) Notes
Tettnanger 60 4.50 3.2 39 Pellet 19.7 15.5  
Tettnanger 20 4.50 3.2 39 Pellet 10.0 9.4  
Tettnanger 5 4.50 3.2 39 Pellet 3.7 3.1