Spreading the Joys of Homebrewing Throughout Philadelphia and Its Suburbs

Big Brew Recipe - Hefeweizen

This is the official recipe for the 2009 ALEiens Big Brew day. Though I would love for everyone to brew the same recipe, feel free to brew what ever you like. We will be tasting our brews at our June meeting. So if you brew something different, make sure it is a quick fermenting brew.

If you are ordering your recipe from Wine Barley and Hops, make sure you let Paul know ASAP so he will have all the ingredients available.

This recipe is out of Jamil Zainasheff's book, Brewing Classic Styles. I highly recommend buying a copy.

Hefeweizen Recipe - BJCP Style 15A

Recipe Information
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OG: 1.050
FG: 1.012
IBU: 13
Color: 5 SRM
ABV: 5%
Boil: 60min
PreBoil Volume: 7 Gallons
PreBoil Gravity: 1.043

Extract Version
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Malt - Wheat LME - 8.6lbs
Hops - Hallertau 4%aa, 60min - .8oz - 13.1 IBU
Yeast - White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen - Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen

All Grain Version
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Malt - 5.6lbs - Continental Pilsner Malt
- 5.6lbs - Wheat Malt
Hops - Hallertau 4%aa, 60min - .8oz - 13.1 IBU
Yeast - White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen - Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen

Note: All-Grain version should be boiled 90min to drive off DMS from Pilsner Malt.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul Romanowsky on April 21, 2009 at 11:46am: Hey Jeff,

The only snafu I see with this recipe is the odd amount of Wheat Liquid Malt Extract (LME) used in this recipe. Unless the brewer purchases his or hers LME from a supplier that sells LME in bulk (out of a drum) you're going to have a hard time matching the exact amount when purchasing the LME in cans. The canned LME comes in either 4LB or 3.3LB sizes. As far as I know, none of the homebrew shops in the Philadelphia area sell LME in bulk and all deal with canned LME.

If sticking with this 8.6LB amount, my best suggestion would be to go with (1) 4LB can of Alexander's Wheat LME, (1) 3.3Lb can of Wheat LME (Munton's, Cooper's or Briess). That leaves 1.3Lbs we still need to satisfy the amount the recipe calls for. I would suggest the brewer then use (1) 1Lb bag of Wheat Dry Malt Extract (DME) to make up this amount. The conversion factor for LME to DME is 20% (because LME has a 20% water content and DME has a 0% water content). If we convert the last 1.3Lbs of LME we neet to DME, that comes to 1.04Lbs of DME needed. Let's round that off to a 1Lb bag of DME.

The other way to go would be to convert the whole amount of LME to DME. In that case, 8.6Lbs of LME equals 6.88Lbs of DME. The brewer could get 7 Lbs of DME and keep the remaining .12 Lbs for use in making a starter or even for use as priming sugar. Or just throw caution to the wind and use the whole 7Lbs of DME in the recipe. 1/8 of a Lb is not going to make a noticiable difference in my opinion.

As to the other ingredients. Wine Barley & Hops Homebrew Supply should not have any trouble supplying them.

Paul Romanowsky
Wine Barley & Hops Homebrew Supply; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sam Scott on April 21, 2009 at 6:01pm: I think any combo of dry and liquid extract would be fine. It's still wheat malt extract. I use about a 50/50 mix (by weight) of dry and liquid extract in my hefs with good results.

Also, brewers will need to make any adjustments for their system (batch size, efficiency, boil-off, losses, etc.). E.g. I'll be doing a 12 gallon all-grain batch with 12lbs each pilsner & wheat malt.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Paul Romanowsky on April 23, 2009 at 2:27pm: Hey ALEiens,

Just a reminder that Wine Barley & Hops is giving 15% OFF to ALEiens Members that are participating in BIG BREW DAY. The 15% OFF offer applies to the ingredients for your BIG BREW DAY Recipe. That includes your Extracts, Grains, Hops and Yeast. We prefer that you purchase all the ingredients for your recipe and not just a partial amount to receive the 15% OFF discount.

I mentioned this at the last meeting and just wanted to remind everyone.

Thanks

Paul Romanowsky
Wine Barley & Hops Homebrew Supply; ▶ Reply to This